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Norm Schiferl December 8, 2005 Page 2 It is our understanding that the City received recycling proposals with multiple scenarios for collection methods (single- stream and dual- stream). Although the Project Team has not analyzed the details of the proposals, it is evident the City should benefit from the competitive marketplace to offer recycling services. Ramsey County municipalities should be in good position to continue to leverage this competitive environment to their advantage in order to improve cost - effectiveness of their recycling programs well into the future. Pilot Design, Recyclable Materials Composition and Residuals Analyses The Roseville pilot project demonstrated how a recyclable materials composition study can be used to evaluate the impacts on the quantities and types of materials collected when changing recyclable materials collection methods. In addition to the detailed statistical results, the following research objectives were achieved through the Roseville pilot project: 1. Formulated improvements in various pilot research planning and field design strategies (e.g., planning timeframes, number and priority of research variables, labor requirements, costs, etc.). 2. Developed recommendations for a set of definitions /nomenclature that will help further the discussion about the various sources of contamination. 3. Developed and recommended a set of standard methods for recyclable materials composition sorting and analysis. 4. Trained select County staff and local municipal recycling coordinators on composition sorting methods. (These recommended methods were used by the City of Plymouth in their own pilot program.) 5. Received and reviewed previous research by Waste Management, Inc. on processing residuals from their materials recovery facility (MRF) in Minneapolis, (Summary - Single- Sort Constituent Test, October 18, 2003). 6. Reviewed other relevant research on processing residuals and compiled a bibliography. 7. Participated in substantive, detailed discussions with City staff and Waste Management staff about procedures to reduce the amount of non - targeted materials set out at the curb by residents. Subsequent to the Roseville pilot study, an issue arose related to mixed broken glass. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency wrote a letter to Waste Management on September 2, 2005 in response to correspondence about Waste Management's handling of mixed broken glass from the City of Roseville's recycling program. The letter stated that although the MPCA has accepted specific materials for use as alternative daily landfill cover, it is not considered recycling. This letter is indicative of the need for local recycling officials to continue such policy discussions with the MPCA as per our recommendation #3 in the attached summary report. 01-00253-10101-01011070001 1 013500 P: \013500 Ramsey Co\RTA \Rosevi11e\RWBPSR\B1605 Cover Letter