FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM #12
MEETING DATE: July 17, 2024
PREPARED FOR: Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY: Heather Abrams, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Receive Annual Report by Marin Sanitary Service for Solid Waste Services for 2023.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the Annual Report by Marin Sanitary Service (MSS) for Solid Waste Services for the year 2023.
BACKGROUND
The Town of Fairfax maintains a franchise agreement with Marin Sanitary Service (MSS) for the exclusive collection of solid waste. Under this agreement, MSS is required to submit an annual report detailing their collection activities, recycling efforts, and overall service performance. The report ensures transparency and helps the Town monitor progress towards state-mandated waste reduction and diversion goals.
In 2023, MSS continued to work together with the Marin franchisors' group, including the cities of San Rafael and Larkspur, the Towns of Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax, the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, and the County of Marin. This collaboration focuses on overseeing MSS operations and complements the County-wide Zero Waste Marin Board's initiatives.
DISCUSSION
This report introduces the 2023 Annual Report from Marin Sanitary Service (MSS). The report highlights the progress made in waste collection, recycling, and composting services within the Town of Fairfax.
Key updates include:
• New Technologies: Introduction of the Tiger Depackager and Optical Sorter, enhancing the efficiency of organic waste processing and paper recycling. • Program Progress: Implementation of SB 1383 requirements, which involved adding a commercial organic recycling route and expanding the Food 2 Energy (F2E) program. • Public Education: Extensive outreach efforts, including school programs, community events, and social media campaigns to promote proper waste sorting and recycling practices. • Service Metrics: Detailed statistics on waste collection volumes, contamination rates, and customer participation in recycling and organics programs.
The report also documents MSS’s efforts in greenhouse gas mitigation, emphasizing their transition to renewable diesel for their fleet, resulting in significant emission reductions.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this report.
ATTACHMENTS
Marin Sanitary Service 2023 Annual Report
2023 SERVICE AREA
ANNUAL REPORT
Marin Sanitary Service
1050 Andersen Drive, San Rafael CA, 94901
Tel 415-456-2601
www.marinsanitaryservice.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Status of New Technologies and Industry Practices Enhancing Progress Toward Zero Waste ________ 3 Progress of Programs or Services Implemented in the Past Two Years _________________________ 6 Description and Progress of Zero Waste Programs_________________________________________ 8 Green House Gas Mitigation_________________________________________________________ 10 Public Education Activities Undertaken During the Year ___________________________________ 11 Recycling and Organics Program Participation “Set Outs” __________________________________ 27 Year-Over-Year Change in Customer Account Data________________________________________ 32 Recycling Rates ___________________________________________________________________ 33 Other Information (Quarterly Report Data) _____________________________________________ 36 Contact Information _______________________________________________________________ 38
STATUS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Status of New Technologies and Industry Practices Enhancing Progress Toward Zero Waste
The company kicked off the celebration of 75-years in operation with a ribbon cutting for two new pieces of technology, the depackager and the optical sorter. The event was a great opportunity to recognize the continued innovations of the company and to inform about and demonstrate the new pieces of equipment to community members.
STATUS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
TIGER DEPACKAGER
The TIGER depackager has led to modifications to the F2E program allowing customers to put materials in clear plastic bags boosting participation. With the Tiger, the company has implemented the Packaged Organic Waste Energy Recovery (POWER) program for packaged food waste that previously was going to the landfill. The company also receives occasional loads of spoiled food from food manufacturers and distributors. This new technology has been successful at expanding the amount and type of food waste that the company is able to receive and divert from the landfill.
Exhibit 1 shows the increase in total F2E tons received in 2023. 0 20
40 60
80 100
120
140
F2E Tons in 2023
Tons Processed by the TIGER
Exhibit 1
STATUS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Packaged Organic Waste Energy Recovery (POWER) Program
With the TIGER Depackager in place, the company created the POWER program. MSS collection trucks pick up the packaged and unpackaged organic waste in dumpsters and bring them to the TIGER depackager where previously landfilled organic waste is separated from its plastic, metal or paper packaging and recovered to be sent to Central Marin Sanitation Agency for digestion and power generation. The POWER program, currently has 6 grocery stores participating.
