1. Refuse/Recycling Program
CITY OF FITCHBURG
Refuse/Recycling Program

2. FITCHBURG SYSTEM Private Vendor
Special Tax Roll Charge - $140 for 2007
Approximately 5000 units
Collection of Single Family up to 4 Unit Multi-Family Dwellings
No Collection at Units Larger Than 4 Units or Condominiums
Yard waste collected twice in the spring and twice in the fall
Brush collected bi-monthly, April through November

3. VOLUME BASED SYSTEM
The City of Fitchburg has had a volume based refuse system since the mid 1990’s.
32 Gallon container limit for refuse or 2 small bags
Tags used for extra bags – 5 tags provided each household yearly
Larger refuse containers available through the vendor, at owners expense
2 to 3 recycling bins – unlimited quantity

4. THEN

5. NOW

6. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
In 2005 proposals were sought for both the old refuse/recycling bin system and the cart system.
Bids included cost of carts – refuse and recycling
Carts to be owned by the City at the end of the 3 year contract

7. CURRENT SYSTEM vs. PREVIOUS SYSTEM
2007 BID COMPARISON COST
CURRENT SYSTEM vs. PREVIOUS SYSTEM
2007 Costs – Refuse Cart System $ 6.80 p/month per unit
vs.
Previous System Costs $5.77 p/month per unit
2007 Costs – Recycling Cart System $3.61 p/month per unit
Recycling Bin System $4.53 p/month per unit
Cart Recycling System Price is for Bi-Weekly Collection

8. COUNCIL APPROVAL
Staff recommendation to the City Council was for approval of purchase of the cart system based on future lower anticipated costs.

9. CHALLENGES Contract awarded October 5, 2005
Vendor requested both refuse and recycling carts to be ready for start-up by January 1, 2006
Cart Choices – residents to make decision on cart sizes they wished to receive
Many residents claimed they never received the cart selection postcards that were mailed

10. CART OPTIONS 2007 REFUSE – 32 GALLON STANDARD
Upgrade – 64 Gallon $24.72 /Year Payable To Vendor
Upgrade – 96 Gallon $49.44 /Year Payable To Vendor
2007 RECYCLING – 64 GALLON STANDARD
No Additional Costs To Change To Either 32 Gallon Or 96 Gallon Recycling Carts
Cart Exchange Fee of $45
Total of 9 different cart options available

11. POSTCARD NOTIFICATION
Residents were notified by postcard on October 17, 2005
Return of postcards request by October 26, 2005
Vendor then had to order and deliver carts by January 1, 2006

12. Delivery of carts was problematic
CART DELIVERY
Delivery of carts was problematic
Cart Selection Alternatives
More residents upgraded refuse carts to 65 gal. than anticipated – 12% vs. 50%
Vendor/City didn’t have enough carts to cover the upgrades and had to place an order for more carts
Residents were given standard carts until order was received and upgrades could be fulfilled
Incompetence of Subcontractor Delivering Carts

13. CART DELIVERY
Flooded by Calls With Cart Delivery Problems

14. RECEIVED INACCURATE INFORMATION
Friday 12/29/05 – Informed by vendor that cart delivery was nearly completed with a few hundred remaining to be delivered on 12/30/05
Tuesday 1/3/06 – Read in newspaper that there were still 800 carts to be delivered

15. UNIMPROVED CITY LOTS
Vendor continued to deliver carts to unimproved city lots

16. JANUARY 2006
Because of the problems encountered along the way a dual system was used for the first month
Anything set out was collected
By end of January the cart delivery was essentially complete

17. COLLECTION OF OLD BINS
Residents were given the option to either keep their old recycling bins or to have them collected for recycling
Packer trucks were borrowed from both the Town of Madison and the City of Janesville so that collection of the old bins could be performed by City crews

18. ACCEPTANCE OF NEW SYSTEM
After the first month of new system, the call volume dropped dramatically
Residents began to show acceptance with the new system
Residents who initially opposed the change began calling/ ing their approvals

19. LESSONS LEARNED Award bid earlier to allow time for cart delivery
Be sure to have enough carts ordered to cover possible upgrades
Allow more response time for return of postcards for cart selection
Check references on cart vendor or deliver with City crews

20. CONTRACT ENDS IN 2008 Rebidding of the contract:
Will continue with the cart system when rebidding
Will survey residents to see what changes could be made to improve the current system for rebidding of new contract

21. QUESTONS ???
Contact Information:
Paul Q. Woodard, P.E.
Director of Public Works
City of Fitchburg
5520 Lacy Road
Fitchburg, WI