Staff is proposing that Council adopt changes and additions to Municipal Code Chapter 8.16, "Solid Waste Management." The resolution attached as Attachment A proposes additions and changes that match current City services and make existing City policies more enforceable. Staff is recommending that Council adopt the attached ordinance updating Chapter 8.16 of the Municipal Code.

In 1993 Council revised a number of sections of the Municipal Code related to solid waste in order to more clearly represent the status of solid waste services in Sunnyvale. Before that, the City had not made any major changes to the ordinance in 33 years. Revisions are once again necessary to bring the ordinance current with federal and state regulations on the topics of landfilling and recycling, and to improve enforcement of the current ordinance.

In 1989, the governor signed AB 939, the California Integrated Waste Management Act, which requires cities and counties to reduce solid waste to the landfill by 50% by the year 2000. Since then, the solid waste industry in California has gone through major changes. The City has also gone through major changes in the way it handles solid waste, expanding services like curbside recycling, yardwaste collection, household hazardous waste disposal, and building the SMaRT StationÒ . In addition to the City's changes, the recycling industry has flourished with many new companies collecting a variety of recyclables from Sunnyvale businesses ranging from wood and metal to office paper and industrial plastics.

The solid waste ordinance has done an adequate but incomplete job of regulating the collection, processing, and disposal of solid waste and recyclables in Sunnyvale. Staff observations have identified the following areas of concern:

• Independent haulers of recyclables in Sunnyvale are sometimes found hauling solid waste without the required franchise or license from the City. This reduces revenues to the Refuse Fund and puts upward pressure on rates for customers who comply with the Municipal Code.

• The use of some solid waste containers generates complaints related to odor, spilliage, and general maintenance of the area around the container.

• Illegal dumping of garbage into containers owned or rented by people other than the dumper is growing in frequency and severity.

• Specialty businesses like gardeners and paper shredders who haul away their own waste as an incidental part of their business have expanded with the economy and are unnecessarily regulated in the current ordinance.

• The section has been difficult to enforce as there are no consequences written in for violators.

The Program Outcome for the Solid Waste Division in the Public Works Department is to reduce the amount of refuse disposed and provide reliable, competitively-priced, and environmentally sound services for collection, disposal reduction, and disposal of solid wastes. The following proposed changes to the language are designed to assist the division in meeting this stated outcome.

• "Disposal service operator" is redefined and "City licensed disposal service operator" and "Independent commercial recycling service" are added to distinguish licensed and unlicensed haulers of refuse and recyclables in Sunnyvale.

• Definitions for "Hazardous waste," "Recyclable waste oil," and "Source separated recyclable materials," are added, defining materials not addressed in the current language of the code.

• Solid waste container requirements are expanded to more tightly regulate their use and improve the health and safety features of the containers. In addition, language regulating the period of time large construction containers may remain on the street is added.

• In response to potential liability issues regarding collection of recyclable waste oil from multi-family complexes, language is added to more clearly define the ownership of the oil before and after collection.

• A variety of exclusions are added to allow residents to make occasional trips to the dump and allow some types of businesses to haul off waste as an incidental part of their business.

• Language is added to strengthen regulations on un-licensed solid waste hauling in the City. These regulations include the ability for the City go through a due process of enforcement on un-licensed haulers who seek to haul solid waste under the guise of recycling, thus threatening the integrity of the franchise granted by Council to the franchised hauler.

• Regulations are added to make dumping into a container owned or rented by another person illegal.

These changes to section 8.16 will help the City improve upon its already clean image by better matching municipal code with current solid waste issues, and strengthening penalties for violation of the code. At the same time, it recognizes and explicitly deregulates certain types of solid waste and recycling handling that are not appropriately addressed by the current language of the code. As part of the process, staff found that the changes are exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that this is not a project which has the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.

No direct fiscal impact.

Notice has been provided through the publication and posting of the City Council Agenda. In addition, all Reports to Council are available in the Library and on the City's Internet home page.

Staff recommends Alternative 1.

Prepared by:

Timothy J. Kirby
Solid Waste Specialist

Reviewed by:

Mark A. Bowers
Solid Waste Program Manager

Reviewed by:

Marvin A. Rose
Director, Department of Public Works

Approved by:

Robert S. LaSala
City Manager