Universal Waste Collection in Broomfield

Lawn clippings and most yard waste is compostable and should not go in the trash. As the universal waste collection program is currently envisioned, trash, recycling, and compost would be included. It has not yet been determined which compost services will be included in this program, but both year-round and seasonal curbside compost collection will be explored. This information would be collected as part of the competitive bidding process with haulers.

A universal collection program would only apply to residential properties including single-family homes and multifamily residences (apartments, condominiums, etc.) of 7 units or less. There would still be an open market system for commercial businesses and multifamily residences of 8 units or more. Further work will be done to confirm the eligibility of smaller multi-family complexes, as different haulers may have different requirements (e.g. whether or not each unit has space for its own carts).

Education is key to ensuring proper separation of landfill, recyclable, and compostable items to increase waste diversion rates and reduce contamination. We plan to work with haulers to ensure education materials and outreach will occur as part of the roll-out of the new program.

We recognize that there will be residents already working hard to reduce their waste impact. This program would likely have standard services for all participants. Residents will be able to opt out of a Universal Collection Program if they wish. They may be charged a fee to do this, since opting out of the program reduces participation rates which may affect bulk pricing.

The annual curbside Spring Cleanup Program provides Broomfield residents a free  collection day to dispose of large, non-hazardous items not normally picked up by the trash haulers. The future of this program will be evaluated in the context of what services could be offered through a Universal Collection Program. 

Please see the Spring Cleanup website for 2023 dates for each area, program times, and acceptable items. The interactive map also linked on that site will show you what area and associate pickup date applies to your address. 

Thank you for providing that helpful link. After reviewing the list for Front Range landfills, it was interesting to note that while many of the open landfills have landfill gas (LFG) collection systems in place, the majority of them are not converting the captured methane to energy, but are rather still venting it to the atmosphere. While this does help to reduce direct methane emissions from landfills, it does not solve the problem of removing the methane completely. 

Adding additional infrastructure like secondary and advanced treatment (which is what’s needed to convert LFG into electricity or a fuel source) of LFG is another costly investment with a full return on investment (ROI) being a way down the road. While landfills usually produce sizeable amounts of LFG within 1 to 3 years, peak LFG production usually occurs 5 to 7 years after wastes are dumped into the landfill. 

There are numerous benefits of LFG collection systems and with landfills not going away any time soon, it is important that these upfront investments are made, however, composting is still necessary for numerous reasons. While composting does still generate some amounts of methane due to organic matter decomposition, that generation is minuscule compared to methane generation at a landfill and the decomposition process is much different in a landfill versus a compost pile.

The anaerobic phases a landfill goes through generate more carbon dioxide and methane than aerobic processes. Aerobic composting, which is what is taking place at A1 Organics (the main compost drop-off facility for a major part of the Front Range) or with other open piles, static piles, and vermicomposting, allows more air to be included in the composting process, which allows more carbon dioxide to be emitted instead of methane. Landfills also go through an aerobic process, but it is short lived (approximately 1 year) before the anaerobic process takes over. With composting only going through an aerobic phase, it limits the amount of methane produced. 

Carbon dioxide and methane are both greenhouse gases (GHGs), however, the global warming potential of methane is 27-30 times greater than carbon dioxide. A landfill’s GHG emissions are usually about 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide, and an aerobic compost pile’s emissions are mostly carbon dioxide. In the presence of oxygen and water, microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, use that carbon for energy and decompose the organic wastes. The heat generated in the composting process kills any pathogens and seeds that may have entered the pile, and any remaining carbon is weed-free and safe to use for agriculture, landscaping, gardening or other purposes.

Some compost facilities utilize anaerobic digestion to process their organic waste. These digesters produce two main byproducts - biogas (which can be used for electricity, heat, fuel) and digestate (which can be used as fertilizer, animal bedding, crop irrigation, and other products like building materials). The digester is able to capture all of the emissions and turn it into biogas as the source. Anaerobic digesters are less popular due to their upfront cost of investment as well as the higher cost it takes to run it, however, the biogas that is created as a byproduct could be returned to the process in a closed loop system.

Resources used:

1. https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas
2. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/landfill/html/ch2.html#:~:text=Landfills%20usually%20produce%20appreciable%20amounts,for%2050%20or%20more%20years
3. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials#:~:text=Methane%20(CH4)%20is%20estimated,uses%20a%20different%20value
4. https://a1organics.com/resources/why-composting-matters/
5. https://www.moonshotcompost.com/does-composting-produce-methane-gas-greenhouse-gases/
6. https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-change/composting-avoid-methane-production-%E2%80%93-western-australia#:~:text=The%20aerobic%20process%20of%20composting,stockpiled%20or%20sent%20to%20landfill
7. https://www.epa.gov/agstar/how-does-anaerobic-digestion-work#:~:text=Anaerobic%20Digester%20Outputs,valuable%20outputs%3A%20biogas%20and%20digestate

At this time, we don’t know the full cost-benefit analysis of implementing a program like this. We would not know what the program would cost until Council directs staff to begin the competitive bidding/RFP process. We do know that including volume-priced pricing or pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) into a universal collection program would mean residents would pay less for small trash carts and would incentivize recycling as well as composting. We also have documentation from other surrounding municipalities that have implemented a similar program that say they’ve seen savings due to decreased road damage - i.e. fewer heavy trash hauling trucks on the road. Also, by requiring haulers to take their recycling to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), such as the Boulder County Recycling Center, it increases the efficiency of processing single/mixed stream recycling.

