10 - A - Home Trash Audit (Staff Report) Costa Mesa Sanitary District …an Independent Special District Protecting our community’s health and the environment by providing solid waste and sewer collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Memorandum To: Operations Committee Via: Scott Carroll, General Manager From: Javier Ochiqui , Management Analyst Date: October 16, 2012 Subject: Home Trash Audit Program Summary The Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD ) is an industry leader in re cycling programs with activities that benefit residents such as the Large Item Collection, the used needle Sharps recycling collection program as well as education and outreach programs for students, residents, and non -profit organizations. The District b elieves teaching young students and their families the benefits of recycling and protecting the environment is of primary importance as these lessons will last a lifetime. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends implementing and assisting in a new home trash audit program that will teach CMSD families how to reduce their household waste which will ultimately reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the landfills (See Attachment A). The plan focuses on the following five elements: 1. Understanding You r Household Waste 2. Do an Audit 3. Review Your Findings 4. Reduce Trash Waste 5. Measure Your Progress
Once CMSD residents learn how to measure their progress, they will continue to build on what they are doing now and will continue educating themselves on t he t h ree R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Strategic Plan Element & Goal This item complies the with objective and strategy of Strategic Element 2.0, Solid Waste, which states: “Objective: Our objective is to manage the collection and recycling of resi dential trash in the most economical and environmentally friendly way.” “Strategy : We will do this by looking for ways to improve efficiencies, achieve high customer satisfaction, and considering prudent new recycling methods.” Legal Review Not applica ble at this time. Financial Review There may be intangible costs associated with staff visiting homes to assis t with the audits. The Board m ay also want to consider a budget to incentivize changing behaviors on source reduction. Public Notice Proc ess Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the entire agenda packet for the October 16 , 2012 Operations Committee meeting at District Headquarters and on District website. Alternative Actions 1. Do nothing and refer the matter back to staff for additional information and/or analysis. Reviewed by: Teresa Gonzalez Accounting Manager Attachments A: Home Trash Audit “How to Reduce Your Household Waste”