Introducing a New Residential Waste & Recycling Programfor the City of New Castle

Decades of Service

Underfunded Aging Equipment - Safety Issues

Lack of Will to Charge Appropriate Fees

Reluctance to Enforce Participation

Led to Transition to Voluntary Pay by the Bag Program

History of New Castle Collection Program

Consequences of Voluntary Pay by the Bag Policy

Poor Participation• 40-50% of occupied units do not

use/pay for waste & recycling services.

Accumulation of Waste• Most frequent code violation

issued.

Public Health & Safety• Stored waste attracts vermin &

breeds disease

“Theft of Service”• A costly issue for New

Castle business owners.

Blight• Illegal dumping & stored

waste reduces property values

Equipment Repair/Replacement• Current per bag revenue is

insufficient to cover expenditures

Loss of Services• Illegal disposal and

contamination closed county recycling bins

Misconceptions Promoted by Pay by the Bag Programs

THE COST OF THE BAG IS ONLY FOR

DISPOSAL

RECYCLING IS FREE

How is a Your Bill Calculated? What has the Greatest Influence on Price?

Basic Collection Costs• Time • Labor • Fuel • Maintenance • Capacity • Distance• Special Handling• Equipment• Insurance• Bonds

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Other Issues that Influence Price

Disposal/Recycling

Risk of Non-Payment Local Government Enforcement

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TOTAL COLLECTION COSTS Remain the Same or

“FIXED” Every Month Regardless of How Many Homes Put a Bag at the Curb Each Week

The COST PER HOME

CHANGES Based on How Many Are Billed

Guaranteeing the Greatest Number of Homes to Participate

Lowers the Shared Cost of Collection Per Home

Fixed Costs are Difficult to Recoup in a Bag

Program with no Base Fee because the

Number of Participating Homes is Uncertain

Disposal Needs Vary Per Home

In addition to the base collection fee, each home pays something more for the number of bags or items they may dispose.

No additional charge for Recycling

Why is a Base Collection Fee Fairer than a Pay by the Bag Program?

Collection is a universal community service that promotes public health & safety

like fire and police protection.

Ensures every residential unit has

equal access to collection services.

Strengthens enforcement of waste accumulation codes.

Recycling/Yard Waste Collection and

Processing have costs similar to or

greater than disposal.

Lowers the per home cost for the base services to the

majority of households.

Collection is similar to a utility that require

fees just to have access to electric,

gas, telephone lines.

Act 47 Exit Plan

Privatization

Must contract for service Must adopt ordinance mandating participation

City Provided ServicesWould require major price

increase Risk of non-payment too high

Mandatory ParticipationNecessary to reduce blight and improve public health and safety

Necessary to share costs and reduce per home rate

Pay by the Bag Program

Fundamentally failed on multiple levels

Conclusions and Directives

Price Increase Was Inevitable for Certain Homes Regardless of the Type of CollectionTrue Whether City or Private Services

Most affected by changes

Homes not currently purchasing bags/participatingSingle person households

Homes that recycle more than dispose

Homes that use the recycling bin for disposal

Numerous Rate Structures and Service Components were Considered in the Overall Bidding Process

Lowest Bids Received on Other

Scenarios Investigated in Decision Making

Process

. Base Rate for up to two Cans per week Bid Price $30

per monthBase Rate for waste & recycling carts Bid Price $40

per monthBase Rate for unlimited bags, cans, and other items

No interested bidders

Pay by the Bag with no Base Rate Not allowed

by Act 47 Exit Plan

Service Features of the New System• Weekly• Bag of Customer’s Choice with Tag

Attached• 40 Pound Weight Limit per Bag

Waste Collection

• Every Other Week• Same Bins and Current Materials Accepted

Recycling Collection

• Curbside Seasonal Spring and Fall• Drop-Off Spring thru Fall• Curbside Christmas Tree Collection

Leaf Waste Collection

• Weekly Curbside Collection• Items Require Tags

Bulky Items & White Goods

How a Base Collection Fee WorksEverybody Pays the Same Base Collection Rate but Their Disposal Costs DifferUsing New Castle as an Example

Service Level per month

Bid Price per Home per

Month

Assumed Base

Collection Rate

Price per disposal

Price per sticker

5 stickers $16.00 $11.50 $4.50 $0.90

10 stickers $23.50 $11.50 $12.00 $1.20

15 stickers $31.00 $11.50 $19.50 $1.30

Who is required to participate?

All residential properties including single family homes and structures with 4 or less attached units. Some exemptions apply

Residential property owners will be invoiced quarterly and are responsible for payment

Delinquent accounts will incur violations/penalties to the full extent of the law

Commercial businesses are not included and may contract with the hauler of their choice.

Why are we using stickers instead of bags?

Identifies the paying customerInventory is easier to manageCheaper to produce

Can be mailed

How are stickers used?• Use any bag that you have on hand • Sturdy enough to hold waste when lifted• Cannot exceed 40 pounds when filled• Securely tie the bag closed• Attach the sticker on the body of the bag• Every bag must be stickered to be

collected• On collection day bags must be out of cans

Tags for other itemsEach item must have a tag attached to be collected Items collected weekly on same day as trash Two items per week limitTags available from contractorCan be ordered by phone and mail

Important Information

Tags arrive by mail once quarterly fee is paid in full. Extra tags can be ordered.

Delinquent accounts cannot purchase tags.

Accounts must be paid in full each quarter for tagged waste to be collected.

Hauler is not required to collect bags or other items (tagged or not) from homes that have not paid the current quarterly fee

Selecting the right service optionUp to 5 tags per month =15 tags quarterly

10 tags per month =30 tags quarterly

15 tags per month = 45 tags quarterly

Average New Castle Home

6 Bags per monthBased on• current bag sales• current amount of waste disposed

Tags rollover from month to month provided account is current

Factor in family events, holidays, seasonal

cleanups

RecyclingAluminum Bottles &

CansTin/Steel Cans

Newspaper/Magazines

Corrugated Cardboard

Mixed paper Plastic Bottles and Jug,

Must be unbagged

Only in bins provided by City

No glass

No plastic bags or film plasticMay reject bins with unacceptable material

Collected every other week

Leaf Waste CollectionCurbside Collection• Two weeks in the Spring • Six weeks in the Fall • Leaves must be in paper

bags

Drop-off Collection Spring, Summer, Fall