1.             JUNE 2007 GIVE AWAY DAY - EVALUATION

 

JOURNÉE DON-DÉBARRAS DE JUIN 2007 - ÉVALUATION

 

 

 

Committee recommendationS

 

That Council:

 

1.                  Receive this evaluation of the June 2007 Give Away Day;

2.                  Approve a second City-wide Give Away Day for fall 2007; and

3.                  Approve two Give Away Days per year, one in the spring and one in the fall with inclusion of the dates in the Solid Waste Services waste collection calendar.

 

 

RecommandationS du Comité

 

Que le Conseil municipal :

 

1.         prenne connaissance de l’évaluation de la Journée don-débarras de juin 2007 ;

2.         approuve une deuxième Journée don-débarras à l’échelle de la ville à l’automne 2007;

3.         approuve l’établissement de deux journées don-débarras par année, une au printemps et une à l’automne, dont les dates figureraient au calendrier de la collecte des déchets des Services de gestion des déchets solides.

 

 

Documentation

 

1.      Deputy City Manager's report Public Works and Services dated 5 September 2007 (ACS2007-PWS-UTL-0020).

 


Report to/Rapport au:

 

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

05 September 2007 / le  05 septembre  2007

 

Submitted by/Soumis par :  R.G. Hewitt

Deputy City Manager / Directeur municipal adjoint

Public Works and Services / Services et Travaux publics

 

Contact Person/Personne-ressource:  Dixon Weir, Acting Director/Directeur par intérim

Utility Services/Services publics

(613) 580-2424, 226609, Dixon.Weir@ottawa.ca

 

City-Wide / À l’échelle de la Ville

Ref N° : ACS2007-PWS-UTL-0020

 

 

SUBJECT:

JUNE 2007 GIVE AWAY DAY - EVALUATION

 

 

OBJET :

journée don-débarras de juin 2007 - évaluation

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

 

That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council:

1.      Receive this evaluation of the June 2007 Give Away Day;

2.      Approve a second City-wide Give Away Day for fall 2007; and

3.      Approve two Give Away Days per year, one in the spring and one in the fall with inclusion of the dates in the Solid Waste Services waste collection calendar.

 

 

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement recommande que le Conseil :

1.   prenne connaissance de l’évaluation de la Journée don-débarras de juin 2007 ;

2.   approuve une deuxième Journée don-débarras à l’échelle de la ville à l’automne 2007;

3.   approuve l’établissement de deux journées don-débarras par année, une au printemps et une à l’automne, dont les dates figureraient au calendrier de la collecte des déchets des Services de gestion des déchets solides.

 


 

BACKGROUND

 

On April 11, 2007, City Council approved the attached motion, moved by Councillor Wilkinson and seconded by Councillor Desroches, to support the City’s first City-wide Give Away Day where residents would be able to clear out their unwanted household items and furniture and place the items at the curbside for the benefit of other residents. 

The event was held on Saturday, June 23, 2007.  Communication of the event to residents listed the types of material that could be placed at the curb, rules for the setting out of the items and other etiquette points for the day.

 

This report will:

·        provide an evaluation of the success of the first Give Away Day held on Saturday, June 23, 2007;

·        request approval to hold a second Give Away Day in the fall of 2007;

·        recommend approval to hold two Give Away Days annually with a consistent date in the spring and fall; and

·        recommend that the Give Away Days be listed in the Solid Waste Services waste collection calendar distributed to residents to reduce advertising costs.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The City of Ottawa held its first City-wide Give Away Day on Saturday, June 23, 2007.  This event embraced the initiatives taken by smaller communities in an effort to RETHINK garbage and help residents to divert more material away from area landfills. 

 

Based on discussions with residents who had held successful community Give Away Days in the past, residents were encouraged to place out at the curb the following types of products: old furniture, small appliances, construction materials such as drywall and hardware i.e. nails, bolts and screws, kitchen gadgets, dishes, cutlery, pots, pans, books, CDs, DVDs, unwanted gifts from holidays and weddings and more.

