1998 Trash Cutter Award Program Case Studies

City of Carson: Creative Partnership

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description:

The City of Carson, along with its hauler USA Waste, developed a unique cooperative waste reduction and recycling program with the University of California, Los Angeles Extension (UCLA) Waste Management and Recycling Program, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and the Integrated Waste Management  Board (CIWMB). During 1997 and 1998 student interns from the various universities were trained by Dr. Eugene Tseng of UCLA, the U.S. EPA and the Waste Board on how to conduct on-site waste audits.  As a result, the students did 120 audits of businesses throughout the city. The audits involved assessing and quantifying existing recycling practices and programs and any additional programs that could be implemented; providing literature; notifying the hauler and/or third party recyclers or potential recycling opportunities; assisting  businesses in implementing recycling programs; and databasing audit results.

Program Summary:

Student interns from various universities were trained by Dr. Eugene Tseng (UCLA) using CIWMB and EPA training materials. The students conducted on-site waste reduction and recycling audits for over 120 businesses in the city for the pilot program during 1997 and 1998. Because of the success of the program, it has been expanded and will be continued.  The joint city and franchise hauler goal is to have an on-site visit to 50 percent of all businesses serviced by the franchise hauler in the city by the year 2000. 

The audits consisted of the following: 

• Assessing and quantifying existing recycling and source reduction practices.
• Assessing and quantifying any additional recycling and source reduction programs that could be reasonable be implemented.
• Providing CIWMB business technical assistance literature specific to the business.
• Notifying the hauler and/or third party recyclers of potential recycling opportunities.
• Assisting in implementation of additional diversion programs if asked by the businesses.
• Developing a database of the audit results.

The city worked cooperatively with the U.S. EPA to test various source reduction quantification methodologies developed as part of a joint research project between UCLA, CIWMB, and the EPA. The students also field tested various waste reduction and recycling audit forms to be included in a diversion guide being developed by the CIWMB. Revisions of the forms resulted from student auditor suggestions. Revisions to source reduction quantification methodologies in the draft EPA document "Business Users" Guide for Measuring Source Reduction" also resulted from the test pilot program.

City staff provided a critical role in the private-public partnership. Staff performed the following tasks:

• Coordinated and monitored student audits.
• Provided contacts in the business community.
• Promoted business participation.
• Provided technical review of technical methodologies.
• Performed ombudsman role for pilot program.
• Assured business of confidentiality of data.

Costs

• USA Waste, the franchised hauler, provided research stipends to the student interns.

• The most significant result of the pilot program is that it demonstrated the importance of implementing source reduction programs in order to reach the 50 percent diversion goal in a cost-effective manner.

Benefits

The Solid Waste Management Department and USA Waste also works closely with the Economic Development Office. New businesses coming into the city are provided technical assistance in developing waste reduction and recycling options as part of business development. A major candy manufacturer constructing a production facility is working with the city and hauler in researching ways to minimize waste generation.

The information about this program is very useful to other jurisdictions in evaluating whether such a program would work for them. The City of Carson staff has been active in making presentations at various conferences on this cooperative waste reduction and recycling audit partnership between the city, USA Waste, and various academic institutions. As a result, the city knows that at least another dozen Southern California cities are developing similar partnerships to provide on-site technical assistance to the commercial and industrial sector and focusing on implementing source reduction programs. The city staff has been asked to serve as technical reviewer for several of the programs in the other cities.

Several of the student interns working on the audit program have received full-time jobs in the environmental field. The audit program also showed the inaccuracies of the city's original AB 939 source reduction and recycling element report. The program has achieved a measurable reduction in disposed waste and has helped the city focus its outreach efforts.

For Further Information Contact:

City of Carson
P.O. Box 6234
Carson, CA 90745
(310) 952-1700