We also do not know yet exactly how many additional full-time employees would be needed to administer the program. It depends partially on what would be included in the contract and the division of responsibilities between the contracted hauler(s) and the City and County of Broomfield. 

City-contracted universal collection programs typically do not generate revenue beyond what is required to fulfill the contract with the hauler, and, if an administrative fee is implemented, what’s required for the City to administer the program. 

There are around 22,000 residential parcels that are eligible for this program. This number includes parcels located in homeowners associations (HOAs), although it has not yet been determined if HOAs would be included in a universal collection program. This number of residential parcels does not include ineligible apartment complexes that have 8 or more units in a building as these are classified as commercial accounts under state law. 

Should Council decide to implement a Universal Collection Program, a contract with a hauler would detail service length, performance and service level agreements, and penalties for failing to meet these requirements. If the service continues to miss contractual obligations the city would be able to terminate the contract and select a different hauler through a competitive bidding process. Performance and service level agreement metrics would also be used to assess quality of service.  

Staff would follow the City’s procurement process to select the most qualified vendor.  Typically the procurement staff would issue a request for proposals (RFP), and waste haulers that desire to provide the service would submit their proposals to the City. The City and County of Broomfield is committed to fair, competitive, transparent procurement processes that actively pursue the best products and services of a quality consistent with the intended use. We also seek the best possible price with superior service providing the “best value” for Broomfield. We use the Rocky Mountain e-Purchasing System to provide our solicitations and requests for proposals to all interested parties. Proposals are carefully evaluated against factors as outlined in the specific request for proposal, including but not limited to vendor qualifications, experience, and cost. Staff would review the proposals and make a recommendation to City Council to approve a resolution to enter into contract with the chosen hauler. It’s worth noting that there would still be a competitive, open market system for commercial properties and large multi-family complexes.

It has not yet been determined how HOAs would be included in a Universal Collection Program. Broomfield does not have the authority to mandate a community wide reduction in HOA fees. Any reduction to offset the fees for a Universal Collection Program would need to be determined by individual HOA boards. 

There are many recycling facilities on the Front Range. Ideally, the recycling facility that Broomfield’s selected hauler would transfer items to would be relatively close by in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the trash-hauling trucks. Ideally, the recycling facility would be able to take single stream recycling waste in order to have the facility efficiently and effectively sort the recycled items and not the generator. The Boulder County Recycling Center (BCRC), which is a materials recovery facility (MRF), is currently able to continue taking more recycled materials and has not reached processing capacity. If Council directs us to proceed with a Universal Collection Program, we will work with haulers and local recycling facilities, like the BCRC, to ensure that the designated facility (or facilities) will be able to accept and efficiently process Broomfield’s increase in recycled materials.

We currently have meetings set up with all of the active trash haulers to have further in-depth conversations regarding landfill locations utilized as well as the recycling facility/facilities that might be utilized for Broomfield’s recycled materials. We understand that there are many active landfills on the Front Range at varying distances from Broomfield, the majority of which are privately owned and operated by the large trash haulers.

Recycled materials could end up at various recycling facilities depending on the hauler. Final waste stream destinations and transfer locations would be explored in preparation for the competitive bidding process. There are no commercial recycling transfer stations located in Broomfield County.

Broomfield would not expect to receive proceeds from delivering materials to recyclers or from the sale of recycled materials, as the recycling facilities handle the sorting and sale of the materials. That being said, it’s important that all players in the process, from the person throwing away trash and materials to the recycling facility, understand the impact and importance of recycling and composting versus landfilling in order to meet our waste diversion goals and to help keep costs of services low. The recycling facility, trash hauler, and Broomfield staff would need to work together to create outreach and education materials since those are key tools needed to ensure the proper separation of landfill, recyclable, and compostable items. This would be a key part of the rollout of a universal waste collection program.

We had a survey available to all residents in Broomfield to help us get a better idea of the rates people pay for the level of service they receive, and we have connected with the managers of many HOAs to gather similar information. We are also in the process of meeting with Broomfield’s licensed residential trash and compost hauling companies to have in-depth conversations and gather baseline information, to better understand what the haulers are experiencing separate from the resident feedback we have received. If Council chooses to move forward with a Universal Collection Program, the program would run as a partnership between the City and County of Broomfield and the hauler selected by the competitive bidding process.