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BWRC Minutes August 9 2018Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — August 9, 2018 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee MINUTES: Monthly Meeting, Thursday, August 9, 2018 6:00 PM, Beverly City Hall, Conference Room B CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 pm COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair - Susan Higgins, Toni Musante, Sandy Burgess, Rebecca Dupont -Coutu COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Joyce Herman, Nancy Dillon INVITED PARTICIPANTS AND GUESTS: Ben Hacker, John Swain, Charlie Perlo APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the June 2018 and July 2018 meetings were presented for approval. Musante moved to approve the minutes. Burgess seconded the motion. The motion carried with Dupont -Coutu abstaining (3 -0). Treasurer's Report Burgess reported that the balance of the account is $31,196.99. Higgins commented that a payment of $2,000 related to the Tidal Shift program is not reflected in this amount; she will check with Karen Milo regarding the status of that payment, since it appears it may have been debited from a different account. The correct account balance should be $29,196.99. Charlie Perlo submitted a reimbursement request for approved expenses incurred for the Homecoming event "Senior Day in the Park ". That reimbursement request is in processing. Burgess asked if the name on the Committee's account can be changed from Beverly Recycles to Waste Reduction Committee. The Committee agreed this would be a good change. Higgins suggested checking with Karen Milo to see if a change is possible. Burgess reported that bottles and cans collected from Lobsterfest valued $9.85. Dillon gave her bottles and cans from a private, neighborhood block party that valued $7.45. Higgins gave her $2.00 found in old, miscellaneous Committee supplies. The total amount of $19.30 will be donated directly to Beverly Bootstraps. Recycling /Composting at Beverly Homecoming Events Higgins reported that recycling /composting at Lobsterfest was very successful. She reviewed the coordination efforts that preceded the event, which included meeting with the Homecoming Committee, their event coordinator, the caterer, Black Earth, and City staff. She thanked everyone, including the volunteers, for their role in a successful event. Based on visual observation and barrel counts, the Committee diverted an estimated 84% by volume to recycling and composting; diversion by weight is not known but may be higher. There were seven (7) bags of trash — five (5) from the caterer and two (2) from our station. Items Page 1 of 4 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — August 9, 2018 in the trash were generally chip bags, lobster bibs, plastic containers from Captain Dusty's that were too dirty to recycle, cracker and butter pat wrappers, and trash that the public brought into the park (e.g., juice boxes /pouches, take out containers). The Committee intended to recycle chip bags through Terracycle. The bags were separated during the event, but through communications later that day with Change is Simple it was learned that there are no Terracycle recycling outlets at present for chip bags. As a result, the bags ended up in the trash. For next year, the Committee discussed the following recommendations for Lobsterfest: • Have the event coordinator switch to Simple Green for cleaning tables (so that the paper towels can go in the compost bin). • Increase signage reminding the public that the park is Carry -in /Carry -out, to minimize the non -event trash coming to our station. Place informational /thank -you signs at each table to inform the public of the "zero waste" efforts of the event. • Improve the system for preventing the public from directly accessing the full and empty compost bins (rope the area off, tape the bins shut, etc.). Vendors and the public were routinely attempting to use the compost bins for disposal of their trash. • Research options for compostable lobster bibs. • Research options for butter pats in waxed paper. • Research the status of Terracycle chip bag recycling. • Work with Captain Dusty's to switch to compostable ice cream dishes. • Work with the caterer to make sure trash is not going into the compost bin at the end of the event. This was a big problem — the caterer's final compost bin had food service gloves, sterno fuel canisters, plastic wrap, etc. that had to be hand sorted before it was collected by Black Earth. • Work with the caterer to research re -use (donation) options for edible food (maybe River House). This year, large amounts of unserved food (hotdogs, corn, watermelon) were dumped into the compost bin. • Advise the event coordinator /caterer that a lot of chicken is discarded uneaten; discuss the possibility of switching from whole chicken breast to boneless chicken breast for less food waste. • Request newer /cleaner composting bins from Black Earth, if available for use; the bins we used were quite dirty, which counteracted our efforts to show composting is easy, efficient, and cleaner than expected. • Discourage cookies /candies in plastic wrappers, or other