Chapter 6 – Goals, Strategies, and Actions

This chapter of the 2023 2030 Waste ReSources Plan presents the goals, strategies, and actions that will guide Waste ReSources on a continued path toward zero waste over the next seven years. It sets forth what the Utility plans to accomplish and how progress will be measured. Strategies and actions are designed to move the four goals of the Plan forward:

1. Reduce the quantity and environmental impact of waste (garbage, recyclables, and organic materials) generated in Olympia

2. Increase the quantity and quality of recyclable and compostable materials diverted from the landfill

3. Operate safely, equitably, and efficiently

4. Manage the Utility’s finances responsibly and equitably

The 2023 2030 Plan builds upon the work accomplished under the previous plans with an increased emphasis on addressing climate impacts through fleet electrification, adopting equity-focused strategies (e.g., providing information in the languages spoken by customers and expanding outreach to multifamily residents), increasing efficiency and safety in on-the-ground operations, and enhancing financial sustainability (e.g., updating the rate structure).

Plan Research and Development

Waste ReSources developed 2022 Plan strategies in response to the challenges and opportunities described in previous chapters. Waste ReSources engaged Cascadia in partnership with Bell to develop strategies based on research and analysis, including an in-depth cost-of-service study. Cascadia and Bell also produced a series of reports describing Olympia’s current programs, examples of programs from other jurisdictions, and recommended strategies:

• Building Codes (Appendix 1): Olympia could update the EDDS Chapter 8 in order to strengthen and clarify and align to regional best practices for collection efficiency and safety and ensuring adequate space for recycling and organics collection.

• Cost of Waste Collection Services (Appendix 2): Olympia’s rate structure could be streamlined for simplicity and adjusted to better align revenues with costs.

• Education (Appendix 3): Olympia has opportunities to offer multilingual and inclusive outreach, expand outreach to more multifamily households, update its website, and incorporate waste prevention into outreach messaging.

• Fleet Electrification (Appendix 4): Electric vehicles (EV) would substantially reduce on-road GHG emissions and annual operating costs for Waste ReSources, but the current capital costs and state of truck technology present substantial barriers.

• Metrics (Appendix 5): Given available data, key metrics to track include waste generated and landfilled per capita, multifamily recycling rate, contamination rejection rates by recycling and organics processors, incidents and accidents per lift, and costs per residential customer and commercial ton compared to inflation. Capture rates and contamination rates would provide more informative metrics but require substantially more data collection.

• Shared Compactors (Appendix 6): Increasing the number of customers and usage of shared compactors in downtown areas could make them revenue neutral to cover the fixed cost of installing them while also reducing the use of costly rear-load collection.

Waste ReSources staff assessed and presented Cascadia’s recommendations to the Utilities Advisory Committee and Land Use Committee for feedback. With input from both committees, Waste ReSources staff selected strategies for implementation based on a combination of impact, feasibility, and ability to implement. Many of the strategies improve upon existing work, while others are new.

Goal 1 Reduce the quantity and environmental impact of waste (garbage, recyclables, and organic material) generated and disposed in Olympia

The best strategy for creating a zero waste future is to not waste. Removing garbage, recycling, and organics from the waste stream means increasing awareness of reducing waste among other strategies.

Waste ReSources has several opportunities to reduce the impacts of waste and waste collection operations. Waste reduction itself can reduce the carbon footprint. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) systems-based view, materials (goods and food) comprise more than 40% of GHG emissions. Less waste hauled results in reducing emissions from Waste ReSources operations. Consumers want to do the right thing but are often unsure or confused. Working to improve waste related messaging and increasing recycling can help lower the amount landfilled.

Efficient collection operations keep costs down and rates low, while also reducing emissions. New technologies are available to “green” the Utility’s fleet. Electric trucks are a first step towards creating a greener utility.

Strategy 1A. Reduce the overall waste generated

1.1 Expand waste prevention messaging to reduce waste generation

Incorporate messaging around food waste prevention into outreach. Localize and implement waste prevention campaigns using pre-made materials developed by other jurisdictions, particularly regarding food and textiles.

1.2 Work toward a waste prevention strategy to comprehensively reduce waste generation

Monitor Seattle’s efforts to develop a waste prevention strategy. Monitor and support community-driven efforts to prevent waste, potentially as part of inclusive outreach to build relationships with communities of color. Incorporate waste prevention messaging into other outreach, such as food waste prevention into commercial organics collection outreach (and, if continuing, into school programming).

