Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: ADOPTION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PURCHASING POLICIES
Date: June 11, 2024
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended the City Council of the City of Cotati adopt by resolution the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy.
Background
Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) also known as the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction Act. SB 1383 sets statewide targets to reduce the disposal of organic waste by 50 percent by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025. To achieve these goals, public agencies, including the City of Cotati, are required to meet an Annual Procurement Target for recycled organic materials such as compost or mulch, based on population. To help with the regulation's implementation, it is suggested to adopt a procurement policy that complies with the obligations set out by SB1383. City Staff derived the proposed policy from the model procurement policy provided by Cal Recycle, the regulatory agency monitoring compliance with SB 1383.
Analysis/Discussion
The regulations developed by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) in accordance with SB 1383 outline the requirements for local entities in procuring recovered organic waste products. The City of Cotati is obligated to annually procure a quantity of recovered organic waste products that meets or exceeds the specified procurement target. To determine the City's procurement target, the per capita procurement target of 0.08 tons of organic waste is multiplied by the City's population according to the most recent data reported by the California Department of Finance.
The SB 1383 regulations provide flexibility for the City to comply with its procurement target obligations. The City can directly procure recovered organic waste products or engage the services of a direct service provider to fulfill the procurement requirements. The eligible recovered organic waste products that can be counted towards the City's annual procurement target include SB 1383 eligible compost, SB 1383 eligible mulch, and renewable gas.
In addition to recovered organic waste products, the SB 1383 regulations also require the City to purchase recycled content paper products, including printing and writing paper, and janitorial supplies. Vendors supplying paper products to the City must certify the percentage of postconsumer material in their products and provide information about the recyclability of products.
The City is also responsible for maintaining records related to its efforts in meeting the procurement target and fulfilling recycled paper product procurement requirements.
To align the City's procurement methods with the requirements of SB 1383 and to provide guidance for all departments in their procurement practices, staff recommends the adoption of the attached Policy, drafted from the sample policy provided by CalRecycle. This policy will ensure compliance with SB 1383 and facilitate the City's efforts to contribute to statewide organic waste reduction and sustainable procurement practices.
Financial Considerations
Costs for mulch and compost products are already included in City operations. Staff time requirements to implement the practices and maintain records for reporting are unknown but will be tracked for future quantification. Any additional direct costs associated with purchase of more environmentally preferable items will be quantified and be included as a consideration with each purchase or bid process. For example, based on the current prices for paper products, there is likely a $2,000-$5,000 per year impact, depending on types of products and quantities ordered.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.