 

Clear rules for the first City-wide Give Away Day were communicated to residents:

·        Participating residents were asked to place their unwanted household materials at the curb for the benefit of other residents to pick-up; 

·        The material was to be placed out at the curbside between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.  Residents were encouraged to place stickers or signs on the items that indicated that the items were free.  Specific items on residential property that were not to be picked up were to be kept away from the set-out items at the curb; and

·        Uncollected items were to be brought back into residents’ homes after 4 p.m. 

 

For those items that were not picked up during the Give Away Day, communication material suggested that residents check used item websites, including the Ottawa FreeCycle Network and charitable organizations for alternate disposal options.

 

Public Communication

 

A number of different means of advertising were used to publicize the event including:

·        Advertisements for the event were placed in community and daily newspapers;

·        Banner ads were placed in daily papers;

·        DJ chatter sheets were sent to media outlets; and 

·        A flyer was prepared and mailed to all City Community Associations and sent electronically to Councillor offices.

 

The event was also advertised on the City website as well as on some Councillor newsletters and websites.

 

Event Evaluation

 

No formal telephone or set-out survey was used to evaluate the event.  The evaluation of the City’s first Give Away Day was performed through anecdotal reporting from staff, Councillors and Solid Waste Inspectors, as well as emails and phone calls received from residents. 

 

Feedback

 

The first Give Away Day was well received by Council, staff and Ottawa residents alike. Feedback was received in the form of emails and phone calls to staff and Councillors, as well as anecdotal reports from staff, Councillors and Solid Waste Services Inspectors.  Overall, feedback for the Give Away Day was positive.  All feedback was supportive of the idea of a City-wide Give Away Day.  In their feedback, residents provided descriptions of the kinds of items that they left out and the kinds of items they picked up (furniture, electronics, books, toys and more).  Residents described their experience of the day as a fun activity for the family and the event fostered a sense of community.

 

Residents were conscientious about what they placed at the curb; they abided by the time guidelines for the day; and they marked their items as “free” for the taking.  Solid Waste Services received no complaints from residents or contractors the week following the Give Away Day.  Following the events on Monday, June 25, 2007, Solid Waste Services inspectors reported no unusual amounts of material left out at the curb.  Reports indicate that single-family homes, row houses and apartment buildings all participated in the event.  Single-family homes placed items at the curb, and row houses and apartment buildings used shared or common areas. 

 

Anecdotal reports indicated that participation was not uniform across the City. Certain neighbourhoods, including Kanata, Lebreton Flats, the downtown core, Orleans, Gloucester, the area around Bank and Hunt Club, and the New Edinburgh area all participated highly in the event.  Participation was somewhat lower in the Stittsville area, as this community had recently held its own Give Away Day. 

In Nepean, participation was fairly high whereas in the Sandy Hill area around the University of Ottawa, participation was fairly low and could be attributed to the fact that the students in the area vacate this neighbourhood for the summer. 

 

Public Information staff noted that the earned media campaign was positive.  Chatter sheets were picked up around the event, and coverage was very positive.  The Ottawa Citizen included a series of articles on the process of furnishing an entire apartment through the Give Away Day.

 

Many of the suggestions surrounding the Give Away Day concept involved suggestions for future improvements. Feedback indicated that residents desired more advanced notice, that notice be included in mass-distributed materials such as the waste collection calendar and that residents expressed interest in seeing two Give Away Days per year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

 

Future Give Away Days

 

Based on the success of this year’s initial spring Give Away Day, staff recommends continuing with these events in future years.  It is expected that participation will increase and become more widespread over time, especially with the standardization of dates and the inclusion of Give Away Days in future waste collection calendars.  It is known that the participation in the City’s Household Hazardous Waste depots is largely driven by the inclusion of the dates in the waste collection calendar.

 

With respect to a second Give Away Day for 2007, staff is concerned about the ability to adequately notify residents for the proposed October 13, 2007 date (rain date October 14, 2007).  The tight timelines mean the City will probably not be able to advertise or insert canned articles published in all of the City’s bi-weekly and monthly community publications, such as, the Centretown Buzz, Oscar, Glebe Report and Centretown News.  However, given the lack of negative consequences, staff is supportive of a fall 2007 Give Away Day.