Strategy 1B. Reduce the amount of waste landfilled

1.3 Support city, county, regional, and state policy efforts to prevent waste and improve recycling and composting

Efforts could address extended producer responsibility (EPR), material and packaging bans, mandatory recycling and composting, responsible recycling and end-markets, market development for recycled-content and organics products, right to repair legislation, systems that support reuse and waste prevention, and more.

Strategy 1C. Reduce the climate and other environmental impacts of waste and our operations

1.4 Prevent leaking dumpsters to support Olympia’s stormwater permit requirements

Maintain dumpsters in a manner that prevents them from leaking pollutants that may be carried by stormwater run-off. This includes ensuring drain holes are plugged, and that leaking containers are repaired or replaced. Continue working with the City’s Stormwater Utility on their “close the lid” campaign and other outreach, as applicable, to support the NPDES permit requirements. Embed regular checks for closed lids, missing plugs, and evidence of container leakage into collection and outreach activities. Create a plan to repair or replace leaking containers.

1.5 Monitor and plan for future fleet electrification to support City climate goals

Conduct a fleet electrification follow-up study by 2026 or when purchasing new vehicles. Explore hydrogen fuel cells in the follow-up study. Increase annual savings for fleet replacement to accommodate higher up-front costs of electric trucks. Monitor planned and actual usage in Western Washington to learn more and explore combining purchases with Tacoma to seek price discounts.

Goal 2 Increase the quantity and quality of recyclable and compostable materials diverted from the landfill

Waste ReSources must encourage higher quantity and quality of recyclables and compostable materials. The Utility can accomplish this by including more multifamily outreach, while ensuring that multifamily buildings include adequate areas for recycling and compost. Working with commercial customers to help assist in recycling and composting collection and education will also work towards expanding the amount of recyclables and compost that is diverted as well as improve quality of those collection streams.

Strategy 2A. Increase capture rates and reduce contamination rates for recycling and organics

2.1 Update development standards and commercial building codes to increase recycling, composting and diversion in multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial buildings and projects

Conduct the recommended service level analysis on storage and collection capacity and condition. Update commercial, multi-family, mixed-use building codes to increase resident access to recycling. Adopt the recommended changes to the City’s Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS).

2.2 Expand multifamily recycling outreach to increase recycling and reduce contamination

Dedicate more staff time to multifamily by changing how school education and support for non-permitted events is delivered. Continue promoting “recycle champions” in multi-family settings. Implement a focused approach to improve recycling quantity and quality at multifamily properties. Use best practices for recycling outreach and collection (site assessments, technical assistance, resident engagement). Conduct site visits with assessments and technical assistance or customer engagement to reach approximately one-quarter of properties each year. If resources allow, conduct assessments on all properties every one to two years to identify which properties require technical assistance or customer engagement. Test using recycling containers with holes that match corresponding items. Explore using a cloud-based tool to support tracking multifamily and business engagement, collect data in the field, and automate reporting. Offer food waste prevention messaging to residents. Incorporate "closed dumpster lid" messaging, checks for missing drain plugs, and checks for failing containers to support NPDES permit compliance.

2.3 Change school education to create resources for expanding multifamily outreach

Continue the current school education services that provide educational materials for teachers to use in their classrooms and provide support. Re-evaluate school education options once schools re-open to classroom or fieldtrip educational assistance from Waste ReSources and rebuild the internal sustainability staff, teachers, and parent volunteers needed to support these programs. Work with Thurston County staff as the County expands its school education program in the future to include more Olympia schools so Waste ReSources can dedicate more staff time to multifamily and commercial outreach.

2.4 Refine commercial assistance outreach program for efficiency and expanded service

Continue providing commercial waste assessments to address all waste streams. Dedicate more staff time to commercial outreach assistance by changing school education and support for non-permitted events. Incorporate food waste prevention into outreach on commercial organics collection. Explore using a cloud-based tool to support tracking multifamily and business engagement, collect data in the field, and automate reporting. Incorporate "closed dumpster lid" messaging, checks for missing drain plugs, and checks for failing containers to support NPDES permit compliance.

