CCCSWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ASHLEY LOUISIANA, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 2013 HOME COMPOSTING FOR BUSY PEOPLE! PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT

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1 Agenda Report TO: FROM: CCCSWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ASHLEY LOUISIANA, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DATE: MAY 29, 2014 SUBJECT: 2013 HOME COMPOSTING FOR BUSY PEOPLE! PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT SUMMARY The Home Composting for Busy People! Program has served Central Contra Costa County communities with home composting instruction and assistance since The program promotes backyard composting and other yard and food waste reduction and reuse practices. Additionally, the program assists local communities to meet State-mandated AB 939 waste reduction goals and to reduce greenhouse emissions in landfills. The program serves an additional important function; it is a true source-reduction program (activities designed to reduce the volume of waste generated or the reuse of resources). The organic materials stay at the source, not having to be hauled away for processing. Source reduction is considered the highest tier in the waste reduction hierarchy and most preferable approach. For this reason, the program plays an important role in CCCSWA s active program array, and is especially critical during annual reporting to CalRecycle. This report describes how the Home Composting for Busy People! Program performed in 2013 to expand small-scale home composting in the CCCSWA service area. Program Participation in residents participated in 17 Home Composting Workshops 155 Soilsaver Backyard Compost Bins were purchased 1,358 residents registered as a Certified Home Composter RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. This report is for informational purposes only. No action is required. Page 1 of 5

2 DISCUSSION Home Composting for Busy People! is sponsored by the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority. The program consists of five components: 1) Composting Information Hotline, 2) workshops, 3) low-cost compost bins, 4) Home Composter Certification with accompanying garbage rate reduction through Allied Waste Services (AWS), and 5) advertising, outreach and instructional aids such as brochures and handouts. The program operates so that all components work together to provide a balanced menu of instruction, support services and incentives for residents to expand the practice of home composting in the CCCSWA service area, and increase diversion of organic materials from going to local landfills. Composting Information Hotline x306 CCCSWA provides residents with support through the Composting Information Hotline. The information line is available during office hours and is dedicated to the program. Participants at CCCSWA composting workshops are encouraged to use the hotline as a resource when questions arise at home. The hotline is advertised through workshops, community events, the CCCSWA website, Social Media, and other sources of advertising outlets. Workshop Participation In 2013, 296 residents attended 17 Home Composting Workshops. Billi Haug and Linda Mizes are Contra Costa County Certified Master Gardeners and Master Composters, who contract with the CCCSWA to instruct the monthly workshops at no cost to the residents of the CCCSWA. The CCCSWA partnered with the Contra Costa Master Gardeners Our Garden in Walnut Creek to host a workshop with approximately 100 participants. There has been a start-up of several Community Gardens throughout the CCCSWA service area. During 2014, the CCCSWA will partner with the Lafayette Community Garden, The Bounty Garden in Danville and the Rossmoor Community Garden to host workshops. Being on-site at a Community Garden with an active composting system provides a better workshop experience for our residents. As a bonus, these community garden groups provide free promotion of our programs through their websites, e- newsletters and other promotional outlets. A Vermiculture (Worm) & Bin Building Workshop was hosted in Walnut Creek. The workshop received overwhelming interest, with the maximum capacity of 20 households being reached, and there was a waitlist. The CCCSWA partnered with The Worm Farm who generously donated a pound of composting worms to each participating household. CCCSWA provided advertising prior to the workshop, two hours of instruction and all bin materials for $15.00 per household. All participants received their Certification as a Home Composter for their monthly bill discount. Staff budgets for two specialty workshops per year. Master Composter Program: Staff is currently discussing the opportunity to partner with the Contra Costa Master Gardener Program to develop a County-wide Master Composter Program, Page 2 of 5

