Reader Profile: Jim Kuhl

If you’re looking for someone who has worked tirelessly to elevate the practices-as well as the image-of the solid waste industry, look to the west. There, Department of Public Works for the City of Long Beach, CA, you will find Jim Kuhl, who has managed the Environmental Services Bureau since 1989.

“I’m proud of the fact that we have one of the most innovative and effective solid waste management systems in the US,” says Kuhl. As well he should be. In 2009, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) honored the bureau’s operation with the Gold Excellence Award for Solid Waste Management Systems, giving it bragging rights to call itself a “Nation’s Best Solid Waste Management Program.”

Kuhl also has wielded influence beyond Long Beach to the North American waste landscape. He’s served on SWANA’s founding chapter board since 1989, has put in three terms as chapter president, chaired the local WASTECON Committee three times (including the upcoming 2013 WASTECON), and chaired the founding chapters of the Western Regional Symposium numerous times.

How He Spends His Days:
Kuhl spends his days managing 240 employees in his bureau and overseeing a $51 million budget. With those resources, he manages 125,000 refuse collection accounts, a street sweeping operation of 180,000 curb miles, and compliance with state recycling mandates. He manages city non-exclusive franchise agreements with private haulers. Add to those tasks the management of city parking enforcement operations. Beyond that, Kuhl has implemented an alternative fuel program (LNG) for city collection vehicles and street sweepers, and administers the city’s Recycling Market Development Zone, one of 35 zones in California that offer low-interest loans to businesses that create products or add value to recyclable materials. Currently, Long Beach zone manufacturers utilize more than 300,000 tons of recycled materials each year, giving new life to materials that in the past would have been landfilled.

What Led Him to a Career in the Industry:
Kuhl has always maintained a strong interest in local government and various environmental issues. In his first position working for a local municipality, he was tasked with the oversight of the city’s refuse and recycling contract. “I was hooked when I discovered that I could combine my two fields of interest,” Kuhl says. Before working for Long Beach, Kuhl also served the California cities of Glendale and Downey.

What He Likes Best About His work:
What others may view as daunting, Kuhl regards as fulfilling. “Long Beach is California’s fifth-largest city, with diverse operational and service challenges,” he points out. “I have new laws, regulations, programs, and problems coming my way every day that require quick, well-reasoned solutions and decisions. Throughout my 25 years of being a SWANA member, I have gained a strong and diverse network of friends and colleagues I can always rely on for expert advice and support. It’s great to be able to call someone and gain insight from their real life and on-the-job experiences.”

His Biggest Challenge and How He Meets It:
When Kuhl first started working for Long Beach, residents were enjoying unlimited weekly refuse service with rates that did not cover the cost of the service. At the same time, state-mandated recycling requirements had just been enacted. “My challenge was complicated,” notes Kuhl. “I had to put volume-based rates in place, implement a new residential recycling program to meet state mandates, and raise rates to cover program costs.” Cognizant that doing so would be as welcomed by residents as readily as a glass of sour milk, Kuhl saw that the challenge required the bureau getting creative with its education and outreach efforts in order to persuade residents to view refuse and recycling service as a utility-much the same as their access to electricity or water-and that conservation helps save money and the environment. “With the support of the city council, we implemented automated refuse collection to reduce operating costs and encourage recycling, and convinced residents to support a small rate increase,” he says. “Today, we have a healthy refuse and recycling enterprise fund, and have achieved a citywide recycling rate that exceeds 70%.”