2.5 Refine single-family contamination reduction efforts for efficiency and improved communication

Focus lid-lift campaigns on problem routes that drivers identify through ongoing monitoring during collection. Explore technology and tools (such as tablets with GIS, Recycle Coach, customized "Oops" tags, and automated customer emails) to enhance communication and behavior change.

2.6 Explore offering commercial recycling service to serve customers without private collection after conducting a need and feasibility assessment of recycle transloading at the Carpenter Road site

Assess whether a recycle baling and transload operation will fit on the Carpenter Road site. If not, continue to explore other transload options because an independent transload option is required before offering commercial recycling service. If either transload option becomes viable, conduct further research and customer engagement to explore interest, costs, and impacts of offering recycling to commercial customers. Examine whether to offer commingled or cardboard-only service, cart-based or container-based service, and service to all customers or a subset of customers below a certain waste or recycling generation level. If Waste ReSources were to offer commercial recycling service, the cost for the Utility to service a four-yard container is currently estimated to be approximately half that of a four-yard garbage container, potentially reducing overall Utility costs if customers reduce garbage service levels as they gain recycling. To expand collection service, the Utility would need to increase truck and driver capacity.

2.7 Implement programs and policies in support of HB 1799 and its new and amended laws in the Revised Code of Washington

Prepare for and support organics collection for businesses required to manage organics under HB1799 (2024 to 2026, depending on Washington Department of Ecology’s feasibility study due by mid-2023 and practical and economic feasibility). Work toward expanding cart-based organics collection to all single-family customers through bundling collection service with garbage and recycling by 2027. Expand organics collection to all multifamily customers by 2027. Adopt a compost procurement ordinance by January 1, 2023. Comply with, monitor, and support other facets of this new law as necessary, and economically and practically feasible.

Goal 3 Operate safely, equitably, and efficiently

Working safely, equitably, and efficiently offers customers the best support possible while creating the most accommodating work environment for workers. Collection safety and efficiency rely on both driver actions and the design of customer collection areas. In tandem with more efficient collection, better developed data resources will help the Utility better utilize resources, especially if the Utility builds its own transfer station for recycling, allowing more autonomy in market orientation. Finally, the Utility must center racial equity in its operations, offering new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and transcreating new materials to reach a larger audience.

Strategy 3A. Minimize incidents/accidents and meet or exceed safety standards, certifications, or permit requirements

3.1 Ensure safety through training, standards, continuous improvement, and minimizing rear-load collection

Select and implement a driver safety training program that fulfills requirements from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. Training options include reinstating the IAPD program, adopting a different external program, or developing a formal internal program. Continue to implement and evaluate safety procedures, modifying where needed to prevent incidents and accidents. Continue to meet or exceed safety and environmental standards, certification, or permit requirements; work with customers to eliminate safety concerns; and encourage drivers to report near misses for identifying opportunities to improve safety through standard operating procedures and collection infrastructure. Seek opportunities to transition customers from rear-load collection to safer options.

3.2 Update development standards for safety, efficiency, and increased diversion

Update the EDDS multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial buildings codes to improve collection safety, reduce incidents, and increase collection efficiency. Ensure new construction and remodeled buildings can be easily and safely served without rear-load or alley collection.

Strategy 3B. Implement racial equity principles and practices

3.3 Translate and transcreate outreach materials to reach more customers

Update educational materials, such as the Olympia website, with relevant information in the multiple languages most commonly spoken in Olympia. Adapt transcreated materials from City of Tacoma. For materials created in English, including website content, use plain language principles (simple wording and sentence structure) to make automated translation (such as Google Translate) more effective.

3.4 Expand community engagement to reach more customers more effectively

As resources allow, work with Olympia’s Office of DEI to begin building relationships with communities of color in Olympia that will support inclusive outreach for waste prevention, recycling, organics, and contamination reduction. Follow best practices for inclusive outreach, including compensating community members for their time supporting Utility outreach efforts.

3.5 Implement established city policies regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion and contribute to citywide equity opportunities

In coordination with Olympia’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team, implement established City policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Participate in and contribute to Citywide equity opportunities such as Olympia’s 2022-2023 equity assessment, future interdepartmental workgroups to advance or track progress on equity in City operations, future trainings, or related activities.

Strategy 3C. Operate efficiently

3.6 Improve data collection, management, and reporting to support planning and evaluation to meet goals

Research and procure an integrated data tracking, management, reporting system to support workorders, route management and optimization, customer and tonnage tracking, asset management and planning, and more. An integrated data management system could streamline asset management, operational efficiency assessments, incident and safety assessments, key metric tracking, annual work planning, and cost-of-service analyses.