non - recyclable giveaways, from the event vendors. Charlie Perlo reported on Senior Day in the Park, which was very successful. There were 500 chicken dinners served with less than one bag of trash. The event was set up with four, manned recycling /composting stations at each corner of the tent. Perlo commented that the volunteers cleaning the tables relied heavily on one of the stations, and that we'll need better communication next year to make sure usage is more evenly distributed to the four stations. Burgess commented that the stations are set up outside of the tent (i.e., not in the shade); it would be helpful to pull it inside the tent or else have a pop -up canopy to offer volunteers some relief from the sun. There was a problem with Black Earth being able to collect the toters in a timely Page 2 of 4 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — August 9, 2018 manner after the event. The toters were emptied later that night (around 7 pm) and then removed from the park the next day. We will have to coordinate better next year to prevent this from happening again, since it impacted the event that evening (YMCA race). We should have a backup plan for bin storage if not picked up on time. Higgins reported on recycling efforts at the YMCA Homecoming race. Joyce Hermon and Connie Krueger have been working with the YMCA to implement increased recycling, and have been making good progress. Hermon coordinated to provide the YMCA with clear stream containers and a composting bin for the race. Curbside Composting Program Higgins reported that Beverly has passed the one thousand household mark (1,010 as of early June), and participation is continuing to increase steadily. We have delivered all of the curbside bins to Black Earth. The City has ordered 252 new bins ($19.61 per bin with countertop). The Committee discussed sending a letter to the editor of the Salem News and Beverly Citizen to actively promote the program and increase participation after the new bins arrive. Future Committee Activities and Programs The Committee discussed the importance of identifying future activities, programs and priorities for the Committee. One of these could be public event recycling. Councilor Rand has expressed interest in working with the Committee on this topic. Dupont -Coutu said she would research information available from past discussions of this topic. Dupont -Coutu also reported that the City of Salem recently passed an ordinance requiring private haulers to recycle; this is something our Committee could consider promoting for Beverly. Higgins will add these topics to the agenda for next month as part of setting Committee priorities and areas of focus moving forward. Other Business and Updates Higgins received a request from the Hamilton Waste Reduction Committee to co -sign a letter to Beverly Shaws asking that the store remove clear plastic recycling bags (Hefty) from the shelf. These bags are not allowed in the Beverly or Hamilton curbside recycling programs; when used, the bags result in materials being rejected at the curb. The Hamilton Committee has effectively had these bags removed from Crosby's, Stop and Shop, and Aubuchon Hardware. The Hamilton Waste Reduction Committee provided a draft letter for our consideration, which the Committee reviewed and discussed. Musante moved to co -sign the letter; Dupont -Coutu seconded. The motion carried (4 -0). Higgins reported that Mary Beth Clancy is still waiting for communication from the Mayor's office regarding her interest in joining the Committee. Higgins has recently followed -up with the Mayor's office encouraging accelerated consideration of Ms. Clancy's appointment. John Swain expressed interest in formally re joining the Committee. Higgins explained the process and said she would send an introductory email to the Mayor. Ben Hacker is interested in staying involved with the Committee, but as a student away at school much of the year it would be Page 3 of 4 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — August 9, 2018 challenging to be formally involved. Higgins agreed to keep Mr. Hacker informed of our activities so he can participate based on availability and share ideas and information. Dupont -Coutu reported that she conducted preliminary research on the potential use of Sidewalk Buttlers for cigarette disposal, following a request from a previous meeting. Feedback from the City of Salem indicates the buttlers have been problematic. People use them, but it's a struggle to get the City staff to maintain them. The Committee agreed to consider the potential for further evaluating the use of sidewalk Buttlers, but generally discussed that there are likely higher - priority issues requiring our attention. Higgins reported that Mary Barthelmes, a Beverly resident with an interest in Committee activities, has volunteered to assist our Committee with social media efforts. Following discussion at our next meeting about priorities and areas of focus, Higgins will coordinate with Mary to facilitate her assistance to improve the effectiveness of our use of social media. Adjournment There being no further discussion this evening, the meeting was adjourned at 7:17 p.m. Page 4 of 4