DATE:
June 20, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Mohamed Alaoui, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
Multi-family Bulky Pickup Services Update
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council of the City of Emeryville receive and discuss this report and provide further direction to staff.
Background
At the February 7, 2023 Emeryville City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Welch proposed, and the full council supported, having staff bring information to a council study session on a potential ordinance allowing tenants in multifamily buildings to request bulky waste pick up for themselves. This report provides information relative to that request.
The City of Emeryville has an exclusive waste franchise agreement with Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC) to provide waste services to the City. The franchise agreement was signed in 2011 with a 10-year extension signed in 2020.
This agreement includes residential and commercial curbside service, construction and demolition debris, public litter containers, and bulky item pickups. Clean-up of illegally dumped materials (e.g., mattresses) is not included in this contract and those services are performed by Public Works maintenance crews.
Discussion
Bulky Waste Pickups in Multi-Family Buildings
Multi-family bulky waste pickups are an important service to residents of Emeryville with potentially significant effects on staff time and resources. Public Works receives over 100 See-Click-Fix tickets annually on the topic of litter abatement, a portion of which may be attributed to tenants moving that have no easy access to disposal of large items. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Works staff participated in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program (SWAP) to augment existing resources and ensure litter abatement across the city, however the SWAP program has not been reestablished to its previous capacity. Each Public Works pickup of improperly disposed bulky waste incurs a cost to the City of an estimated $301, and without SWAP resources, significantly affects the Public Works crew's workload and ability to respond to other priority issues.
Under the franchise agreement, single-family homes and multi-family apartment buildings under 500 units within the designated single-family zones are offered one annual pre-set bulky pickup and one pickup scheduled by the account holder (the building owner or manager). Multi-family apartment buildings under 500 units outside of the designated single-family zones are allowed two free bulky waste pickups scheduled by the account holder per year. Multi-family apartment buildings over 500 units are allowed a total of four free bulky pickups per year, a rate of just one annual pickup per 125 units in a 500-unit building, and less in larger buildings. The maximum amount collected at each multi-family pickup is 30 cubic yards and one additional flatbed truck. Additionally, tenants may not initiate the bulky pickup request directly with WMAC and instead must work with their building manager. Furthermore, it places the building manager in a difficult position of having to decide which four of the 500 or more units will benefit from the service each year. Oftentimes the service is simply not utilized by tenants due to additional burdens associated with using the service, including the approval and coordination with building management that is required for a pickup. As of 2023, there are a total of 112 designated multi-family waste accounts in Emeryville, representing 6,220 units. In 2022, only 24 bulky pickups were scheduled by multi-family accounts.
Programs Allowing Tenants to Schedule Bulky Waste Pickups Emeryville is a member of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority Joint Powers Authority (StopWaste JPA). Currently, only two cities in the StopWaste JPA allow non-account holders in multi-family properties to arrange bulky pickups – the City of Alameda (contracted with Alameda County Industries) and the City of Oakland (contracted with WMAC). Both programs were initiated recently, and data is still being collected on their effectiveness.
The City of Oakland began free bulky pickup services through WMAC for individual tenants in November of 2021. Initial data from 2022 show a 12% increase in the total number of bulky pickups scheduled with an overall annual program utilization rate of 8.1%. This service was started simultaneously with a program permitting one free scheduled drop off at Davis Street transfer station per resident, and an increase in allowable load size to four cubic yards (cy) for curbside pick-up events.
The City of Alameda began bulky pickup services for individual multi-family property tenants in 2022. This was incorporated into larger contract negotiations, including a larger size allotment and requirements for the hauler to process reusable items.
Fiscal Impact
If a bulky pick-up program for multi-family property tenants were further explored in Emeryville, several components regarding direction of the program would need to be considered including:
Cost of City services addressing illegally dumped bulky waste, including impacts to other City services Overall cost-neutrality of the program
Free versus fee-based options for customers
Alternative methods (e.g., tickets allowing residents to haul their own waste for free, drop-off days at the waste facility for residents) Additional services (e.g., reusable processing – contracting with a third party to recover useable materials for reuse)
The costs to the City and account holders would be dependent on changes or programs recommended and desired cost-neutrality of the program. Existing tenant-initiated multi-family bulky pickup programs in other cities were included as part of larger negotiations and specific unit costs for bulky pickups are unavailable. A comparison of the cost to residents in various jurisdictions for additional bulky pick-ups can be found in Appendix A. conclusion
The current Emeryville waste franchise agreement allows for limited free bulky pickups on an annual basis for residents and businesses. Additional curbside pickup services would likely necessitate renewed negotiations with WMAC. If the Council is interested in pursuing further, staff can bring more detailed information on any specific topics related to multi-family bulky pickups.
PREPARED BY: Matt Anderson, Environmental Programs Analyst Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
Appendix A
Cost of Bulky Pickups in Nearby Jurisdictions
City
Renter Can Schedule
# Free Pickups (Single-family)
# Free Pickups (Multi-family)
Cost Additional Pickups (Single-family)
Alameda
Yes
1 1/unit
$167
Albany*
No
1 0
$268 (first 300 free)
Berkeley
No
1 0
$8/bag
CV San
No
1 1/building
$89
Dublin
No
3 3/building
N/A
Emeryville*
No
2 2/building <500 units,
4/building >500 units
$278 + $71/cy**
Fremont
No
2 0
$60/two items
Hayward
No
2 2/building
$70+ $28/cy
Livermore
No
3 0
$66 or $133 large appliances
Newark
No
2 2-4/building
$103
Oakland*
Yes
2 1/unit
$102
Piedmont
No
2 0
$94
Pleasanton
No
3 3/building
$149/4 cy
San Leandro
No
1 0
$68 + $28/cy
Union City
No
2 0
$94/two items
*WMAC Cities
** Staff are working with WMAC on reducing this rate
Multi-Family Bulky Pickup Services Updated
City Council Meeting | June 20, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM