CRRA2021

Better Methods for Tonnage and Revenue Forecasting for ZW Plans

Better Methods for Tonnage and Revenue Forecasting for ZW Plans

Tonnage fluctuations – a la Covid-19 – wreak havoc on budgets!  Predicting tonnage disposed and diverted is vital to program planning, staffing, and budgeting.  But for decades, most Zero Waste and program planning work has relied on very simple (engineering-type) methods: “scaling up” last year’s tonnage by population or trend analysis, adjusted in an ad hoc way for big program or policy changes.  This presentation reviews four forecasting approaches and illustrates the distinct advantages that economic / econometric forecasting approaches provide for:

o   really tracking peaks and valleys and cycles in tonnages, linking to causal economic drivers, and allowing huge improvements in revenue forecasts and service needs, and

o   supporting meaningful scenario analysis and “bounding” of projections for more reliable planning and risk analysis.

The presentation illustrates the power of the technique for improved tonnage forecasts for disposal, recycling, C&D and other streams, including graphs, comparisons, and real-world forecasts. It also provides links to material-specific forecasts (and the evolving ton), program planning, and prioritization steps.  Benefits to Attendees include:  learning about strengths and weaknesses of tonnage projection methods; understanding economic forecasting methods, key drivers, and the performance in solid waste; and understanding how using the methods can reduce risk in planning and budgeting.

Director of Business Development

Linnea Whitney Skierski is the Director of Business Development for Recyclist. An advocate for improving local government programs, she brings knowledge and passion around a diverse set of intersectional sustainability issues to the table. Her non-profit background also allows her to approach her work in business with a unique, philanthropic perspective. When she’s not gardening or upcycling things in her spare time, she volunteers with industry non-profits like WISR (Women in Solid Waste and Recycling) to improve their engagement and reach. Linnea’s personal mission is to unite and galvanize people and organizations to accomplish ambitious social and environmental goals together.

Founder

Emily Coven is the founder of Recyclist, creators of cloud-based solutions that make solid waste program management easy. Recyclist harnesses smart technology and data to generate better results in outreach, diversion, contamination and compliance, especially SB 1383. A veteran digital media and technology innovator who ran her own agency for more than a decade, Emily founded Recyclist in 2014 with a mission of leveraging smart technologies to achieve tangible positive results for the environment and society.

The Procrastinator’s Guide to SB 1383 Recordkeeping and Reporting

2022 is less than five months away — is your jurisdiction ready for SB 1383 recordkeeping? If not, the good news is it’s not too late! For jurisdictions, initial reports are not due until April and October, but recordkeeping starts on January 1. So in this session, we’ll focus on the nuts on bolts of the recordkeeping requirements.

The 127 pages of SB 1383 regulatory text ultimately boil down to a handful (albeit a large handful) of different types of information that a jurisdiction must keep accurate and up-to-date records on. We will walk you through exactly what that information is, and suggest ways to streamline setting up your documentation. This will help to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks, and that you’re prepared for both a CalRecycle record request as well as for your annual reporting. 

Having spent the better part of 2020 and 2021 building software for this exact purpose, we have a firm grasp on the requirements. We will share what we’ve learned along the way, and answer questions, so that all jurisdictions -- not just Recyclist customers -- have a solid roadmap for success.

Finally, SB 1383 is a team effort -- if ever there was one! -- between cities, counties and haulers, as well as consultants and potentially other organizations. Maintaining records in one central location, as the regulations require, while simultaneously maintaining data privacy, can be a challenge. So we’ll also go over best practices for collaborative recordkeeping based on real-world successes from Recyclist customers.

Zero Waste Specialist

Steven Chiv is a Zero Waste Specialist with the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Steven’s work in the commercial sector is focused on increasing awareness and participation in recycling and composting. He believes Zero Waste is the gateway to Environmental Action! Zero Waste CAN be achieved in communities that provides programs to participate in source separation with a focused messaging on reduction and reuse before recycling and composting.

Refuse Separation Compliance Ordinance

The Refuse Separation Compliance Ordinance (RSO) is a San Francisco law designed to increase additional compliance to support San Francisco’s Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance. SF has approximately 300 Large Refuse Generators (LRG) which is defined as accounts with a roll-off compactor or accounts with at least 40 cubic yards or more of uncompacted compost, recycle and trash service per week.

LRG’s are audited once every three years and compliance with the RSO means Large Refuse Generators must not exceed set contamination thresholds of 5% for compost, 10% for recycle and 25% for trash. An LRG that fails an audit with contamination above set limits in any of the three streams are required to engage in services of a Zero Waste Facilitator to ensure adequate separation for refuse being collected.

Come see the results of how this new law pushes additional source separation ACTION to help move San Francisco toward Zero Waste!