2005 Recycling Pilot Program Report

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Pilot Study Methodolo�_y Ramsey County is providing tech�nical assistance to municipalities on recycling issues through a contract wiih the consulting firm of R.W. Beck, with Dan Krivit and Associates as subcontractor. The City and County agreed that the County would authorize Beck/Krivit to consult with Roseville on design, implementation and analysis of the pilat program methodology. The campanents that were tesied were: ■ Control, using the cunrent system: Bi-weekly collectian, one 18-gallon bin, dual-stream system; ■ Educanon: Bi-weekly collection, one 18-gallon bin, dual-stream system, increased educatian; ■ Two bins: Bi-weekly collection, #wo 22-gallon bins with wheels, dual-st,ream system; ■ Weekly: Weekly collection, one 18-gallon bin, dual-stream system; and ■ Single-streain: Bi-weekly collection, one 64-gallon wheeled cart, single-stream system tested in two different neighborhaods. Selec�ion of Pilot Areas Roseville identified pilot areas of 330-370 single-family homes for each component to be tested plus a confrol route in which there were no changes. The sample size was based on Waste Maazagement's calculation of approximately how many homes could be serviced in one load by a two-stream truck at the 2003 levels of participation. Each area was roughly similar in demographics with one exception. A second single-stream area, called the Contrast area, was selected that featured newer homes and more affluen# residents. The area chosen for the control route had slightly higher income Ievel thau all the other test areas except for the Contrast area. While the pilot areas did not match the demographics of the city exactly, they were approximately equivalent to each other. The Contrast area is more similar to some neighbor�ing suburbs. The pilot areas were selected after a review of census da#a collected prixnarily through a contract with John Carpenter of ExCensus. A demographic comparison of the areas is available as Appendix B. The areas were spread throughout Roseville. 4ne collectxon axea was picked in each of ihe City's five collection zones. For efficiency the second single-stream area was selected from ihe same zone as the original single-stream test area. Areas included whole blocks and, for ihe most part, were contiguous. Time Period For each pilot azea, residents' behavior was monitored in a fwo-month "Before" period (June — July 20Q4) followed by a four-month "During" period (August — November 2004). Data fro�nn certain weeks were excluded from the data analysis to avoid bias (the week of July 4 during the "Before" period; the first two weeks of the "During" period, because information had just been seni aut fo residents of ihe non-Canfirol pilot areas, and previaus studies have shown there is an initial surge of participation that results from direct contact; and, similarly, the last week of the "During" period, because residen#s had been sent a satisfaction survey). Participation and Set Out Rates City staff drove behind the Waste Management collection truck to zecord the number of stops and the address of the homes with material set out for collec�ioza. This data was en#ered into an Excel spreadsheet to 13