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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/10/1989 SWC MinutesRECYCLING COMMISSION August 10, 1989 Meeting Minutes Present: Ken Westlake, Elizabeth Herbert, Mary Winkler, Steve Polit, Paul Hoefert, Joe Kubik, Dick Bachhuber, George Luteri, Herbert Weeks and Lisa Angell. Absent: Brian Robertson and Glen Andler. Mr. Ron Otto, resident, and a member of the local media were also in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Ken Westlake at 7:30 PM. Following approval of the July 13 meeting, the Commmission completed formal structuring of the newly appointed group with: 1) Establishment of the third (3rd) Thursday of every month as the set meeting day. 2) Election of Steve Polit as Vice Chair 3) Election of George Luteri as Secretary There was a brief discussion as to who would be responsible for the minutes of the meeting, the elected secretary or Public Works staff. The Commission decided to continue having Lisa take minutes, with the understanding that if any conflict in scheduling should arise her position as Administrative Aide in the Public Works Department would take priority. It was the concensus of the Commission that the volume totals provided by BFI did not illustrate the diversion rate from the residential waste stream. Without this data the Village would not be able to assess waste diversion goal. Public Works staff are to contact BFI to obtain statistics, as well as utilize data from survey conducted by Patrick Engineering for the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County. Mr. Weeks explained to the Commission that Mallard Lake landfill did not have scales on sight to weigh the trucks. Herb also enlightened Commission members on the various recycling activities the Public Works Department has, in many instances, practiced for several years. Efforts are made for the following materials to be recycled; logs, concrete, leaves, brush, asphalt and tiles. Mr. Weeks elaborated on the Village's leaf program including information on costs. This year the Village will pay $16,000 to dispose of leaves at the organic farm, however, this figure is still $12,000 less than the tipping fee of $28,000 at a compost site. The next item addressed by the Commission was the draft of a letter to new residents informing them of the recycling program. After suggested revisions are made, Public Works staff will mail the letter to new residents whose names and addresses are provided by water billing personnel. Herb pointed out that new residents receiving Citizens Utilities water would not be listed. He therefore offered to contact Mr. Fricke, Citizens Utilities requesting his assistance in identifying new water customers. Steve mentioned his concern of public agencies in the Village not providing means for employees or residents to recycle, specifically the Mount Prospect Park Districts. It was suggested administrative officials be contacted to discuss the feasibility of at least having recycling bins on site. Steve offered to follow-up by contacting representatives at the Mount Prospect Park District and River Trails. Lengthy discussion citing the pros and cons of recycling interests resulted in prioritization of the Commission's objectives as listed below. 1) Yard waste 2) Procurement 3) Plastics Although all of the concerns and suggestions as to which direction the Village should go had merit, the Commission agreed to focus on those three items. Yard waste With a July 1990 ban on yard waste in the landfills the Commission concurs the Village must not only address but establish a policy on the disposal of yard waste as soon as possible; the Village may need to consider mandatory compliance. Herb suggested contacting NWMC to check status of bill mandating ban on yard waste; Ken stated he would also check with state agency in Springfield. Procurement In addition to the Village increasing its' purchase and use of recycled products the Commission feels private industry must also be "strongly" encouraged into increasing its' use of recycled materials; the first industry to be approached will be the newspaper industry; ie, Paddock Publication. Letter writing will be attempted on two levels; locally by Commission members (Ken will write rough draft) and then as a unified force with other municipalities. Mary is to contact a representative from Arlington Heights to elicit interest. Ken suggested working with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County as they would be the appropriate group to iitiate the type of unification needed. It was mentioned procurement should be developed simultaneously with the other objectives. Plastics There seemed to more debate on the issue of plastics than with the other objectives. This may be due in part by 1) conflicting documentation on plastics and the environment 2) costs of collection and processing 3) availability of local processing centers. Mary stated Arlington Heights collect plastic milk jugs; Mary will contact Arlington Heights for additional information. Additional topics of discussion to be updated at the September meeting were: 1) Availability of Village funds for Commission to atttend educational seminars. Herb stated Public Works did not have any money budgeted for the Commission and suggested they contact the Village Manager; Ken will contact Mr. Dixon. 2) Video for schools and library Steve and Lisa have both talked to Karen Giet and production of the video will begin soon; video should be available in October or November. 3) Steve suggested a network be developed among members to share information sources as well as material. Lisa informed the Commission the Village had located three local businesses willing to accept residential waste oil; Jiffy Lube, oil Pro and Main Street Standard. As there was no additional business the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM. Respectfully submitted, M. Lisa Angell Administrative Aide