3 starting in the spring of Staff will present the program outline at the May 2014 AB 939 Managers Meeting to invite feedback and offer partnership opportunities to other local Cities and Waste Management Agencies. Subsidized Compost Bin Sales Program To encourage residents to compost, the CCCSWA provides the option to purchase a compost bin at a discount of approximately 28%. The CCCSWA purchases the Soilsaver Backyard Compost Bin in bulk, with direct shipping to CCCSWA residents, for a total cost to the Authority of $86.00 per bin. The CCCSWA subsidizes a portion of the total cost, selling the Soilsaver to residents for $62.00 (includes tax and shipping). The average price of a Soilsaver Compost Bin through an online retailer ranges from $90.00-$ Staff will be discussing the option to increase the cost of the Soilsaver in The CCCSWA sold 155 Soilsaver Compost Bins in Staff has seen a decrease in compost bin sales over the past two years. One assumption based on comments from residents when attending community events and interfacing with the public, is that curbside compost service has become the normal at-home process. There are also other styles of compost bins that have become popular, for example, a tumbler or rotating style compost bin, which are more expensive, and can t be subsidized through the current program budget. Vermiculture has also become a popular composting method, as seen through the success of the Vermicomposting workshops. Through promotion and workshops, Staff makes efforts to find opportunities to promote the sale of the Soilsaver, the invaluable practice of home composting and the phenomenal, nutrient-rich soil amendment residents can make right at home. Home Composter Certification The Home Composter Certification is available to any resident receiving their individual quarterly bill from Allied Waste Services (AWS). Some multi-family residents are not eligible at this time due to their HOA or Management receiving billing. The program certifies residents who actively compost, rewarding them with a $1.50 per month credit on their AWS bill, coming to a total of $4.50 each quarter. There were 1,358 Certified Home Composters in Promotion Home Composting for Busy People! relies on a number of different methods to promote resources. Free and low-cost advertising is used within each community to help control costs. Free advertising includes workshop announcements in newsletters, including CCCSWA's Diversions, Walnut Creek's Nutshell, Lafayette's Vista and the Contra Costa Times. Display ads and articles are also placed in newspapers, including the Contra Costa Sun, Walnut Creek Journal, Contra Costa Times, Lamorinda Weekly and the Orinda News. In addition to these publications, all program information is on the CCCSWA website, including, annual workshop schedule and registration, compost bin information and purchasing, Vermiculture (worms), how-to instructions and the Home Composter Certification. Website visitors can also view the Home Composting It s Second Nature video and Frequently Asked Questions. Promotional Page 3 of 5

4 brochures and handouts are available at all community events the CCCSWA attends and at the monthly composting workshops. Since 2013, Staff has managed a CCCSWA Facebook page ( Todate, the page has 241 friends who are following updates and information. Social Media is an outreach approach that Staff has been testing as a means to connect and establish a dialogue with residents and businesses. Home Composting is a major theme on the page. Staff is able to post workshop dates, compost bin information, photos, videos, etc., on a routine basis. Facebook allows the CCCSWA friends to share our information, providing more reach, and real time responses. Estimate of Home Composting Diversion An estimate of organic materials diverted by home composting can be developed by multiplying the 1,358 Certified Home Composters in 2013 by an estimated weight of diversion by home composting per household. The estimated diversion weight is based on several assumptions made by Staff. An initial assumption is to conservatively estimate that approximately 60% of materials placed in the 64-gallon green waste cart are compostable. Staff estimates that up to 40% of the organic material, backyard green waste specifically, may consist of woody waste materials that cannot be easily composted without use of a grinder, which most residents do not have. Given this assumption, 60% of the organic material placed in the 64-gallon green waste cart can be composted, which equates to a volume of approximately 38 gallons. Converting this to pounds, a weight to volume conversion factor provided by Waste Management of 1.57 lbs/gallon is used to provide an average weekly reduction of approximately 60 pounds per composting household. A second assumption, also conservative, presumes that residents actively compost 6 months, or 26 weeks, during the year. This assumption is based on anecdotal information received from residents indicating that they do not compost year round due to weather, gardening season, vacation, and other reasons. Based on active composting for six months, a potential diversion of approximately 1,567 pounds per resident is possible. By applying this estimate to the 1,358 Certified Home Composters in 2013, approximately 1,064 tons (2,000 pounds per ton) of organic material was potentially diverted. Although this is only an estimate, it demonstrates the effect that home composting can have in reducing waste. Table 1 - Estimate of Potential Diversion by Certified Home Composters Year Certified Composters Diverted Weight (Tons) , , , , , , ,185 TOTAL 8,970 TONS Page 4 of 5

5 Program Budget Home Composting for Busy People! operated on a $42,790 budget for Fiscal Year Costs include consultant services, monthly workshops, school instruction, compost bins, State taxes on the sale of compost bins, advertising and instructional aids. As a demonstration of the cost effectiveness of the Home Composting for Busy People! Program, dividing the program budget ($42,790) by the total estimated diverted tonnage by Certified Composters (1,064), results in a per ton cost of approximately $ This per ton cost is much lower than landfill disposal costs of $55.00 per ton, and the per ton costs of other CCCSWA recycling programs. Page 5 of 5