OPTICAL SORTER
The optical sorter was installed in Q4 of 2022. This material sensing technology was installed on our paper sorting line to aide employees by mechanically removing any colored paper from the paper streams to ensure a cleaner white paper bale.
PROGRESS OF PROGRAMS OR SERVICES
Progress of Programs or Services Implemented in the Past Two Years
SB 1383 IMPLEMENTATION
MSS has implemented changes to services to prepare for and accommodate the requirements of SB 1383. In 2022, the company added a commercial organics recycling route to address the increased volume of organic materials. This route has grown from 3 days per week to 4 days per week. Other customers have also been absorbed into pre-existing routes. The company has observed an increase in contamination notices with the addition of these new accounts. Food waste recovery is new for many community members and those not used to having a green cart, especially those in multi-family housing, use it as another landfill cart. Outreach team members are working with property managers to train and educate and help newly subscribed properties to utilize the green cart properly.
The company is in the process of removing organics and recycling services from customers who, after training, numerous notifications, and other outreach efforts, continue to contaminate their recycling and organics carts. This will make them non-compliant with state regulations. The company will work with the jurisdictions and Zero Waste Marin on enforcement.
The outreach team visited over 600 businesses and multi-family properties in 2023 to educate, train and help set up recovery programs. In addition, over 1900 carts were checked to ensure proper usage.
Of these, 9% had prohibited contaminants.
Exhibit 2 shows the number of commercial businesses and multi-family dwellings that are participating in MSS organic waste collection. Customers who self-haul or do not produce enough waste will be visited and this alternative compliance will be documented. Those not producing sufficient volume or with insufficient room to store additional containers will be issued a waiver. Noncompliant customers who refuse to add services will require enforcement actions by the jurisdiction or by Zero Waste Marin.
PROGRESS OF PROGRAMS OR SERVICES
City of
San
Rafael
Marin
County
Las Gallinas
Valley Sanitary
District
Town of
Ross
City of
Larkspur
Town of
San
Anselmo
Town of
Fairfax
Subject to Compliance Review 784 51 31 13 116 86 57
Compliant 478 45 26 10 77 66 50
Waivers 252 7 4 1 38 15 7
Not Compliant 55 - 1 2 1 5 -
% Compliance 93% 100% 97% 87% 99% 94% 100%
City of
San
Rafael
Marin
County
Las Gallinas
Valley Sanitary
District
Town of
Ross
City of
Larkspur
Town of
San
Anselmo
Town of
Fairfax
Subject to Compliance Review 338 22 7 N/A 131 53 22
Compliant 310 22 7 95 53 22
Waivers
Not Compliant 28 - - 36 - -
% Compliance 92% 100% 100% 73% 100% 100%
Commercial
Multi Family Dwellings 5 units +
Exhibit 2: SB 1383 Compliance
ZERO WASTE PROGRAMS
Description and Progress of Zero Waste Programs
RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Marin Sanitary Service continues to provide dual-stream recycling. Separating the paper and cardboard from glass, metal and plastic bottles and cans ensures that materials stay clean and maintain their value.
One challenge the company continues to face is with non-recyclables items going into the split cart.
This is most often non-recoverable plastics as there continues to be confusion over what is accepted.
It also includes dirty bottles and other contaminants. Exhibit 1 shows the rise of contamination since 2013. Fortunately, this trend has leveled out since 2018.
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
16.00%
18.00%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Marin Recycling Center Residual (Contamination) Rates
2011-2023
Exhibit 3
ZERO WASTE PROGRAMS
ORGANICS COLLECTION
Organic waste is collected through three different programs, curbside green waste, commercial organics, and Food 2 Energy (F2E). The POWER program is included as part of the F2E program.
