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BWRC Minutes June 7 2018Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes —June 7, 2018 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee MINUTES: Monthly meeting, Thursday, June 7, 2018 6:00 PM, Beverly City Hall, Conference Room A CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 pm COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair - Susan Higgins, Nancy Dillon, Toni Musante, Joyce Herman, Sandy Burgess COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Rebecca Dupont -Coutu (excused) INVITED PARTICIPANTS AND GUESTS: Charlie Perlo, Kevin Harutunian APPROVAL OF MINUTES — the minutes of the April 2, 2018 meeting and notes of the May 3, 2018 meeting were presented for approval. A few small corrections were identified and noted. Musante moved to approve the minutes with the corrections. Burgess seconded the motion. The motion carried (5 -0). Committee Organization and Business Higgins reported that Burgess has been reappointed to the Committee for a three -year term. The Committee is still looking to have the Mayor appoint three (3) additional members. Higgins is aware of one person that has submitted a letter of interest to the Mayor and is awaiting contact from the Mayor's office. There was a discussion about the need to reach out more through Facebook and via other channels to attract additional interest in the Committee. The Committee discussed the benefits of electing a Treasurer to monitor budget, help process reimbursement paperwork with the City, and keep records for the Committee. Burgess expressed interest in filling the role. Higgins moved to elect Burgess Treasurer. Dillon seconded the motion. The motion carried (5 -0). May 2018 Electronics Collection Event Higgins presented a summary of the May 2018 electronics collection event, including the number of vehicles participating, overview of items collected (type and count), revenue earned, and expenses. Net proceeds were $2,181. The Committee discussed its appreciation for the great work of the Beverly High School football coach and football team for their help throughout the event and discussed a donation equal to half of the net proceeds for their assistance. Musante moved to donate $1,100 to the Beverly Football Boosters. Herman seconded the motion. The motion carried (5 -0). The Committee briefly discussed plans for next year. There is interest in publicizing other electronics collection events on our website and working with these other organizations to avoid having multiple events on the same day. Page 1 of 3 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes —June 7, 2018 Beverly Homecoming 2018 — Senior Day in the Park Charlie Perlo, past member of the Waste Reduction Committee, is coordinating waste reduction, recycling and composting activities for the Council on Aging's Homecoming event, Senior Day in the Park, scheduled for August 2, 2018. Perlo discussed the success of the event as a zero waste event last year, with only one bag of trash after serving 600 meals. Perlo requested funding by the Waste Reduction Committee to purchase compostable plates, utensils, and related supplies. In exchange, the Committee will be listed as a Gold Level Sponsor for the event. Our banner will be displayed, and we will be recognized in public outreach and publicity for the event. Perlo anticipates costs will be on the order of $450, and no more than $500. Burgess moved to appropriate not to exceed $500 for compostable tableware and related supplies to be purchased by Perlo on behalf of the Council of Aging for the event. Herman seconded the motion. The motion carried (5 -0). Beverly Homecoming 2018 — Lobster Fest Higgins provided an update on activities to coordinate waste reduction, recycling and composting at Lobster Fest, scheduled for August 1, 2018. She met with the Homecoming Committee to introduce herself and our interests and will be scheduling more comprehensive meetings with Holly Harrington Stern (the event coordinator), Chris Riley of Creative Catering (the caterer), Conor Miller of Black Earth Compost for food waste management, and City staff (Kevin Harutunian, Rob Dever and Bruce Doig). Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance Higgins reported that the ordinance is continuing to move forward. There is a meeting at City Hall on June 12 but it is unclear what the focus of that meeting is or when a vote will be taken by City Council. The Committee previously voted to appropriate up to $2,750 to support the Bag It! showing at the Cabot Cinema and the Tidal Shift art project promoting the ordinance. An invoice was recently submitted to the Committee for payment and was approved; the Committee has fully met its funding obligation as voted. City Roll -Out of New Trash Program Herman provided an update on the roll -out of the two- barrel trash limit. She has been attending regular implementation meetings with City staff. Consensus of that City group is that the new program is going well. Committee members have been assisting City staff to distribute overflow bags. City Program to Purchase/Distribute Reusable Bags Higgins provided a recap of the City's previous discussion with the Committee about potential purchase of reusable bags, including a possible appropriation of about $3,000 from the Committee towards the purchase. The Committee had a preliminary discussion and expressed Page 2 of 3 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes —June 7, 2018 potential interest in providing some level of funding. The motion was tabled until further information is available from the City. Recycling at Arts Fest and Block Parties Higgins reported that she met with Heather Wolsey of Beverly Main Streets in May about recycling at their events. Main Streets reported that they thought past events that used clear streams to collect cups worked well. They did not think the manned stations for expanded recycling and composting worked well as it seemed imposing on the participants to have people monitoring waste management. Higgins and Wolsey talked about how both organizations have a low number of volunteers, making it difficult to take on recycling activities. Main Streets is interested in recycling but doesn't have the labor force to do it. The Committee discussed the need for City involvement, perhaps with a requirement or at least guidance encouraging all events to implement a plan for waste reduction and recycling. The Committee agreed that we need to continue to work together to find a solution that is logistically viable. Status of Curbside Composting Program Higgins reported that there are currently 993 participants. Based on information reported by Black Earth, there are lots of overdue payments on renewals. Black Earth is switching to a payment plan that requires one -year payment in full ($79.99 /year) or monthly recurring payment via credit card ($6.99 /month). Herman reported that there are very few curbside composting bins remaining (about 40). Higgins reported that the City is working on getting a quote for the purchase of additional bins (quantities of 250 and 750). The Committee tabled a vote on funding additional curbside and countertop bins, pending pricing information and further discussions with City Officials and staff. Committee Member Assignments There was a brief discussion about Committee members serving as task leaders for one or more assignments that would benefit from a primary point of contact. Higgins requested Committee members consider if there is a particular role or activity they would be willing to lead. City Report Kevin Harutunian joined the meeting at 7:15 pm. There was a brief re -cap of topics discussed during the meeting with some updates on these topics provided by Harutunian. Other Business and Updates No further business was discussed. Adjournment There being no further discussion this evening, the meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Page 3 of 3