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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/19/1997, C-3 - CURBSIDE OIL COLLECTION PROGRAM council Aumgust 19, 1997 j acEnaa Repoizt 61 CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO I FROM: John Moss,Utilities Director � Prepared By: Ron Munds,Utilities Conse anon Coordinator �/L SUBJECT: Curbside Oil Collection Program CAO RECOMMENDATION Direct San Luis Garbage Company to implement a curbside oil collection program with the financial assistance from the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority. DISCUSSION Background California law requires cities and counties to develop a Household Hazardous Waste Element (HHWE) under AB 2707, a companion bill to the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939). The purpose of the element is to provide a plan for the City to safely reduce, recycle, collect and dispose of household hazardous waste generated by residents. The City's adopted HHWE identifies curbside collection of used motor oil as a program that should be considered for implementation. In the past, the City has focused on drop-off facility locations such as auto parts stores and service stations for the appropriate disposal of used oil. Increasingly, these facilities are limiting the amount of oil they will accept or discontinuing the service because of the inconvenience disposing of the used oil. In June of this year, San Luis Garbage Company and the IWMA approached staff with a proposal to implement a curbside used oil collection program. The IWMA has agreed to fund all the start-up costs of the program utilizing grant funding from the Department of Conservation. These cost include: I. Retrofitting of recycling trucks for used oil and filter collection. 2. A 500 gallon oil storage tank with drainage rack at the SLOCO Recycles facility. 3. Oil filter bags. 4. Advertising and education money to promote the program. 5. Oil storage containers for customer use. Additionally, the IWMA will assist San Luis Garbage in obtaining the necessary certification to handle used motor oil. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 gallons of oil will be collected in the City per year. Based on this level of participation, there will be no additional on-going costs associated with oil collection since the recycling crews will collect the oil at the same time they collect other recyclables. Other Curbside Oil Programs , Many communities around the state have implemented curbside used oil collection programs since the passage of AB 2707 in 1989. Locally,the cities of Morro Bay,Pismo Beach,Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria and several unincoporated areas of the county have had curbside oil collection for up Council Agenda Report-Curbside Oil Collection Page 2 to three years. In these communities,program participants place the used motor oil in gallon plastic milk jugs adjacent to their recycle bin for collection. During this period there have been no reported spills or other problems associated with this method of collection. On a larger scale,the County of Sacramento collected 115,000 gallons of oil last year without a single incident. City of San Luis Obispo's Program Collection Containers The most important difference between the City's program and other local programs is the container to be used for collection. The IWMA has agreed to purchase and provide containers to program participant. Participants will drain the oil from their vehicle directly into the container which has a secured cap. The full container will then be placed at the curb. Upon collection,the recycling crew will leave an empty container for future use by the participant. By providing containers,staff believes the probability of a spill will be minimized while providing a convenient oil changing and recycling system to our customers. Liability San Luis Garbage Company will provide liability insurance in the event there is an accident involving a used oil collection truck and will assume all liability for the program. Additionally, liability insurance will be obtained for the oil tank storage facility in the event of a spill or other accident. In the event of a minor spill, each collection vehicle will carry a spill clean-up kit. Public Information The IWMA will fund the initial public outreach program to promote and explain the program. San Luis Garbage Company and the City will be responsible for ongoing public information regarding the oil collection program. There should be no additional cost since the oil recycling information will be included with the other recycling education materials currently be distributed. As with other recycling programs, continuing education and information is the key to the success of curbside oil collection. Implementation Timeline Upon approval of the program, the start date for collection will be January 1, 1998. This will allow time for developing and mailing the an information brochure, retrofit the recycling collection trucks, order and distribute the oil containers, purchase the oil storage tank and obtain the necessary certification from the state. FISCAL IMPACT As previously stated,the IWMA will provide grant funding made available from the Department of Conservation to cover all start-up costs of the program. In addition, the IWMA will provide ongoing funding for the future purchase of the oil collection containers. The estimated start-up costs of the program is approximately $20,000. As previously stated, there will be no additional on-going cost requiring an increase in the integrated solid waste rate.