&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA-530-F-99-022e
October 1999
www.epa.gov/osw
Saint Paul, Minnesota
23% Waste Reduction Rate in Multi-family Dwellings
Saint Paul, Minnesota, began its multi-family recycling program in 1986.
Local ordinance requires that all apartment complexes offer residents
recycling services. City-sponsored multi-family recycling services are
available to buildings with twelve or more dwelling units. As one of the
oldest programs in the United States, it is also one of the most
developed. In 1997, over 27,114 units in 1,056 buildings received the
recycling service and the program collected 3,418 tons of recyclables,
representing a greater than tenfold increase from the 290 tons collected in 1988.
In 1997, Saint Paul achieved a multi-family waste diversion rate of 23%, collecting 22 pounds
of recyclables per multi-family unit per month.
Program Description
ecycling came to Saint Paul in 1986. The
rogram was established by a not-for-profit
neighborhood coalition — the Saint
Paul Neighborhood Energy
Consortium (NEC). From the start of
the program, planners decided to
offer on-premises recycling to all city
residents, regardless of whether they
lived in single-family houses,
^ condominiums, high-rise apartments,
or even houseboats.
Originally multi-family properties
had to sign up to participate in city
recycling programs. In 1992, the
program became mandatory, in that all
complexes must offer the services.
Participation by individual residents is
voluntary.
NEC contracts with Super Cycle to
provide collection services. The firm
collects source-separated recyclables
using sets of six ninety-gallon wheeled
carts at each recycling station. One
recycling station, which receives weekly
or every other week pickup, serves up
to 100 households.
A key to the success of the
program is city-wide uniformity of
the program — there is the same
set-out system, list of acceptable
items, and instructions for preparation of
materials throughout the city. This makes
education easier, and it means that a resident
who moves does not have to relearn recycling
requirements.
Saint Paul's multi-family recycling program
is truly a group effort with the city providing
the containers, NEC managing education and
the contract with the hauler, and Super Cycle
doing the collection. NEC works with the
manager of each complex to be sure the
property manager understands his or her
responsibilities (keep containers accessible,
clear away snow, provide move-in packages to
new tenants), signs a contract with the owners
of the complex, and recommends recycling be
included in all leases.
Outreach Activities
NEC actively manages the outreach for Saint
Paul's multi-family recycling programs. NEC
provides educational materials including flyers,
posters, displays and leadership for resident
Materials Collected
Newspapers
Telephone books
Mixed paper (including mail, office paper,
magazines and catalogs, and
paperboard)
Glass Containers
Cans
Corrugated cardboard
This profile is part of the fact sheet Complex Recycling Issues: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction in Multi-
Family Dwellings (EPA-530-F-99-022).
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mailings. Most educational materials
provide basic, clear guidelines and are
available in many languages (including
English, Spanish, Russian, Cambodian,
Hmong, Chinese, Vietnamese, and
Somali).
The program provides ongoing
feedback to residents — via monthly
data on quantity of materials recycled
by complex (the hauler is required to
provide NEC with monthly pickup
information for each account served).
These data can be graphed on a poster
provided by NEC, and displayed for
residents to see. NEC staff also attend
tenant meetings to speak about the
MFD program upon request.
NEC also encourages residents of
MFDs to reuse household items. It has
helped complexes set up exchange
tables where residents leave items for
free retrieval by other residents. NEC
also publishes lists of drop-off locations
where residents can donate used
clothes, furniture, and other reusable
items.
Costs/Benefits
Recycling in multi-family dwellings in
Saint Paul is financed by a city tax of
$13 per dwelling unit per year, billed to
MFD property owners on their property
tax bills. In 1996, Saint Paul paid the NEC
$12.17 per household served, NEC in
turn paid Super Cycle $9.81 per
household for recycling collection and
marketing and used the remaining
monies to fund its outreach and
educational programs.
The per ton cost of MFD recycling is
approximately $94 in Saint Paul,
compared to $119 per ton for trash
(collection averaged $70 per ton and
disposal cost $49 per ton). Although the
per ton cost of the recycling program is
greater than the per ton cost of
collecting trash, total trash costs are
higher because of disposal tip fees.
Furthermore, if recycling were eliminated
and all discards were collected as trash,
conservative estimates indicate that total
costs per multi-family household would
essentially be unchanged. In 1996, the
total cost of the trash collection and
disposal and recycling programs was $64
for multi-family households; the costs for
trash collection and disposal of all waste
generated at MFDs would have been at
least $63. Saint Paul has designed a
system where recycling programs are
delivered at essentially no additional
cost to the community, and where
significant diversions prolong the life of
disposal facilities.
Tips for Replication
• Accept the same materials and use
a consistent sorting system for all
program participants in your
community.
• Produce educational materials
using simple graphics.
• Use multiple means of getting the
message out — including tenant
meetings, newsletters, lease clauses,
posters celebrating achievements, and
direct mailings.
Contact:
Rick Person
Solid Waste Manager
800 City Hall Annex
Saint Paul, MN 55102
(651) 266-6122 fax (651) 298
rick.person@stpaul.gov
AND
Pat Schoenecker
Multifamily Recycling Manager
Neighborhood Energy Consortium
623 Selby Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
(651) 644-7678 fax (651) 649-3109
pats@spnec.org
AND
Ecodata, Inc.
97 N.Campo Road
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 454-1700 fax (203) 227-5289
Program Summary, 1996
Start Date
Type of Multi-Family Buildings
Households Served
Average Persons per HH Served
Total Waste Generated (Tons)
Disposed
Diverted
Total Diverted (%)
Average Generation (Ibs./HH/day)
Disposed
Diverted
Average per ton SWM costs
Trash Collection*
Trash Disposal
Diversion**
SWM Cost per HH per Year
Disposal*
Diversion**
Estimated Costs per HH per Year
without Waste Reduction***
1989, reached 100% of MFDs served in 1995
All buildings and complexes in the city with
12 or more units
27,114
1.44
15,371
11,849
3,522
22.9%
3.1
2.4
0.7
$70.50
$49.00
$93.69
$64.39
$52.22
$12.17
$63.14
HH = household SWM = solid waste management
Numbers may not add to total due to rounding.
* Ecodata estimated costs based on discussions with private haulers serving the MFD sector in Saint Paul.
**Represents$12.17 per household fee paid by the city to the Saint Paul NEC.
***ln order to estimate what per household costs might have been if Saint Paul had no recycling program, Ecodata
assumed that all waste generated would be handled as trash and the marginal collection cost per ton of material
that was recycled would be equal to 50% of the per ton trash collection cost in the present system.
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