Stopwaste in 2014

I serve as Emeryville's representative on the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, also known as Stopwaste. I greatly appreciate all that this government organization has done to make Alameda County a national leader in terms of how much of our waste goes back into the economy through recycling and compost (food scraps and plant debris). We (Stopwaste) are also responsible for banning single use plastic bags at most retail stores county-wide. We also have required commercial businesses and multi-family residences to offer recycling.

But we still find that people need an additional nudge or more education to further reduce the amount of "good stuff" that is going to landfill. You may have received a mailer recently that gives a snapshot of how well our community of Emeryville is doing on this, in comparison with other cities in the county. This mailer is paid for by a "benchmark" fee, that also pays for additional data collection, so we can measure how well we are doing. the fee is $1.51/year for most accounts, more for larger trash generators. Questions you may have can be answered here, or you can email me directly at emeryvillewest@gmail.com.

Another challenge that we face in Alameda County is how to fund disposal of Household Hazardous Waste -- materials that cannot safely be put in a landfill. Over the years, our money to fund this has gone down (as it is based on fees on landfilled materials, which have been decreasing -- yeah!), so Stopwaste is finding new money to support HHW disposal, while also making it easier for households to take HHW to the facilities (making the hours more frequent and more regular). Ideally, someday, we will be able to phase out more of these toxic substances from our store shelves, or charge the person buying it at point of sale to cover these costs, but for now, we are proposing a fee on all properties in the county to support these services. You may have received a letter recently informing you about this fee and how you may protest it, if you choose. It will be $9.55/year for all properties, added to property tax bills. It will only be in place for 10 years, and will be reduced if the cost of services is reduced or other funding sources are more than projected. Go here to see answers to frequently asked questions.

I have asked for an information item on the March 4 council agenda to be sure we have a chance to discuss these fees at council. You may also contact me directly to get more information on these programs.