The Aspen, Colorado, City Council says it would like to be as aggressive as possible in creating a comprehensive plan for diverting waste from the landfill and incentivizing the community to generate less trash, reports the Aspen Daily News.
Senior environmental health specialist for the city, Liz Chapman, presented Aspen elected officials with three scenarios last week that balanced spending and timelines in achieving the council’s goal of waste reduction. A status quo scenario would mean the city makes no further investments than what it already spends on waste management.
Current predictions are that—without adjustments—the local landfill will be out of capacity in three to 10 years.
According to the Aspen Daily News, a middle of the road scenario was presented, called “Scenario B,” that would include hiring dedicated staff members and concentrating on the number one sector attributed to landfill accumulation, which is construction waste.
A third scenario would cost the city upwards of $250,000 per year, including a fully staffed department with funds for subsidizing commercial and private waste diversion programs.
“Scenario C would be, we want to aim for a net-zero community as fast as we can get there, and we are going to spend a whole bunch of money in order to do it,” Chapman explained to the council.
Scenario C would include the city adopting similar policies to the ones the county has enacted. It could also mean subsidizing restaurant efforts to reduce waste, such as composting programs, providing bear-proof receptacles and a reusable takeout container program.
In creating a comprehensive waste management program, the city might also use punitive measures as well as incentives, the Daily News reports. A 2015 study showed in that year, two-thirds of the trash brought to the landfill was from construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Councilmember Ward Hauenstein suggested fees specific to the industry that is responsible for the majority of the landfill’s capacity issues.
“If you are filling up the landfill with construction waste and demolishing, perhaps you should pay for it,” he said.
In order to fund the staffing and programming needed to implement new policies and public outreach campaigns, the environmental health department would likely need to create a revenue stream. Chapman is scheduled to appear back in front of council in the spring with options for that income.
For now, council has given direction that they would be amenable to a supplemental budget for one additional staff person to assist in the work of building a long-term plan to reduce solid waste and divert compostable and recycling materials from the Pitkin County Landfill.