City of Houston Wood Waste Diversion Program

1. City of Houston Wood Waste Diversion Program SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

2. Wood Waste Diversion Overview • Landfill Airspace Preservation • Recycling Case • Greenhouse Gas and Air Quality • Financial Impact of Program • Disposal Cost Reduction • Fuel Savings • Personnel Savings • Pilot Area Review • Next Steps • Questions SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

3. Landfill Airspace Preservation • Available airspace cited by Solid Waste Task Force as major business concern to the City’s Solid Waste Management Program. • The City doesn’t own a landfill and must negotiate pricing for precious airspace commodity. • Area growth and development consuming nearby land which will also drive future disposal costs. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

4. Houston Area Landfills • Direct Hauls / Lower Costs • Allied McCarty (NE) • Allied Whispering Pines (NE) • Allied Blue Ridge (SW) • WM Atascocita* (NE) SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

5. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

6. Wood Waste Recycling – Fiscal Issues • COH must be a good steward of public resources (tax dollars). • Wood waste material is easily recyclable. • Sufficient local markets for material. • Disposal Costs increase on average of approx. $900K per year. • Proper Environmental Stewardship as a “Green City”. • Carbon Credits to be gained. • Potential Revenue for the sale of Carbon Credits. • Greater Houston Area Density Projected to significantly increase in near future. • Houston, Sugarland, Baytown population expected to grow from 4.7M in year 2000 to between 8.4M – 11.1M by year 2040.* • Harris County Population expected to grow from 3.4M in year 2000 to between 5.8M – 6.6M by year 2040.* * Texas State Data Center 2006 population projections. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

7. Air Quality • Houston air quality is monitored very intensely by governmental units and private industry. • At least 141 air pollution monitors screening for up to 138 chemical compounds. • Several initiatives in process to improve Houston air quality. • Wood Waste Diversion contributes to improved air quality with landfill GHG reduction. “Houston Smog” SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

8. Top 20 U.S. Counties in GHG Emissions • Harris, Texas (Houston) — 18.625 million tons of carbon per year • Los Angeles, Calif. (Los Angeles) — 18.595 • Cook, Ill. (Chicago) — 13.209 • Cuyahoga, Ohio (Cleveland) — 11.144 • Wayne, Mich. (Detroit) — 8.270 • San Juan, N.M. (Farmington) — 8.245 • Santa Clara, Calif. (San Jose) — 7.995* • Jefferson, Ala. (Birmingham) — 7.951 • Wilcox, Ala. (Camden) — 7.615 • East Baton Rouge, La. (Baton Rouge) — 7.322 • Titus, Texas (Mt. Pleasant) — 7.244 • Carbon, Pa. (Jim Thorpe) — 6.534 • Porter, Ind. (Valparaiso) — 6.331 • Jefferson, Ohio (Steubenville) — 6.278 • Indiana, Pa. (Indiana) — 6.224 • Middlesex, Mass. (Boston metro area) — 6.198 • Bexar, Texas (San Antonio) — 6.141 • Hillsborough, Fla. (Tampa) — 6.037 • Suffolk, N.Y. (New York metro area) — 6.030 • Clark, Nev. (Las Vegas) — 5.955 SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

9. Greenhouse Gas Reductions • Reduce GHG Emissions by 14,980 MTCE • Equivalent to taking 10,785 passenger cars off the road for one year • *EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM) SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

10. Wood Waste Diversion Low Hanging Financial Fruit • Average Annual Heavy Trash Collected by SWMD approx. 300,000 tons. • 30% - 40% Green Waste • Average Tipping Fee of $32.00 per ton. • 30% reduction equals 90,000 tons • Direct disposal savings of $2.9 Million. • Net after grinding savings of $1.71 Million. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

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12. Regional Population and Disposal Growth SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

13. The amount of material to be diverted, approximately 90,000 Tons; or close to 660,000 cubic yards If stacked on the playing field of Reliant Stadium, (54,000 sq. feet) would reach nearly 1000 feet high, the height of Chase Tower Wood Waste Recycling Diversion SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

14. Wood Waste Pilot Program • Approximately 47,000 homes in pilot area. • Estimated tons not landfilled 30% - 40% of normal service. • Estimated Cost Savings of $260,000 for pilot area. • Grinding Savings of $10 - $15 per ton donated by LETCO (pilot area only). • Council Districts Currently Affected: A, B, C, D, F, G, H SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

15. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

16. Pilot Area Review • 70% Reduction in landfilled material. • $225,000 in disposal savings. • $97,000 contributed by LETCO for grinding pilot period. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

17. Next Steps • Approve wood waste grinding contract. • Posted on council agenda within two weeks. • Implement Wood Waste Program Citywide • Immediately begin education process. • Community Meetings. • Direct Mail / Door to door. • Radio / TV / Phone Bank • Start Date of 1 October 2008. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

18. Other Steps for Reduction - 1 • Gain further waste reduction with yard waste diversion strategies – biodegradable bags. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

19. Other Steps for Reduction - 2 • Review/Expansion of Curbside Recycling Program • Drop low performing neighborhoods. • Add new “productive” neighborhoods. • Encourage and assist major business centers with recycling efforts. • Downtown • Texas Medical Center • Galleria Area • Energy Corridor • Bring a single stream processing facility to Houston Market Area. SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

20. Other Steps for Reduction - 3 • Enhanced Community Education • Promote Backyard composting. • Partnerships • Keep Houston Beautiful • School Districts • Business Management Districts • Private Sector SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing

21. Questions SWMD - Wood Waste Briefing