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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: 2/25/2013 Item No.: 7.h Department Approval City Manager Approval Item Description: Authorize Ramsey County Public Entity Innovation Grant Funds For the Appliance Recycling Pilot Program Page 1 of 2 B ACKGROUND 1 Roseville, like much of Ramsey County, has an aging population. Many of our residents bought 2 appliances such as washing machines or microw ave ovens when there were few, if any, options 3 to recycle their appliances. Now there are a few more options for recycling but they are either 4 expensive, especially for someone on a fixed inco me, or difficult for seni ors to use (e.g. hauling 5 items to the Clean Up Day). 6 Based on conversations between st aff and our elderly residents we believe a number of seniors 7 deal with worn out appliances be either stor ing them or throwing them in the trash – both 8 potential health hazards. 9 Ramsey County’s recycling program workplan with Roseville identifies the need to develop a 10 program to deal with bulky wastes such as appliances. And Ramsey County is offering grant 11 funding to pay for a pilot program 12 Apply for a Public Entity Innovation (PEI) grant to assist residents in finding solutions to 13 address bulky item disposal . (excerpt of workplan) 14 The City Manager directed the R ecycling Coordinator to explore a curbside appliance collection 15 program similar to a program run in White Bear Township. The hypothesis of the pilot program 16 is “if we reduce these barriers of expense and transportation, we will increase appliance 17 recycling.” 18 Additionally Code Enforcement re ports they investigate approxima tely a dozen cases of outside 19 storage of appliances each year. Roseville Park s and Public Works mainte nance crews deal with 20 a number of cases of illegal dum ping of appliances in our park s and at our facilities. Staff 21 believes a convenient curbside collection program will make it easier for residents to properly 22 dispose of appliances thus lesse ning staff time needed to deal w ith code complaints and illegal 23 dumping. 24 Roseville has reached a verbal ag reement with Better Futures Ente rprises to operate a curbside 25 collection of appliances program this spring. BFE employees are licensed to process and recycle 26 appliances and are used by the C ity of Minneapolis for its curbsi de appliance collection program. 27 The City Attorney has reviewed the propos ed contract (which is Attachment B). 28 Ramsey County has agreed to fund up to $16,000 to pay for the program through the PEI grant 29 program. 30 At the end of the program residents will be surveyed as to whether they would support 31 continuation of the program on a f ee for service basis. One possibl e similar structure is in the 32