Credit: Kristina Carpenter

Louisville’s Bloomberg Recycling Initiatives

Pete Flood – Manager, Solid Waste Management ServicesMark Noll – Project Coordinator, Innovation Delivery Team

Overview

Bloomberg and the Playbook

The Process

The Projects (Initiatives)

Bloomberg Philanthropies

• Awarded grants to five cities in 2011 to

drive innovation within city government• The Bloomberg “Playbook” drives a

process by which: • challenges are defined, • ideas are generated, • initiatives are developed, and • progress is measured against clearly

defined targets• Benefits of process• informed decisions• long-term planning – “what could be”• can be adopted by any municipality• grant money runs out, but the process

carries on…institutionalized into daily routine of city departments

The ProcessStep 1: Define the challengeLouisville citizens and businesses are not offered a full range of recycling services, nor is there a strong culture to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Step 2: Assess current state and set a targetAre there programs currently in place to address the challenge?Are these activities accomplishing their stated goals? (Do they have stated goals?)What metrics are available to establish benchmarks and baselines?What is an aggressive, yet achievable, target?

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20420%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

50% 51% 52% 52% 53%

90%

Louisville Diversion Rates

San FranciscoAustin

PortlandSeattle

ColumbusCincinnatiNashvilleLouisville

BirminghamMobile

40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65%

City Diversion Rates

Benchmark against leaders and peer communities.

Set a baseline and target.

Step 3: Identify contributing issues (Barriers)Why does the challenge exist in your community?Why are we not reaching our established target?

• Residential: Bins are too small

• Commercial: Difficult to service, no space

• Education: Limited understanding of environmental, economic benefits

• Cultural: Absence of recycling culture

• Regulatory: No mandatory recycling regulations

Credit: Clean River Recycling Solutions

Step 4: Research solutions• Assess other cities• Speak with outside experts (consultants, peers in other cities)• Google!

Louisville hosted an “ideation” session with local stakeholders, peers from leading recycling cities, and consultants.

We generated a list of ideas to address each of the contributing issues.

Commercial ResidentialCulture/Marketing Education

Step 5: Develop list of initiatives and prioritize What initiatives will have the greatest impact and are the most feasible in your community?

Impact

High Priority Initiatives

Feasibility

Greatest Impact

Greatest Feasibility

Step 6: Establish metrics and set targets for initiatives!How will you measure success?Ambitious, but achievable targets.

Initiative: Introduce 95-gallon roll carts to two neighborhoods• Metric: Recycling tonnage collected• Target: Increase recycling tonnage collected by 25%

Initiative: Introduce desk-side recycling in Metro Government Offices• Metric: Recycling tonnage collected • Target: Increase recycling tonnage collected by 50%

Initiative: Introduce Wet-Dry Recycling to the Central Business District (CBD)• Metric: Percent of total waste recycled• Target: Increase overall recycling/composting rate from

11% to 85% in CBD

Step 7: Develop initiative charters and work plans• Incorporate initiatives into daily work stream• Develops timeline with key activities and milestones• Establishes roles and responsibilities• From this, we can develop detailed work plans

Step 8: Get to work! Measure outcomes against established targets• Celebrate quick wins• Evaluate project successes and shortcomings• “Rinse and repeat”

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

18%26% 27%

35%25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

55% 60%70%

CBD Dry Waste Audits

Percent Recovered Target

11

Commercial –All Louisville Metro offices recycle–Office Building Pilot Program in CBD: Wet/Dry Program–Food Composting Program at Schools–Multi-unit Apartment Pilot Program–Retail Center Pilot Program-Fourth Street Live Entertainment Complex (Case

Study)Residential

–Residential Purchase Program–Residential Pilot Program: Larger Capacity Containers

Change Management–Solar Compactors in CBD–Yard Waste Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance-Passed-Implementation Phase (Waste

District)Related-Supported

–Construction and Demolition Recycling System: Subcommittee Formed (Waste District)–Construction and Demolition (Metro Government Operations)–Special Events Recycling–Solid Waste Collection System Study (Waste District)–Surplus Exchange Program

Initiatives Overview

12

Central Business District PilotKey Requirements• QRS Recycling Commercial Dry Waste Facility (CDW)• Opened in 2013 in Louisville. • Low-Tech/Handles Higher Contamination Levels• Food Waste Collection/Composting• Valet Service – Education Intensive

Potential Advantages• Takes participation rate out of equation• All material is processed for recovery (processing gee?)• Nothing goes directly to the landfill (no landfill fee)• Potential 85-90% recovery rate (with WTE)

Potential Expansion• Residential• Business-specific initiatives• Inclusion of yard waste• Anaerobic digestion

13

Pre Pilot• Current State: Commercial Single

Stream Containers located on each floor

• Waste audit found significant amount of recyclable materials remaining in outgoing trash

New Program • Recycling (Clear Bag) at all

desk-side and common areas• Wet Waste (Black Bag) in all

restrooms and break-rooms• Dumpsters Became Recycling

“Ah-ha” moment: Why have garbage dumpsters when the majority of the materials generated is recyclable?

Results-Learnings• Very high recovery rates• Contamination caused by illegal dumping

and unauthorized use of LMG employees• Lower collection cost for dumpsters

(no landfill charge)• Education and Training Critical

Louisville Metro Government Recycling Program

14

• Potential reduction in the overall cost per household

• Blanket vs Targeted Distribution

• Route Time Increased-Overtime

• Biweekly Collection?

95-Gallon Roll CartResidential Pilot

October November December January February March April2

4

6

8

10

5.15

8.02 7.76

6.74

5.63

6.89 6.99

3.564.65 4.30 4.33 4.02

5.264.59

4.48

5.6

Route 14: Average Weekly Recycling Tonnage by Month

Monthly Average Prior YearBaseline Target (25% Increase)

15

Issue: Plastic bags in collection system cannot be removed

Result: Compostable material can’t be resold (yard waste ends up as alternative daily cover in landfill)

Solution: Waste Management District Board adopted regulation specifying allowable containers for yard waste

Yard Waste Regulation

Educating public on preferred methods1. Compost at home• Mulch grass and leaves

2. Reusable containers3. Paper bags4. Compostable plastic5. Season drop-off sites

Credit: Kristina Carpenter

Thank you!

More information is available at www.louisvilleky.gov/solidwaste/recycling

Pete Flood – pete.flood@louisvilleky.govMark Noll – mark.noll@louisvilleky.gov