3.7 Continue working to build a new operations and maintenance facility (Carpenter Road or elsewhere) to improve capacity, efficiency, and safety

Design new and remodeled facilities with electrical capacity to easily add charging stations in the future. If offering commercial recycling, include a re-load area to consolidate recycling for transport; especially important if considering adding commercial recycle collection. Explore incorporating an expanded drop-off recycling site into the facility.

3.8 Continue improving efficiency by minimizing rear-load collection and balancing routes

Minimizing rear-load collection wherever possible improves efficiency by eliminating the need for a second waste collector on the vehicle, in addition to increasing safety. Updating the current collection routes to balance route length could increase productivity and increase customer service.

3.9 Expand usage of downtown shared compactors to improve collection safety, collection efficiency, and downtown cleanliness

Expand usage of shared compactors through voluntary efforts, followed by a district-based requirement if necessary. Conduct stakeholder engagement, coordinate with downtown business associations/districts to explore requiring businesses in certain downtown areas to use shared compactors. As part of engagement, explore alternative fee structures. Evaluate how to provide adequate access to recycling and organics collection. With district-based requirements to use shared compactors, explore siting a third compactor.

Goal 4 Manage the Utility’s finances responsibly and equitably

The number of customers affects how many trucks and drivers are necessary to collect waste. More customers mean more waste and more time spent in collection. Together, these add to the operating cost, which can impact the fees customers pay for solid waste services. The Utility needs an updated rate structure to streamline financial plannings and ensure continued financial sustainability while implementing this Plan within the context of equity, affordability, changes in service levels and cost drivers, and other challenges to come.

Strategy 4A. Plan, evaluate, and adaptively manage performance against goals and priorities

4.1 Develop annual work plan and review progress annually to align efforts with goals and adaptively manage performance

Develop an annual work plan and budget that aligns staff time and associated expenditures with the Utility’s goals and priorities. To inform actions and recommendations for each year’s work plan, review and identify key metrics, completed work plan actions, successes, and lessons learned from the previous year. As feasible within the financial and data management system, compare the actual labor and expenditures to amounts budgeted for each goal and priority. For individual campaigns, develop and implement evaluation plans to measure outcomes and identify lessons learned.

4.2 Conduct a waste characterization study to assess progress and identify opportunities for improvement

Every five to ten years, ideally in partnership with Thurston County, conduct a study to characterize the composition of garbage (and of recycling and organics, if reliable data is not available from processors) to evaluate capture rates, progress toward goals, and opportunities to improve.

4.3 Develop and implement regular asset inventories to plan for growth and replacements

For fleets and containers, assess and document quantity, age, condition, and location/customer. Plan for purchases to replace aging and damaged assets (including leaking dumpsters) and to prepare for population growth, annexation, and expanded services. Consider attaching cart IDs to customers (for contamination monitoring). Consider using geotags on roll-off containers and compactors. Consider tagging each container with a barcode or RFID (radio-frequency identification) tag and connecting to customer accounts to facilitate contamination monitoring. Include asset tracking in new data management system (see separate action).

4.4 Update Olympia’s municipal solid waste code to reflect current services and policies

Examples include every-other-week collection, one-side-of-the-road collection, shared compactors, and enforcement capabilities.

4.5 Explore licensing and reporting for private recycling, organics, and C&D recycling collectors to track progress on recycling and composting rates for commercial and C&D waste

Similar to Seattle and Tacoma, Olympia should require private collectors to obtain a license and report annual quantities received by material, destination facility (to remove double-counting), and destination use (e.g., recycling, composting, energy recovery).

4.6 Continue offering a Utility Rate Discount Program and work with other City utilities to ensure economic support meets the need

Coordinate with other City utilities and departments to further assess low-income discount qualifications to adequately address the needs of these customers. Work to ensure eligible customers are adequately informed about the rate discount program.

4.7 Update customer rate schedule and adopt multi-year rate path to reflect current services and costs, simplify tracking, support goals, and smooth customer rate impacts

Based on cost-of-service study results and anticipated new finance system, reduce number of budget accounts and rate codes, update rates and fees, and set a multi-year rate path for three to five years. Adopt rates that balance alignment to costs with incentives for reducing waste and support for low-income customers. Update cost-of-service study and rate path every three to five years. Conduct an additional study with a robust public engagement process to revise the rate codes and budget categories (e.g., organics), then develop the multi-year rate path accordingly.

