HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.25.2021 SWAC Minutes JEFFERSON COUNTY
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, March 25, 2021
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
Public Access: (646) 749-3122; Access Code: 628-125-293#
OPENING BUSINESS
Roll Call and Introductions – Bart Kale, Chair
Committee Members Present:
Bart Kale, Chair & Citizen at Large Heidi Eisenhour, County Commissioner
Lisa Crosby, District #1 Tracy Grisman, District #1
Jenifer Taylor, District #2 Tim Deverin, District #3
Glenn Gately, Conservation District Steve King, City of Port Townsend
Stacy Hall, Alternate for Skookum
Committee Members Absent
Chad Young, Waste Connections
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:
Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network; Peter Guttchen, WA State Dept. of Ecology; David Pater, WA State Dept. of
Ecology, Rick Hlavka, Green Solutions; Margo Gillaspy, Skagit County; Diana Wadley, WA State Dept. of
Ecology; Julie Robertson, WA State Dept. of Ecology; Alli Kingfisher, WA State Dept. of Ecology; Shannon
Jones, WA State Dept. of Ecology; Mike Young; Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission; Ruby
Irving, Klickitat County; Troy Lautenbach; Gary Ketcheson
Quorum Determination: There is a quorum.
Approval/Correction of Draft of Minutes for 1/28/2021 Regular Meeting: Tracy moved, Heidi seconded, and
motion carried to approve minutes as written.
Approval/Correction of Draft of Minutes for 2/25/2021 Special Meeting: Lisa moved, Glen seconded, and
motion carried to approve minutes with corrections.
On last page, first paragraph, change “Port of Port Townsend has been given a grant…” to “Port of Port
Townsend may be given a grant…” After this sentence add “Lisa expressed concern for this development since
emissions from such a process are of concern.” Under New Business, 2. Review Public Works Recommendation,
remove “...and issuing and RFP.” Further down under Call for Vote, remove “..issuing an RFP for services with
and without plastics.”
Correspondence received for discussion: None.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Guest Speaker: Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network
Jim presented slides and spoke about the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Amendments and Impacts on
the U.S. Key points from the presentation were:
• Basel Convention is the only international treaty on waste.
• Basel Action Network (BAN) has been a watchdog of the Basel Convention since 1997
• Soft laws call for national self-sufficiency in waste management, minimizing generation and
movement of hazardous and other waste across borders, and environmentally sound management
of what is produced.
• Hard laws define wastes subject to controls (hazardous and other wastes) and requires controls on
trade in those wastes: notification and consent, and prohibitions/bans. No trade allowed between
parties and non-parties without a special agreement similar to Basel.
• 187 Country members (parties.) U.S. is largest of just eight UN countries that are not members.
• Post-consumer waste is current problem. E-waste going to Africa and Asia. Old ships going to
South Asia and plastic waste now going to Southeast Asia, after China’s 2018 ban on plastic
waste imports created chaos in the global plastic waste trade.
• New Plastic Waste Amendments intended to control difficult to recycle plastics so right thing is
done with them. Default control is prior informed consent (PIC) – notification by exporting party
and consent of importing party. But sometimes Bans are involved.
• For example, newly controlled (mixed and dirty) plastic waste exports from EU to developing
countries will be illegal. And, exports of mixed and dirty plastic waste from U.S. to Basel parties
are illegal.
• Since new rules began on January 1, 2021, U.S. plastic waste export is not decreasing. Normal
U.S. contamination levels are higher than Basel requires and many bales are mixed polymer.
Much of what is currently being exported from our hauled residential and commercial waste is
illegal.
• What can we do about this? US Constitution’s Commerce Clause forbids banning trade at local or
state level. We might adopt policy to not allow exports that violate laws of importing countries.
Demand transparency on where waste goes. Use GPS tracker and spot audit. No recycling
diversion credits. Strict penalties for violators.
Questions and discussion:
Is it too late for the U.S. to adopt Basel agreement? Definitely some big hurdles to overcome in Congress
to do so. What about stop collecting plastic for recycling all together? Depends on what you do with it.
