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CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. O-1314-5 UPON SECOND AND FINAL READING: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SECTIONS 21-111 AND 21-201 OF CHAPTER 21 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF NORMAN TO AMEND THE FREQUENCY OF RECYCLING COLLECTION, THE TYPE OF RECYCLING CONTAINERS UTILIZED, AND THE MATERIALS TO BE RECYCLED; AND PROVIDING FOR THE SEVERABILITY THEREOF.
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BACKGROUND: The City began offering curbside recycling service after Norman voters approved an additional mandatory $3 rate for the new service in 2007. The initial contract (K-0708-101; approved October 23, 2007) for the service was with Waste Management of Oklahoma and included weekly pickup of an eighteen (18) gallon bin of recyclables from single-family dwellings in urban Norman only. Recyclables under the contract with Waste Management include newsprint, magazines, office and mixed paper, phonebooks, soda bottles, aluminum, steel and tin cans, glass bottles, and #1-7 plastics. Cardboard products, including corrugated cardboard, chipboard, and boxboard are not acceptable recyclables under the 2007 contract with Waste Management. Under the 2007 contract, recyclables were to be separated into two streams by the Contractor as the recyclables were collected at the curb (“dual-stream”).
After the citizen's voted to approve the monthly rate for this service, Council approved several ordinance amendments that set forth how the service would be implemented. The original contract for curbside recycling has expired and the City approved a new contract with Allied Waste Services in March 2013. Service under the new contract will begin August 5, 2013.
The new contract calls for the use of a 95-gallon polycart. Materials that can be recycled under this Contract include the items our customers are able to recycle at the curbside now (aluminum, steel and tin cans, newspaper and newspaper inserts, magazines, catalogs, all junk mail and envelopes, office and school paper, phone books, glass bottles and jars, plastic milk jugs, and plastics labeled No. 1 through No. 7) as well as cardboard, cereal and cracker type boxes, paper milk cartons and plastic bags. Because of the container size, the recyclables will be collected every other week on the same day as regular trash service. Recyclables will no longer be sorted because of a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) available in the area for single-stream recycling. Ordinance No. O-1314-5 updates the relevant provisions of the City Code to be consistent with the contract with Allied Waste.
DISCUSSION: Ordinance No. O-1314-5 updates all references in Section 21-111 and 21-201 of the City Code to refer to a 95-gallon container for recycling instead of an 18-gallon container. Additionally, it clarifies that recycling collection will occur every other week instead of weekly. Finally, it updates the service provisions regarding what materials can be recycled in the provided container.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Ordinance No. O-1314-5 upon Second Reading.