Waste Reduction

Identify recycling options for residents and businesses not included in the curbside recycling program.
To delay the increased costs associated with landfill expansion or relocation, intervention is needed in the waste streams of commercial, multifamily, and construction sectors. To compliment the recent investment that increased curbside recycling capacity, we will identify recycling options available for the one in four residents living in multifamily properties. Consulting property owners, waste haulers, and residents to determine the right mix of programs, incentives, and policies will be critical to achieving our goals.

Collect recyclable materials in City facilities.
Routine collection and hauling of waste materials to landfills from ninety-nine City of Oklahoma City facilities costs about $465,000 on average each year. Recycling is presently available in fewer than 13% of the City’s more than 100 staffed locations. Many smaller City facilities, like Police and Fire stations, may already be located on existing collection routes and could potentially provide cost-savings by recycling materials through the curbside program.

Reduce green waste sent to landfills.
Routine vegetative maintenance in public spaces and along utility easements combined with unpredictable spikes in green waste volume caused by severe weather events offers ample feedstock to create soil-enriching, water-conserving compost. FEMA standards exist to allow keeping tree limbs and other organics in disaster debris out of landfills without compromising reimbursement eligibility, but these standards are strict and will require formal planning and partnerships.

Coordinate and implement a food waste strategy.
Creating lasting change in food waste behaviors is more than just interrupting the farm to table to landfill pipeline of our food system. Producers, processors, distributors, and consumers all have stake in shrinking the amount of wasted food sent to landfills and should all be engaged in developing a strategy that achieves results for our community. A proper mix of encouragement, incentives, and regulation will foster healthier, more efficient food production, delivery, and disposal.

Policies
WR-1: Provide recycling service in City and Trust facilities.
WR-2:Conduct study of paper-intensive municipal processes and implement strategy to reduce paper consumption.
WR-3: Use paper that contains a minimum of 30% recycled content in City processes.
WR-4: Transition board, council, and commission meetings to paperless agendas and packets.
WR-5: Recycle plastic and metals collected routinely by code enforcement staff and during sign sweeps.
WR-6: Recycle and compost waste from City events.
WR-7: Develop and promote toolkit for community event organizers to pursue zero landfill events.
WR-8:Prioritize green waste diversion from landfills in Debris Management Plan.
WR-9: Study start-up and operational feasibility of municipal green waste/mulch/compost facility.
WR-10: Promote strategies and resources to reduce wasted food.
WR-11:Adopt building codes to reduce debris and total losses during extreme weather and tornado events.
WR-12: Increase recycling access for residents in multifamily properties and commercial businesses through tools such as franchise zones and drop-off locations.

Update and implement the City’s Sustainable Purchasing Policy.
As commodities are inextricably tied to market values, recycling is only as cost-effective as the markets that exist to process, sell, and recreate new products. To fully support a closed-loop approach to waste management, the City and residents should prioritize buying products that contain recycled content as highly as we do the act of recycling. Likewise, the City should also reduce purchases of products with excessive packaging and/or are packaged in materials not accepted by recycling providers.

Recognizing the pressing need for domestic facilities that can process and manufacture recycled materials, the City’s Sustainable Purchasing policy should be implemented and used in new contract language.

Policies
WR-13: Update the City’s Sustainable Purchasing Policy and develop implementation strategy.

Expand options and encourage producer responsibility to safely dispose of hazardous waste.
While the dangers and extreme potency of substances like mercury have long been understood and well-documented, there are still unprotected paths for these materials to reach soil, water, and residents. Many thermostats in buildings still contain mercury and, even in small doses, can pose fatal risks when introduced to the natural environment after demolition or remodeling. Pharmaceuticals are often disposed with the best of intentions (to prevent abuse of the substances) in the worst of places: toilets. The unused medications can increase water treatment costs and cause irreparable harm to fish and wildlife.

Transportation can be a barrier to maximizing safe disposal options, either via the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility or during bi-annual special drop-off events. Engaging neighborhoods and other stakeholders to explore additional collection locations and events will ensure we can capture more.

Policies
WR-14: Explore additional hazardous waste collection events each year to target specific geographic areas of the city.
WR-15:Increase the number of prescription and sharps drop-off locations.
WR-16:Advocate for requiring battery producers to offer recycling of nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion, and small sealed lead batteries.
WR-17: Require recycling of mercury thermostats when issuing demolition permits.