Curbside Green Waste
Residential customer’s may continue to place their yard clippings along with household food waste into their green cart. With the implementation and enforcement effective January 1, 2024 of SB 1383, the company has increased information and reminders about recovering food waste and food-stained paper from the landfill cart and placing it in the green cart. While the company continues to see more food in the green cart, there has not been a significant increase in curbside organic waste tons. This does not necessarily reflect increased diversion of materials as green waste tons are impacted by weather conditions. Wet years can lead to heavier material in the carts as well as more material due to the increased growth.
Commercial Organics
The MSS outreach team has been meeting with all commercial and multi-family customers to educate and help ensure they are starting organic service. They provide information, assistance, and trainings to customers starting programs. This has resulted in 424 customers in the service area adding organics services in 2023.
Food2Energy (F2E)
F2E service is offered to grocery stores and restaurants to capture their back-of-house organic waste.
Companies are now able to place their F2E material in clear plastic bags to help keep cans clean and keep critters out. The F2E program has also been enhanced by the addition of the aforementioned POWER program.
GREEN HOUSE GAS MITIGATION
Green House Gas Mitigation
GREEN HOUSE GAS MITIGATION
MSS has tracked operational emissions annually since 2006 and avoided emissions since 2009. This report shows MSS has fully offset its direct emissions on average 18 times. This is well beyond NetZero. Most emissions originate from direct mobile combustions including on and off-road vehicles. MSS switched the fleet to renewable diesel in 2020, lowering overall emissions impacts.
Exhibit 4: Emissions Reporting
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Public Education Activities Undertaken During the Year
Bill Inserts
Exhibit 5: Bill Inserts Sent in 2023
Fairfax San Rafael
Las Gallinas
Valley Sanitary
District Larkspur Ross
San
Anselmo
County of
Marin Grand Total
Rate Increase Notification 2,614 14,152 3,664 2,899 804 4,479 4,248 32,860 Spring clean up 2,523 12,383 3,600 2,601 785 4,185 4,135 25,088 Fall Clean up 2,523 10,175 3,716 2,601 801 3,400 3,450 26,666 Grand Total 5,137 36,710 10,980 5,500 2,390 12,064 11,833 84,614
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY CONTACTED REGARDING DIVERSION SERVICES Contamination Program
Drivers note contaminated containers. Customer service representatives and our outreach team follow up each day with customers on the contamination list to notify and provide education to those customers. Contamination charges are applied if deemed appropriate. Education and training are offered to all multi-family and commercial participants. In some cases, multi-family and commercial customer’s recyclables or organics carts are removed if they do not show progress or an effort to clean up contamination. During 2023 there were 5,425 separate actions taken to minimize contamination.
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Free Kitchen Compost Pail Give-Out
The company distributed over 450 kitchen pails during 45 multi-family trainings, including apartments, HOAs, and mobile homes. Tenants were offered the option of online training and an additional 125 pails were distributed to tenants.
Trainings
The outreach team trains businesses and other organizations. Presentations are given in both English and Spanish by request. Some of our trainings included:
• January 2023- Held in-person training for Multi-Cultural Center of Marin for 15 board of directors.
• February 2023- Presentation for 30 clients and staff at Cedars of Marin. • Trainings included:
o Windchime of Marin nursing home staff
o Strip mall tenants
o San Rafael police & fire departments
o AAA office staff
o Retailers including Home Goods and Scandinavian Designs o Restaurants including Depot Garden Café, and Saigon Village o Grocery stores including United Markets, Whole Foods, and Mollie Stone’s. 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Customers Charged Contamination Fee
Customer Follow-up Calls
Driver Reported Contaminations
Cart Hangers
Contamination Prevention Efforts
2021 2022 2023
Exhibit 6: Contamination Prevention
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Social Media
The company has focused on digital methods for communicating with customers. This includes using social media channels to provide information, reminders, and tips to divert waste from the landfill.
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X
Followers 864 1300 493 482
Posts 27 128 1 27
Engagement 578 371 10 N/A
Reach 12,800 10,000 165 N/A
Exhibit 7: Social Media Activity
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
WASTE AUDITS AND RESULTS
SB 1383 regulations require that jurisdictions conduct mandated SB 1383 route reviews by random selection. SB 1383 route reviews are defined as a visual inspection of containers along a route for the purpose of determining container contamination and proper sorting of material or both. If contaminants are found, the route auditor takes a picture of the material and mails a letter to the customer for educational purposes. During 2023 MSS route auditors inspected 2068 individual carts.