Burning it causes climate damage. However, much of recycling is fraudulent (John Oliver’s piece nailed
it.) Is landfilling the best thing to do with it? If you do, then segment it for possible future mining of that
waste stream. Is fuel from crushed up fiberglass better than fossil fuel?. How do you contain and dispose
of the toxicity from burning it? Every plastic has additives, it’s a mix of many chemicals. Can we use
RFPs to insist on full transparency by our haulers?
2. Guest Speaker: Peter Guttchen, Solid Waste Planning Manager and Finance Assistance Manager,
Department of Ecology
Peter presented slides and spoke about Washington State’s Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan
(CROP.) Key points from the presentation were:
• 2019 Sustainable Recycling Act (HB1543) -Root of the CROP. Develop regional secondary
markets to stop sending waste overseas. Clean up the stream to get consistently clean secondary
material feedstocks for new products.
• Law requires a statewide CROP and 27 counties must include a CROP in their local Solid Waste
Management Plan by 7/1/2021.
• Addresses traditional recyclables from residences, businesses, and community collection.
Focused on inbound contamination – material sent to Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) for
processing.
• Principles and Assumptions: Prevention first; recycling a means to an end; contamination flows
downstream; recycling is not free, and costs shouldn’t be hidden; collection and processing are
not recycling, regional planning and coordination are key
• Root causes of contamination: Complacency, Complexity of packaging and design,
Commingling, and Consumer confusion.
• Cleanup the stream: Harmonize policies and messaging; Regionalize collection and processing;
and Forge new and different partnerships.
• Four primary haulers in Washington and only eight MRFs.
• About half of those required to submit a crop have submitted a draft. Copies of the drafts are
available for other counties to view. Not officially approved or accepted but good to view.
Questions and discussion:
Is there a role for Ecology to obtain final destinations for recyclable materials to ensure proper recycling
is happening? State law does not allow Ecology to require that information be shared. Once recycling is
baled up it’s no longer solid waste. Municipalities could partner with each other (develop contracting-
sheds) and require that level of transparency from service providers. Knowing where the material is
going is key to making responsible decisions. Examples of where collaborations of localities has worked
with MRFs? Not aware of any in WA but yes for East Coast and Midwest. Wonderful to see counties
work together for an aligned system once it leaves the curb.
3. Solid Waste Education Laura Tucker, Public Health
Laura talked about contamination reduction audits done as part of her Local Solid Waste Financial
Assistance (LSWFA) grant from the Dept. of Ecology. Two neighborhoods were surveyed: Highland
Heights off Howard Street (47 homes) and one along Sheridan Street (50 homes.) Working in two teams
of two people each, one person dug through the bins to identify contamination and the other wrote on the
data sheet and created OOPS tags for customer feedback. Clamshells, tubs, etc. were the largest amount
of contamination. Lids on plastic bottles a hazard to those processing the bales at Skookum. Glass was
pretty clean except for metal lids on bottles (address this with different messaging.) Paper looked good.
The surprising outcome was that 1/2 to 2/3 of houses had perfect recycling! One reason could be that
neighbors may be checking each other’s recycling bins, and peer pressure works. The Howard Street
neighborhood had citizens that posted the recycling flyer in their message centers. Bins that were perfect
got a Recycling Rock Star note. Those that needed Oops tags had a note on why it was wrong with the
rationale written on the back.
4. Partner Updates (updates since October of 2020)
a. Skookum Recycling – Stacy Hall Nothing much to report; still getting rid of everything.
b. City solid waste/recycling/composting – Steve King not much. Sat down with Al and talked about
plastics and will follow up with Waste Connections. Enjoyed Laura’s presentation.
4:15 Committee and Public Open Discussion
Al said next step is to run an RFP with requirement for transparency. Certification that Basel convention standards
met. If we can’t get that transparency then we need to decide if we take plastics out of our recycle stream.
ADJOURNMENT
Bart adjourned the meeting at 4:31 pm.
Next Meeting Date: May 27, 2021.
2021 Regular Meeting Dates
January 28 July 22
March 25 September 23
May 27 December 2