TO: Robert W. Healy, City Manager
FROM: Lisa Peterson, Public Works Commissioner
TOPIC: Refuse and Litter Ordinance
DATE: December 14, 2005

Please find below answers to questions asked by the City Council at its December 5, 2005 meeting on the proposed amendments to the Refuse and Litter Ordinance (Chapter 8.24 of the Cambridge Municipal Code):

1. If the set-out time for rubbish is changed to same day, can the time of pickup be moved to later in the morning?

Changing the schedule for the staff assigned to the Rubbish Division to a 9:00 AM start would present many labor relations challenges because the hours of work are established in their union contract, and the City does not have the authority to change those hours without the agreement of the union. It is highly unlikely that the City could be successful in such efforts during the life of the current collective bargaining agreement, which runs through June 30, 2008, or in any other foreseeable time period, into 2009 or 2010.

2. Will there be a discount program for residents who will need to purchase a new, compliant rubbish receptacle?

The DPW is working with local hardware stores to develop a program to offer discounts to Cambridge residents toward the purchase of a rodent-resistant rubbish receptacle with a lid. The major hardware stores in Cambridge have expressed a willingness to participate in a coupon program, which would offer a rubbish receptacle to Cambridge residents at the stores’ cost (generally speaking, a few dollars off the retail price). The details of this program will be finalized with the ordinance amendments.

Residents will continue to receive from the City additional 18-gallon recycling bins at no charge. Homeowners can also a free 64-gallon or 96-gallon recycling toter, just for paper to reduce their rubbish amounts by recycling greater amounts. As always, large apartment buildings with 13 or more units can receive free 96-gallon recycling toters for papers and containers.

3. Are there provisions for exemptions to the ordinance requirements because of disability? How can we provide additional assistance to those who require it?

Cambridge has an exemption program for persons with disabilities who are unable to comply with provisions of the Refuse and Litter Ordinance, around both trash and recycling. It is expected that these exemptions will apply to any of the proposed changes to the ordinance.

Currently an exemption exists for section 8.24.090 of the municipal code, which requires that "rubbish receptacles shall be placed on the sidewalk no earlier than 3 p.m. of the day immediately prior to the day of collection as designated by the Commissioner of Public Works." This exemption is available to households where all residents over age 12 have disabilities that prevent them from placing their trash at the curb. This exemption allows for trash containers to be placed at the curb before 3 p.m. on the day before regular trash pickup (though no earlier than that) if the head of the household depends on an outside person to place the trash at the curb..

There is also an exemption from the recycling program that is available to households where all residents have a disability that prevents them from complying with recycling requirements. This disability must in some way affect the ability to sort recyclable materials (such as a vision impairment) or to place the blue recycling bin at the curb. Partial recycling exemptions are also available (such as from the requirement to recycle cardboard), as are some accommodations to help interested residents with disabilities participate in the recycling program (such as special dolly that hooks onto a recycling bin).

The Commission for Persons with Disabilities manages the exemption application process and coordinates with the DPW. There is no income-eligibility requirement for either exemption, though occasionally, additional information, including medical verification of disability, may be required to process the request, and the applicant's eligibility is subject to periodic review.

For additional information or to obtain an application form, please contact the Commission for Persons with Disabilities at 617-349-4692 (Voice) or 617-492-0235 (TTY) or by e-mail at cthompson@cambridgema.gov.

Access Notice: The City of Cambridge does not discriminate on the basis of disability, and will provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in accessible formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to applicants and program participants with disabilities upon request.

4. How will bulky wastes and cleanouts be affected?

The City’s current policies regarding bulky wastes and cleanouts will remain in effect. The City will continue to pick up the following items at no cost to residents:

• One piece of furniture per week
• Carpet (cut into 3’ lengths, rolled and tied)
• Lumber (1 bundle, 2’ x 2’)
• Mattress and boxspring
• Thick tree limbs (3 bundles, 2’ x 2’,
• Toilets and sinks (1 per week),
• One TV or computer per week (20" or less diagonal screen length)

The City also picks up large appliances (white goods) for the cost of $20.00 per appliance ($15.00 for senior citizens). Appliances are picked up by appointment with a special truck on Wednesdays and large TVs and computer monitors are picked up by appointment on Thursdays. Stickers can be purchased at the front desk at the DPW Administration Building, located at 147 Hampshire Street. Items that require a sticker include:

• Clothes washers & dryers
• Copiers & printers (more than 40lbs)
• Dehumidifiers
• Dishwashers
• Gas & electric stoves
• Lawnmowers & snow blowers (remove gas)
• Metal filing cabinets & desks
• Radiators
• Refrigerators 7 freezers (remove door)
• Trash compactors
• Water coolers & heaters
• Window air conditioners
• TVs & computer monitors (over 20" diagonal screen length)

A private hauler needs to be called for:

• Property cleanouts (beyond the capacity of DPW),
• Automotive parts,
• Boilers and furnaces,
• Construction and demolition debris including:
• bathtubs,
• Floor sandings,
• Kitchen cabinets,
• Pipes
• Sawdust, soot, and sheetrock
• Tree stumps
• Rocks, soil, dirt, and sand

Residents moving into or out of Cambridge often throw out items that are in good condition. We encourage residents to donate what they don’t need or want, and to recycle paper, cardboard, and bottles and cans as much as possible. Other items that need to be discarded need to be placed in authorized rubbish receptacles.

The DPW has developed a Guide to Moving or Renovating in Cambridge, as well a brochure describing Recycling and Trash Guidelines for Residents. Both documents are available on the City website (<http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/moving.html>, and are attached.

5. How can we have 5-day pick up of rubbish and avoid a Saturday pickup?

Currently, for 10 holidays per year, trash and recycling collection is not picked up on the holiday. In these weeks, collection runs behind for the remainder of the week and a regular Friday collection is delayed one day and picked up on Saturday.

In order avoid Saturday pick-ups, rubbish and recycling would need to be picked up on Holidays, or a route made up one day during the week in the evening.

Both of these options are problematic for two reasons: (1) the Somerville Transfer Station, where our trash is taken, is not open on holidays or in the evening, and (2) the hours of work and holidays are established in our collective bargaining agreement, and could not be changed without significant hardship and expense.

6. What is the real difference between a 6:00pm set out and 6:00am set out in terms of rodents?

If rubbish is placed in rodent-resistant receptacles with tight fitting lids, theoretically there is no difference as to whether the receptacle is in the yard or on the curb. The difference however is with the risk that the lid will be tampered with by person or animal on a public sidewalk.

7. Will there be a comprehensive public information campaign?

Yes, once the ordinance amendments are finalized, the DPW is prepared to launch a comprehensive public information program. Elements of this will include:

• Direct mail to property owners, neighborhood organizations, churches and schools. Material will be translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and Haitian Creole. The City will conduct outreach to organizations to attend meetings to discuss the ordinance in person.
• Discussions with large property owners (including MIT, Harvard, CHA) on ordinance requirements. The Recycling Division currently works with over 360 large residential complexes ranging from 13 to 504 units. We will be building on the experience of the Recycling Division to reach out to this constituency on the ordinance requirements.
• Encourage hardware stores to post information (provided by the City) on the size of containers that are accepted by the DPW rubbish program.
• Work with businesses and business associations on set-out time changes, if enacted.
• In addition, the Newspapers, the web, cable TV, signs and E-Line will be used to disseminate information. We will also explore the use of reverse 911 to provide selected information.

Attachments: Moving or Renovating in Cambridge; Recycling and Trash Guidelines for Residents