Results are shown in Exhibit 8.
Properly Sorted Prohibited Contaminants
Material: Total Total
cardboard recycling 0 11
containers recycling 23 26
food waste 6 0
landfill 649 47
mixed organics 615 21
mixed recycling 578 52
paper recycling 31 9
Total 1902 166
In addition to SB 1383 route audits, MSS auditors ride along with drivers to verify current services within the MSS billing system match the service in which the customer is receiving. Exhibit 9 shows the results of these efforts. Customers are sent notices of the discrepancy and given an opportunity to modify their service or pay the correct amount for the services received.
Route Audit Discovered Service Discrepancies
Service Discrepancy-Less Service than pays for- smaller cart size 9 Service Discrepancy-More Service than covered for in service-larger cart size 64 Total Discrepancies Discovered 73
Exhibit 8: SB 1383 Tracking Totals 2023
Exhibit 9: Service Discrepancies
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
COLLECTION NOTIFICATION TAGS
Collection notification tags are placed for customers whose service is not completed as a means of educating customers on proper container set out, contamination, or other reasons. Exhibit 10 shows the cart tags left with customers in 2023.
Number of Tags Left
Notification Reason:
CARDBOARD
PLACEMENT 30
CART COMPACTED 34
CART CONTAMINATED 120
CART DAMAGED 24
CART NOT OUT 1
CART OVERLOADED 25
CART OVERRLOADED 1
CART PLACEMENT 38
Grand Total 289
COMMUNITY INFORMATION AND EVENTS
• Held an in-person training at CreArt Early Education & Preschool staff. • Presented to a class of 25 students at Terra Linda High School’s, MSEL program. • Tabled at Earth Day events at San Rafel High School, San Rafael Clean Earth Day and BioMarin. • Presented recycling, composting and waste reduction assembly for over 200 students at St.
Isabella’s K-8
th School.
• Distributed information and interacted with customers at events including:
o ExtraFood.org volunteer appreciation event.
o San Rafael movie night.
o San Rafael Chamber business showcase.
o Children for Change Challenge.
o County of Marin Ember Stomp.
o Farm Day.
o Fairfax Take Back Day.
Exhibit 10: Collection Notification Tags
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
• Over 300 customers participated in our annual Customer Appreciation Day. o Held three compost/recycling training classes.
o Gave facility tours with driver presentation.
o Compost give-away.
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
On April 19th, outreach team member Ruben Hernandez participated in an Earth Day radio interview “What you should know about recycling” alongside the Multi-Cultural Center of Marin.
Join our host Brenda Camarena along with special guests Ruben Hernandez and Hugo Mata who will share information and resources in Marin County. Tune in to the live stream of Body Heart Community, a Spanish-language talk show offering health and safety resources, information, and solutions. Every Wednesday at 11 am. On YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdOpLdVlWQWQUVHnYLFCwWA
WEBSITE
There were approximately 91,000 visitors to the www.marinsanitary.com website in 2023. After the homepage, visitor’s number one page viewed continues to be the Support/Pay My Bill page followed by the residential information page.
Where Does It Go Joe? is an online resource and mobile application designed for MSS customers. This tool allows customers to search materials to determine if they are recyclable, compostable or belong in the landfill. This app is available to anyone in the MSS service area. In 2023 the top searched items are listed in Exhibit 9:
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
In addition to the material search tool, the app provides residential customers with the option to get service day information, pay their bill and to set up weekly reminders by email, text or phone call. As of the end of 2023, 13,826 customers receive weekly reminders.
NEWSLETTERS
Newsletters are sent to all MSS residential customers in the spring and fall. Below are the newsletters sent in 2023:
Exhibit 11: Top Items Search, Where Does It Go Joe?
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
TOURS
The company provided 40 tours to community groups on 2023. Within the company’s jurisdiction tours were provided for the following:
• College of Marin and Dominican University environmental studies classes; 30 students. • 45 high school students, 106 middles school students and 414 K-5 th grade students.
