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Recycling Pilot Program Summary <br />■ the last week of the "During" period, because residents had been sent a <br />satisfaction survey. <br />Participation and Set -Out Rates <br />To record participation and set out rates of residents, City staff conducted route audits <br />to observe customer behavior by identifying households that had curbside recycling <br />bins or carts set out for collection. Staff also confirmed housing counts with property <br />tax and utility billing records. <br />Weights and Composition Sorts <br />Three weeks of collection data were compiled for the "Before" period. Five weeks of <br />data were compiled for the "During" period, except for the Weekly area, in which nine <br />weeks of data were compiled. Each collection vehicle was driven to Waste <br />Management's MRF in Minneapolis and weighed to determine the quantities of <br />materials collected by route. <br />For one week of the "Before" and two weeks of the "During" period, the City <br />conducted composition sorts of representative samples of each load, using a <br />methodology developed by the Project Team for the pilot study that is consistent with <br />industry standards. <br />Results of Pilot Program <br />This section describes the results of the study including: <br />• materials composition; <br />• quantities collected; <br />• set -out and participation rates; <br />• contamination; and <br />• customer attitudes. <br />Material Composition Assessment <br />To compare the types and quantities of recyclable and non - targeted materials collected <br />in each of the various pilot study areas, the pilot program included detailed material <br />composition sorts and analysis. As shown in Appendix B, the Project Team (under <br />direction from the County), developed the composition analysis categories, the <br />materials composition protocol, data sheets, a health and safety plan, and provided the <br />statistical analysis. The random sampling protocol incorporated American Society of <br />Testing and Material (ASTM) standards to ensure the samples selected for <br />composition sorts were representative of the entire load. <br />For each pilot route (including the Control route), one field sort was conducted in the <br />two -month "Before" period (June -July 2004) and two field sorts were conducted in the <br />four -month "During" period (August- November 2004). Using the Project Team <br />protocol, City staff coordinated the field sorts, which were conducted at the City's <br />B1605 DRAFT 7 <br />