HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.22.20 SWAC Minutes DRAFT
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 22, 2020
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
DUE TO COVID-19, NO IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE ALLOWED
(per 5/28/2020 Jefferson County Board of Health Order)
Meeting conducted via GoToMeeting
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/462403413
Public Access: (646) 749-3122; Access Code: 462-403-413#
OPENING BUSINESS
Roll Call and Introductions – Bart Kale Chair
Committee Members Present:
Bart Kale, Chair & Citizen at Large Greg Brotherton, County Commissioner
Lisa Crosby, District #1 Tracy Grisman, District #1
Chad Young, Waste Connections Glenn Gately, County Conservation District
Committee Members Absent
Jenifer Taylor, District #2 Brian Reid, City of Port Townsend
Alysa Russell, Skookum Samantha Janes, District #3 (RESIGNED)
Staff Present
Al Cairns, Solid Waste (SW) Division Manager Jerry Mingo, SW MRW Coordinator
Chris Spall, Public Works Support Staff Laura Tucker, Public Health, SW Education
Guests/Visitors:
David Pater, WA State Dept. of Ecology, and Steve King, City of Port Townsend Public Works Director
Quorum Determination: There is a quorum.
Approval of September 24, 2020 Draft of Minutes: approved with change to the Solid Waste Education updates
section. Change “Added City wide straw ban…” to “Added City-wide single-use straw ban…”
Correspondence received for discussion: None.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Introductions of Members to Solid Waste Manager – Al Cairns asked SWAC members to share why they
serve on the SWAC. SWAC members and others attending the meeting gave their reasons for being involved
in SWAC.
• Bart said work experience and an interest in recycling hard-to-recycle items are his reasons.
• While Commissioners serve on various committees, Greg asked to serve on the SWAC because of his
interest in creative and scalable waste alternatives.
• Chad serves as an industry representative. He is very interested in other SWAC members’ views on
industry related topics.
• Glenn was asked to serve to represent the agricultural community.
• Lisa is interested in various stakeholders’ perspectives, and she wants to reduce waste and recycle.
• Laura attends SWAC meetings as a staff Solid Waste educator. She’s thrilled to have the opportunity
to learn the different perspectives and goals of the SWAC.
• Steve King said solid waste handling is important to health of a community.
• Tracy interested in taking care of the environment and creative solutions for dealing with waste.
• David Pater appreciates getting up-to-date on issues the SWAC is dealing with.
Al said the SWAC’s input is a valuable service of the community, and he is excited to work with the
SWAC.
2. Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan (CROP) Discussion – Al Cairns
• This unfunded mandate is an opportunity to dig deep into our recycling program and look at the
types of materials in our recycling stream and how they pertain to available markets. Our
acceptable materials list reflects our community’s values.
• The template in the CROP is a good spring board for what needs to be done. Plan to have staff
develop a draft for January’s SWAC meeting. Modify draft based on SWAC feedback and bring
final CROP for adoption at the next meeting.
• Jefferson County is ahead of the curve on the analysis on what is in the recycling stream. Focus of
LSWFA grant was contamination and that fits what needs to be done for the CROP.
Questions and discussion:
David Pater is hoping funding for implementation and actions may be available from other State
Ecology funding. Al will send the CROP to SWAC members so they have time to become familiar
with the documents before the January 28 SWAC meeting. Lisa was not happy that the Recyclable
Materials Policy Statement from 2010 was taken out of the Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP.)
3. Proposed 2021 SWAC Schedule – Al Cairns asked if the proposed dates and frequency of the meetings work
for everyone’s schedule. After discussion it was decided the 2021 regular meeting dates should be: January
28, March 25, May 27, July 22, September 23, and December 2. Bart moved to approve the new schedule,
Greg seconded the motion, and all agreed to approve it.
4. Solid Waste Education School Food Waste Reduction – Laura Tucker presented slides on the
School Waste Reduction, a task in the Local Solid Waste Financial Assistance (LSWFA) grant. Food waste
audits were done at Salish Coast Elementary and Blue Heron Middle School. Students separated the waste
into categories, recorded resulting weights and volumes, and based on their observations came up with what
they wanted to see happen. SWAC members were very impressed by the work the students did.
5. Partner Updates
• Waste Connections – Chad Young
Normal year-to-year volume increases: Yard waste from 663 tons to 828 tons (April – Sept.) yard
waste. Curbside recycling up 9%. MSW down due to commercial volume being down.
• City Solid Waste/Recycling/Composting Steve King was able to ride along in DM Disposal garbage
truck in the City of Port Townsend. DM does 5000 setups a month for garbage and recycling.
• MRW – Jerry Mingo October busy with a lot of HHW coming in.
Committee and Public Open Discussion
• Basel Convention is focused on stopping the export of hazardous electronic waste. Plastic now considered
a hazardous waste. The U. S is not part of the Basel Convention.
• Is illegal dumping getting better or worse? The CROP brings up the pitfalls of having unstaffed facilities.
We are one of the last counties to offer unstaffed facilities. Hadlock site has potential health risks to
people managing that waste stream. What happened to plans for dusk to dawn gate closure and camera
service at Hadlock site? Nothing was brought before the BOCC. Brinnon recycling location in
Dosewallips State Park will close July 2021. Looking for viable alternative locations. Community center
has no turn around. School does not have good traffic flow. Possible public/private partnership hosting at
Hjelvik property?
ADJOURNMENT
Bart adjourned the meeting at 4:29pm.
Next Meeting Date: January 28, 2021.
2021 Regular Meeting Dates
January 28 July 22
March 25 September 23
May 27 December 2