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<br /> <br />City of Elk River <br />REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />Agenda Section Meeting Date <br />Consent Februa 5,2007 <br />Item Description <br />Rec clin Re ort and Rebate information <br /> <br />Item Number <br />3.16. <br />Prepared by <br />Nicki Blake-Bradle , Environmental Technician <br />Reviewed by <br />Rebecca Hau , Environmental Administrator <br /> <br />Introduction <br />Since 2003, the City of Elk River has issued Recycling Rebates to its residents to encourage recycling. <br />The popularity of this program is evident in the increasing number of residents requesting a rebate; <br />however, hauler feedback has indicated that recycling has not increased at the same rate. <br /> <br />Discussion <br />Because the City has organized collection, it receives recycling numbers from the haulers. With the <br />recycling rebate in place, the total amount of materials recycled had increased until 2005. A decrease in <br />2006 may be a result of several factors: <br />1) The average percentage of households participating in 2006 was considerably lower even <br />though the number of rebates requested was higher. The total number of homes participating in <br />recycling also increased from previous years (6,511 households in 2006 vs. 5,442 households in 2005... <br />up 19%). <br />2) The recycling numbers are lower in paper areas mainly with a slight decrease in the amount of <br />steel recycled. The reduction in paper/magazine recycling is likely a result of residents subscribing to <br />fewer newspapers, magazines, or printing fewer items from the Internet. Internet subscriptions to <br />newspapers and magazines are generally on the rise. Steel has recenrly had a nominal value, as well, so <br />residents may be recycling steel on their own rather than using the City's services. Other items being <br />recycled have continued to experience increases in the amounts being recycled, which slighrly offsets the <br />reduction in paper and steel. <br /> <br />2003 <br />2004 <br />2005 <br />2006 <br /> <br />$15 <br />$15 <br />$25 <br />$25 <br /> <br />120 <br />232 <br />494 <br />670 <br /> <br />Average % of <br />households <br />recycling <br />48.5 <br />52.25 <br />54.25 <br />48.4 <br /> <br />Total Amount of <br />recycled materials <br />(tons) <br />1,073.04 <br />1,185.97 <br />1,239.83 <br />1,223.18 <br /> <br />Year <br /> <br />Rebate Amount <br /> <br />Rebates <br />disbursed <br /> <br />Action Requested <br /> <br />Utilities staff estimates that 24 hours are spent on this program, while City Hall staff estimates 89 hours <br />to administer the program. <br /> <br />Staff is recommending that City continue offering the Recycling Rebate for fiscal year 2007 at the amount <br />of $25 due to the popularity of the program with residents with one administrative change. To be eligible <br /> <br />C:\Documents and Settings\tallard\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKF\REQUEST COUNCIL ACTION-2006 recycling info.doc <br />