• Brandeis School, Caulbridge, Marin Academy, Marin Primary, Marin Waldorf, St. Anselm’s, St.
Patrick’s, St. Raphael’s, Marin School of Environmental Leadership, and San Domenico.
Outside of our jurisdiction, over 300 students toured our facilities including Marin Country Day, Bel Aire, Lycee Francais, Spring Hills, and Town School in San Francisco.
OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO COLLECTION SERVICES
City of
Larkspur
City of San
Rafael
Las Gallinas Valley
Sanitary District
Marin
County
Town of
Fairfax
Town of
Ross
Town of San
Anselmo
Grand
Total
Activity Type:
Email 124 666 22 29 123 8 65 1037
Issue SB 1383 Waiver 8 133 1 1 1 8 152
Letter 3 5 8
Phone Call 122 719 32 30 45 12 61 1021
Revoke SB 1383 Waiver 1 2 1 1 1 6
Site Visit 34 515 12 11 12 3 23 610
Training 3 66 2 1 1 1 74
Verify Food Recovery Contract 1 1
Verify SB 1383 Waiver 10 110 1 1 7 129
Voicemail 32 228 13 12 14 1 20 320
Grand Total 337 2445 84 85 198 24 185 3358
Number of Activities by Jurisdiction
Exhibit 12: Outreach Activities
RECYCLING AND ORGANICS PARTICIPATION
Recycling and Organics Program Participation “Set Outs”
RESIDENTIAL
All residential customers are offered three services as part of the bundled rate. These include a gray (landfill or garbage) cart, a dual sort split body recycling cart and a green organics cart. The bundled rate is based on the size of the landfill cart. Exhibits 13, 14 and 15 detail the total number of carts by material and size subscribed to by current MSS residential customers.
Residential Weekly Landfill Service (# of Carts)
2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%) 23 Percent of Total (%)
Cart Size:
20 Gallon
6,070
6,167
6,141 0% 20%
32 Gallon
17,857
17,553
17,468 0% 58%
64 Gallon
6,098
6,088
6,025 -1% 20%
96 Gallon
648
636
608 -4% 2%
Total
30,673
30,444
30,242 -1% 100%
Exhibit 13: Residential Landfill Cart Service Subscription
RECYCLING AND ORGANICS PARTICIPATION
Residential Weekly Dual Sort Recycling Service (# of Carts) 2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%) 23 Percent of Total (%)
Cart Size:
5 Gallon
506
460
346 -25% 1%
32 Gallon
23 17
8 -53% 0%
64 Gallon
26,910
26,291
25,390 -3% 84%
96 Gallon
3,467
3,977
4,654 17% 15%
Total
30,906
30,745
30,398 -1% 100%
Residential Weekly Organic Service (# of Carts)
2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%) 23 Percent of Total (%)
Cart Size:
32 Gallon
2,216
2,298
2,846 24% 9%
64 Gallon
33,678
33,449
29,448 -12% 91%
96 Gallon
31 29
25 -14% 0%
Total
35,925
35,776
32,319 -10% 100%
Scheduled Curbside Clean-up Program and Bulky Item Collection This program offers all residential customers the opportunity to set out additional recycling, yard waste and landfill waste twice per year for the removal of excess materials.
Exhibit 14: Residential Recycling Cart Service Subscription Exhibit 15: Residential Organic Cart Service Subscription
RECYCLING AND ORGANICS PARTICIPATION
Bulky items like mattresses, appliances, and furniture are not collected during curbside clean-ups. These collections must be scheduled separately. Residential customers are allowed two (2) scheduled bulky item collections of up to two (2) items each time at no extra charge.
