Managing Municipal Materials in Difficult Markets

1. A System that Works: Waste Reduction in the City of Lynn
Lynn Department of Public Works
Lisa J. Nerich, Associate Commissioner
Julia Greene, Recycling Coordinator

2. 9 miles north of downtown Boston
Lynn is the 9th largest city in Massachusetts with a population of 91,000 people
It is the largest city in Essex County
13 square miles

3. Lynn is Diverse
• White alone 42.6%
74.6%
• Hispanic 35.2
• Black alone 12.1
• Asian alone 6.9
• Two or more races 2.0
• Other race alone 1.0
• Native Hawaiian & other 0.2
Lynn is Young
25% of residents are under 18 years
21%
Lynn is a city of Immigrants
31% of residents are foreign born
15.8%
Lynn is a city of Renters
55% of residents rent 38%
Source: http://www.city-data.com
* Massachusetts

9. Curbside trash before
December 1, 2014
• Six barrel limit + bulky waste
• Single stream recycling
• FY 2014 Solid Waste Tonnage = 32,000
• FY 2014 Recycling Rate = 7%

10. Single Stream Recycling Began in 2010

11. The City was spending more and more on solid waste.
Recycling remained stubbornly low.
2014 - a new contract negotiation began
and tipping fee increases alone made the
old system cost prohibitive.

12. Waste Management Automated Trash System
• Each household issued two carts
• 64 gallon trash cart
• 96 gallon recycle cart
• Trash pick up weekly
• Recycle pick up every two weeks
• Fee for pickup of large bulky items
• Additional cost for overflow bags

13. A New Trash Ordinance
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy
and the City Council codified the
new trash and recycling system
by overhauling the trash
ordinance. The new ordinance
was passed in October and took
effect on December 1, 2014.

14. Enforcement per Ordinance
Responsibility of Inspectional Services Division
5 full-time inspectors with geographic territory
Fines
– $50 first infraction
– $100 second infraction
– $300 third and all subsequent infractions

15. The Rollout:
October - November 2014
28,000 Households

16. December 2014 – January 2015
The Learning Curve
Warnings

17. February – April, Snow, then what was uncovered

18. April 2015: first numbers come in and they look good.
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Trash Recycle
T
o
n
s
Dec - Mar 2014
Dec - Mar 2015

19. 2013-2014 2014-2015 Percent Change
December 2711 2040 -25%
January 2627 1707 -35%
February 2131 1411 -34%
March 2311 1705 -26%
Change in Solid Waste Tonnage
2013-2014 2014-2015
December 8% 21%
January 8% 23%
February 7% 18%
March 8% 21%
Recycling Rate

20. Outreach and Education on Trash and Recycling
• Schools
• Mailings
• City Website
• Recycling Blog
• Social media: Facebook, twitter
• Home Visits to Residents
• Canvassing in areas with low compliance
• Community Organizations
• Landlord Organizations
• Local Cable Access TV
• North Shore Community College
• In-mold instructions on cart tops

21. The Clean Streets of Lynn
Spring
2015

22. Dumpster Day: May 2, 2015
• 4 rolloffs and 4 trucks
• 2 compactors
• 1 huge pile at the end of the day

23. Dumpster Day
A Mountain
of
Bulky Trash

24. RecyclingWorks in Lynn Summer Outreach

25. RecyclingWorks in Lynn Summer Social Marketing Campaign
Focused Social Marketing Campaign for targeted neighborhoods - Summer 2015
• Number of households: 1,291.
• Number of households where a conversation took place (25%)
• Number of Pledges 222(17% of households), Number that stayed compliant 206 (93%)
• Number of households non-compliant on trash or recycling at end of campaign = 59 (5%)

26. 0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
Trash Recycle
T
o
n
s
Dec - Aug 2014
Dec - Aug 2015
9 Months in and numbers still look good.

27. Consistent month-month decrease in solid waste
2013-2014 2014-2015 Percent Change
December 2711 2040 -25%
January 2627 1707 -35%
February 2131 1411 -34%
March 2311 1705 -26%
April 2872 2030 -29%
May 3130 2148 -31%
June 2740 2042 -25%
July 3091 2282 -26%
August 2591 1948 -25%

28. Consistent month-month recycling rates
2013-2014 2014-2015
December 8% 21%
January 8% 23%
February 7% 18%
March 8% 21%
April 7% 22%
May 7% 19%
June 7% 22%
July 7% 21%
August 7% 21%

29. Fall: We continue outreach and expand culture change to city parks and streets
100 new recycling containers at $26 each

30. DEP Awards Lynn a Technical Assistance Grant to
assess a Drop Off Center or C.H.a.R.M
• Limited space
• Need for bulky waste drop off
Constraints

31. A New (old) Problem: Increased Dumping

32. DEP Awards Lynn a Mattress Recycling Grant
We then did the analysis and
determined that we were not
ready for it. We lacked:
• A secure yard or drop off
center with dedicated
personnel
• An automated payment
system

33. First Year Results in Numbers
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
Trash Recycle
T
o
n
s
Dec 2013 - Nov
2014
Dec 2014 - Nov
2015

34. Trash (tons) Recycle (tons) Recycling
Rate
Dec 13 – Nov 14
30,130 2,571 8%
Dec 14 – Nov 15
22,565 6,279 22%
% Change
-25% +144%
First Year Change in Solid Waste & Recycling
Disposal Cost Avoided
$500,000*
*Tipping fee FY 14 = $64
Tipping fee FY 15 = $65.95
Curbside Solid Waste
Pounds Per Household
2014 213
2015 150

35. New Problem: Recycling Contamination

36. What We Have Learned, What We are Doing
• The automated trash collection system works at the curbside to
• Increase recycling
• Decrease solid waste
• Culture Change on recycling is expanding to public spaces
• Parks
• Downtown
• The City needs a drop off center for:
• Large bulky trash (couches, furniture, mattresses etc.)
• Recyclables
• Bulky rigid plastics
• Scrap metal
• Single stream (condo & large building occupants)
• Textiles
• Books
• Mattresses (future)

37. What We Have Learned, What We are Doing
(continued)
• Continue social marketing campaigns, outreach and
education
- Focus on contamination
• Better tie enforcement to outreach and education efforts
• Measure long-term impacts of outreach & education
efforts
Outreach & Education

38. City of Lynn Department of Public
Works
250 Commercial Street
Lynn, MA.01905
Andrew Hall, DPW Commissioner
Lisa J. Nerich, Associate Commissioner
Julia Greene, Recycling Coordinator
Contact:
Lisa Nerich
781-268-8000
lnerich@lynnma.gov
Julia Greene
781-268-8000
jgreene@lynnma.gov
Website: http://cityoflynn.net
Facebook: RecyclingWorks in Lynn
Blog: http://trashtalkinlynn.blogspot.com/