4.8 Maintain adequate reserves to smooth economic impacts and maintain a predictable rate path

Adequate reserve amounts vary by predictability of cash flow and expenditures. The Utility should maintain a 10% reserve to allow for the natural lag time between revenues received versus billed and consider consistently carrying an additional 5% to 10% above the minimum 10% (15% to 20% of annual expenses is common). Monitor and adjust reserve level every year.

Evaluating Progress

In addition to tracking the implementation status of the actions listed for each strategy, Olympia will track key metrics that indicate progress on each of the goals.

Key Metrics

Key metrics indicate the big picture direction of progress. Table 6 lists key metrics that Waste ReSources will track, aligned with its goals.

Table 6 Key Metrics
Key Metric	Goal(s)	2007	2014	2021
Residential waste (garbage, recycling, organics) generated per person per day	Goal 1	2.56 lbs.	2.29 lbs.	2.41 lbs.
Residential and commercial garbage landfilled per person per day	Goals 1 and 2	3.93 lbs.	2.29 lbs.	3.04 lbs.
Residential garbage landfilled in total and per person per day	Goals 1 and 2	1.46 lbs.	1.19 lbs.	1.44 lbs.
Nonresidential waste landfilled in total and per employee per day	Goals 1 and 2	2.47 lbs.	1.75 lbs.	1.61 lbs.
GHG emissions from collection fleet fuel or electricity use (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or MTCO2e)	Goal 1	NA	NA	605 MTCO2e
Contamination rate of trash and glass in commingled recycling, reported by the processor	Goal 2	NA	NA	17.5% total (10.7% garbage and 6.8% glass)
Number of incidents/accidents per 10,000 collections based on internal and OSHA reporting (total incidents/accidents divided by total number of lifts or collection opportunities per year, times 10,000)	Goal 3	NA	NA	0.18 (equivalent to one incident or accident for every 56,000 lifts)
Share of informational and educational materials offered in languages other than English	Goal 3	0%	0%	0%
Monthly operational cost for the most common service levels for residential cart collection (65-gallon garbage, 65-gallon recycling, 95-gallon organics), excluding city and state taxes and comparing over time to inflation (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumer for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: CUURS49DSA0)	Goals 3 and 4	NA	$30.86 in 2021$	$37.18
Monthly operational cost for collecting a 4-yard commercial garbage container weekly), excluding city and state taxes and comparing over time to inflation	Goals 3 and 4		Methods not comparable	$218.77

Supplemental Metrics as Budget Allows

While key metrics indicate the big picture direction of progress, additional metrics can help Waste ReSources understand the factors and trends underlying the key metrics and influencing changes—or lack of changes—in them.

Regularly, Waste ReSources can track its compliance status with permits, required certifications and standards, and voluntary safety and environmental standards, such as internal training goals and targets that may change annually.

If the opportunity arises and budget allows, conducting a waste characterization study for all three waste streams (garbage, recycling, and organics) would give Waste ReSources more precise information on the effectiveness of its waste prevention and recovery programs while providing insights to direct future efforts. A waste characterization study would allow Olympia to understand:

• Capture rates, which are the percentage of materials accepted in recycling and organics that are correctly placed in recycling or organics containers, as opposed to the recycling rate that also includes unaccepted materials that should be landfilled. Capture rates remove the impact that non-recoverable items have on the traditional recycling rates. Understanding capture rates can help Waste ReSources identify which materials to focus on in education to increase recycling and composting. They can also help the Utility assess whether customers have maximized recovery of the current waste stream, so further progress relies on changing the waste stream or consumption patterns.

• Contamination rates, which is the amount and type of unaccepted materials in collected recycling and organics. Understanding contamination rates can help Waste ReSources understand which materials to focus contamination reduction efforts on and track the quality of collected materials more precisely than rejection rates by its recycling and organics processors.

• Environmental impacts of discarded materials, such as GHG due to waste management using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaRM – Waste Reduction Model. Some materials have higher impacts per ton, so understanding the tons of those materials generated and landfilled would help Waste ReSources decide whether to focus efforts to reduce and recover them.