Annual Dedicated Program Stats (Tons)
2021 2022 2023
Program Type:
Scheduled Clean-Ups 301 229 215
Bulky Items 187 116 138
Illegal Dumping 36 24 25
Total Tons Recycled 267 185 192
Bulky Items Collected (Number of Items) 5,160 4,774 4,327
COMMERCIAL
Commercial businesses are offered recycling services as part of a bundled rate. One of two organics programs is offered to all commercial customers. Food 2 Energy (F2E) for businesses with pre-consumer food waste and commercial organics for all others. Exhibit 17 compares the total volume of material collected from commercial customers over the past three years. In reviewing the data presented in Exhibits 17 it was discovered that some accounts were misrepresented in their service designation. This has been corrected in the revised exhibit. Numbers are presented showing the old methodology to show the change from the previous year along with a revised reporting for 2023 which will be used going forward.
Exhibit 16: Curbside Collection and Bulky Item Participation
RECYCLING AND ORGANICS PARTICIPATION
Commercial Weekly Service (yd3)
2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%)
Service Type:
Landfill 8,188 8,045
8,121 1%
Recycling 5,354 5,368
5,485 2%
Organic 805 892
927 4%
Total 14,347 14,305
14,095 -1%
*Year-End Snapshot of Service Levels
Commercial Weekly Service (yd3)
2023
Service Type:
Landfill 8,121
Recycling 5,485
Organic** 828
Total 14,434
**Revised service from 927 yd3in 2023 due to re-evaluation of service types.
Exhibit 17 revised: Commercial Weekly Service by Type*
Exhibit 17: Commercial Weekly Service by Type*
RECYCLING AND ORGANICS PARTICIPATION
MULTI-FAMILY DWELLING
Multi-family Dwellings (MFDs) are offered recycling and organics services as part of a bundled rate.
Each property may have up to 4 organics carts at no additional charge. If more carts are needed, they are available for a monthly rental charge. In addition, after attending a workshop, MFD tenants receive kitchen pails for the collection of compostable materials inside their home. Exhibit 18 compares the total volume of material collected from MFD customers over the past three years. As with the commercial accounts, this has been revised in 2023.
Multi-family Weekly Service (yd3)
2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%)
Service Type:
Landfill
3,766
3,851
3,840 0%
Recycling
1,998
2,035
2,125 4%
Organic
481
563
600 7%
Total
6,245
6,449
6,565 2%
*Year-End Snapshot of Service Levels
Multifamily Weekly Service (yd3)
2023
Service Type:
Landfill
3,840
Recycling
2,125
Organic**
607
Total
6,572
*Year-End Snapshot of Service Levels
**Revised service from 600 yd3in 2023 due to re-evaluation of service types.
Exhibit 18: Multi-family Weekly Service by Type*
Exhibit 18 revised: Multi-family Weekly Service by Type*
PUBLIC EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Year-Over-Year Change in Customer Account Data
OVERALL CUSTOMER ACCOUNT DATA
Customer account information is stated below. Customer numbers have remained consistent yearover-year.
New Starts Closures
Total Total
Customer Type: Customer Type:
Residential
1,705 Residential
1,796
Commercial Business
127 Commercial Business
128
Multi-family
Dwellings
9 Multi-family Dwellings
16 Total
1,841
1,940
Residential Commercial Multi-Family Residential Commercial Multi-Family Fairfax 2,519 83 27 2,512 83 27
Larkspur 2,560 180 159 2,565 180 158
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District 3,644 54 8 3,637 55 8 Marin County 4,138 84 34 4,116 86 34
Ross 801 21 - 797 19 -
San Anselmo 4,188 212 87 4,158 207 87
San Rafael 12,407 1,390 441 12,401 1,389 441
2022 2023
Exhibit 19: YOY Customer Account Data
Exhibit 20: New Starts and Account Closures by Customer Type
RECYCLING RATES
Recycling Rates
RECYCLING RATES BY WEIGHT AND BY VOLUME
Exhibit 21 lists the tonnage information for the service area.
Exhibit 22 breaks down the tonnage by jurisdiction. The tons and diversion presented are only estimates. Company routes go through multiple jurisdictions, the tonnage is calculated by jurisdiction based on an allocation tied to the quantity and size of dumpsters by customer. However, some containers are less than full and some are over-filled. In addition, the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or the indoor dump) tons are estimated by location specifically for unincorporated Marin County, San Anselmo, San Rafael, and the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District as it is often not possible for Marin Resource Recovery booth staff to determine which customers in San Anselmo and San Rafael are in unincorporated County or Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District boundaries. MRF or indoor dump diversion is calculated at 74% based on the Q4 2023 diversion calculation reported on our website at https://marinresourcerecoverycenter.com/mobius_cms/wpcontent/uploads/2024/02/Q4-2023-Recycling-Certification.pdf. 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023
Tons Collected:
Curbside Organics (Food & Yard waste)* 23,214 22,574 24,456 1,222 1,287 1,287 24,436 23,861 25,744 Curbside Containers Recycling 5,540 4,980 4,825 2,049 1,785 1,785 7,590 6,765 6,610 Curbside Fiber Recycling 5,627 5,162 5,158 2,081 1,908 1,908 7,709 7,070 7,066 Curbside Cardboard Recycling *N/A *N/A *N/A 6,809 4,117 3,928 6,809 4,117 3,928 Transfer Station 26,452 24,588 24,463 21,751 21,813 21,879 48,203 46,401 46,342 Commercial Food Waste (F2E) *N/A *N/A *N/A 2,247 2,385 2,608 2,247 2,385 2,608 Commercial processed at MRRC *N/A *N/A *N/A 5,562 5,008 4,595 5,562 5,008 4,595 Total Tons Collected 60,834 57,304 58,903 41,721 38,303 37,990 102,555 95,607 96,893 Total Tons Diverted 34,382 32,716 34,440 17,912 15,107 14,842 52,294 47,824 49,282 * Commercial yard waste is co-collected with
residential yard waste. Tonnage is included with
Residential.
Recycling Rate 57% 57% 58% 43% 39% 39% 51% 50% 51%
Weight Based Recycling Rates by Sector (Tons)
Residential Commercial/MF Total
Exhibit 21: 2023 MSS Service Area Disposal and Recycling Rates (Tons)
RECYCLING RATES
Weight Based Sector Rates by Jurisdiction (Tons)
Organic Recycling Landfill Indoor Dump Total Diversion (%) Tons Collected:
Fairfax
1,957
1,501
2,253
1,322
7,034 63%
Larkspur
2,398
2,410
5,546
1,849
12,204 51%
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary
District
2,813
1,545
3,048
33,931
41,337 71%
Marin - Unincorporated
4,350
2,168
4,209
38,846
49,573 71%
Ross
916
441
674
2,342
4,372 71%
San Anselmo
4,208
2,011
3,732
40,827
50,778 72%
San Rafael
11,709
10,855
28,148
130,506
181,218 66%
Totals
28,351
20,931
47,611
249,623
346,516 68%
Exhibit 23 shows the landfill pounds per person per day for the service area. Based on the total tons and population estimates generation remains unchanged. To estimate for the population the company must use unincorporated County population assumptions as MSS does not service the entire unincorporated area.
Exhibit 22: 2023 MSS Service Area Disposal and Recycling Rates by Jurisdiction (Tons)
RECYCLING RATES
2021 2022 2023
Population*
113,722
114,423
115,156
Landfilled (Tons)
50,261
47,783
47,611
Tons disposed per Capita
0.44 0.42
0.41 Pounds per person per day disposal (PPD)
2.42 2.29
2.27 *Estimate based on available Census Data
Exhibit 24 details the commodity pricing for 2023. All commodity pricing is down from last year except for glass. However, 2021 and 2022 were exceptionally high years for many materials, with cardboard at record high levels in 2021. Commodity markets remain highly volatile, therefore price fluctuations are expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
Annual Average Commodity Price ($)
2021 2022 2023 23 vs 22 (%)
Commodity Type:
Cardboard $ 184.09 $ 142.33 $ 137.34 -4%
Newspaper $ 139.90 $ 167.87 $ 106.01 -37%
Office Paper $ 211.72 $ 278.58 $ 239.31 -14%
Mixed Paper $ 94.00 $ 109.23 $ 57.58 -47%
Aluminum Cans $ 1,329.00 $ 1,628.48 $ 1,307.23 -20%
Glass $ 29.55 $ 40.00 $ 41.94 5%
HDPE # 2 Natural (Jugs) $ 1,375.00 $ 937.65 $ 855.03 -9% HDPE # 2 Colors (Jugs) $ 683.00 $ 288.52 $ 235.25 -18%
PET # 1 (Bottles) $ 361.00 $ 383.98 $ 173.48 -55%
Mixed Rigid Plastics (#3-7) $ 60.00 $ - $ - -
Exhibit 23: Landfill Pounds Per Person Per Day
: Landfill Pounds per Person per Day (PPD)
Exhibit 24: Commodity Price Changes 2021-2023 Average Price Per Ton
OTHER INFORMATION
Other Information (Quarterly Report Data)
RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL/MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMER CALLS
In 2023, MSS received 70,832 calls compared to 77,123 in 2022. The following list presents the most common types of calls; start/stop service, cart exchanges, change of service, billing inquiries, or general education questions about collection and program information. The average time to answer has decreased by 3 seconds in 2023 to 10 seconds. The decrease in call volume and answer time is due an improvement in our customer service and driver training.
The total number of complaint calls are detailed in Exhibit 25. Missed collections and broken containers are the primary reasons for complaints. In the majority of cases, the drivers were able to empty the missed containers on the same service day or the next business day. All broken containers were either repaired or replaced. In addition, MSS had 151 documented compliments for staff in 2023. A detailed complaint log is available for review upon request. 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 Jurisdiction:
County of Marin 471 542 469 608 631 599 20 25 17 24 50 34 San Rafael 1,450 1,245 1,539 2,031 2,064 2,039 66 80 71 79 83 44 Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District 325 290 247 534 634 666 9 9 5 14 25 16 Ross 92 129 122 115 113 109 1 6 3 5 4 8
Larkspur 257 308 362 262 350 322 13 23 29 12 26 12
San Anselmo 452 968 806 1,038 1,155 1,104 33 40 34 31 34 21 Fairfax 333 306 297 271 306 351 15 18 14 18 26 16
MSS Service Area Totals 3,380 3,788 3,842 4,859 5,253 5,190 157 201 173 183 248 151 Missed Collections Broken Containers Misc. Service Issues Compliments Exhibit 25: Compliments and Complaints by Type
OTHER INFORMATION
REPORTS OF INJURIES AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY
The company has put a renewed emphasis on safety and is seeing a benefit to these efforts. In 2023, route supervisor, Stu Coley, was promoted to the position of safety manager. Through his efforts, the company will be training dedicated drivers in J.J. Keller’s Safe and Smart Driver Training Program. This increased focus on training will help to ensure our new drivers get the foundations of safe driving and awareness and more tenured drivers continue to improve and perfect their driving skills. In 2023 the number of preventable accidents and damage events dropped by almost 40%. Injuries have also consistently declined since 2021.
2021 2022 2023
Preventable Damage/Accident
50 56
35 Non-preventable Damage/Accident
10 20
7 Work Comp Injuries
24 15
12 HHW FACILITY PARTICIPATION NUMBERS
Usage of the county’s HHW facility is a part of the service offerings available to all county residents.
Below is a list of the total number of participants by jurisdiction at the facility. Unincorporated Marin County includes all of the county, and not just MSS service area.
HHW PARTICIPANTS BY CITY
City:
Fairfax 1,345
Larkspur 1,348
Ross 554
San Anselmo 2,209
San Rafael 9,005
Unincorporated Marin County* 2,194
Total Participants 22,930
*Includes all unincorporated Marin County, not just MSS service area Exhibit 26: Injuries and Accidents in 2023
Exhibit 27: Injuries and Accidents in 2023
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Information
JUSTIN WILCOCK
DIRECTOR OF GENERAL
OPERATIONS
JASON RALEIGH
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PATTY GARBARINO
PRESIDENT
Tel 415-755-9528
[email protected]
Tel 415-456-2601
[email protected]
Tel 415-485-5648
[email protected]