 

CITY STRATEGIC DIRECTION 

 

Give Away Days support the recently approved 2007-2010 City Strategic Direction of reducing residential dependence on landfills by 30% within 1,000 days.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Give Away Days support the 3Rs strategy in the City’s overall Integrated Waste Management Master Plan (IWMMP) approved by Council in 2003.  The Give Away Days are an excellent means of encouraging re-use of articles.

 

While it is not possible to quantify the contribution to increased diversion created by Give Away Days, they do enhance the City’s efforts to move the diversion rate higher, as recommended by the Province.

 


 

CONSULTATION

 

City Councillors supported the idea to hold the first City-wide Give Away Day in 2007 and a consultation process began with Corporate Communications and Public Information and Solid Waste Services staff.  Consultation included discussions with residents who have held successful Give Away Days in the past.  The consultation process enabled Public Information staff to develop the necessary information and publicity for the event.

 

All City Community Associations were notified electronically and through regular post of the City’s first City-wide Give Away Day.

 

The City also consulted with the Consumer Product Safety Bureau of Health Canada which made the recommendation that used children’s items such as baby walkers, yo-yo balls, cribs, car seats, strollers, playpens, bath seats, blinds, toys and other child-related items should not be placed out at the curb. This information was communicated to residents through the Community Associations and the City’s website with links to Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety site.

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

This report has no tax implications.

 

The First Give Away Day was advertised in daily and community newspapers.  The total cost of advertising the first City-wide event was $12,326.  The specific advertising for the Give Away Day was:

 

Given the limited time available before the tentative fall 2007 Give Away Day of October 13 (rain date October 14), staff recommends an allowance of $12,000 for advertising.  Funding for this requirement is available in the Solid Waste Services 2007 Approved Operating Budget.  No additional funding is required.

 

Subsequent Give Away Days will require less advertising as the word spreads through the Community Associations and City Councillor newsletters and websites.  Inclusion of the Give Away Days in the Solid Waste Services collection calendar with the standardization of two days each year will assist in the lowering of advertising costs to promote the event.

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1 – Motion No. 11/13

 


 

DISPOSITION

 

Solid Waste Services will oversee Give Away Days and will work with Public Information and Corporate Communications staff to build upon the messaging from the June 23, 2007 event.  Staff will proceed with the promotion of a second Give Away Day for the fall of 2007. Two standard Give Away Days in the spring and fall have yet to be determined and an update will follow when those decisions are made.  Give Away Days will be listed in the Solid Waste Services waste collection calendar to reduce advertising costs.  Councillors’ offices will be asked again to assist in spreading the word on future Give Away Days in the same manner as previously, specifically through newspaper columns, newsletters and websites. 


Document 1
 
MOTION NO. 11/13
 
Moved by Councillor M. Wilkinson 
Seconded by Councillor S. Desroches 
 
WHEREAS there is an increasing concern over the use of landfill sites situated in proximity to local communities; and 
 
WHEREAS one way to extend the life of existing landfill sites while alternative ways of dealing with waste are explored is to find ways to re-use items that might otherwise be discarded in the garbage; and
 
WHEREAS the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association held a successful Give-Away Day in 2006 where residents placed unwanted items at the curb for others to take; and
 
WHEREAS staff of the City of Ottawa agree that holding a City-wide Give-Away Day would be both a useful way to reduce waste going to landfill and a financial saving for the City of Ottawa; and
 
WHEREAS a Give-Away Day only requires information and publicity to be successful;
 
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa support a City-wide Give-Away Day on a Saturday in mid to late June (rain date on the Sunday) where residents can clear out their unwanted household items and furniture while benefiting others; and 
 
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Section 67 of By-law No, 2006-300, the Solid Waste Management By-law that prohibits scavenging be waived for the City-wide Give-Away Day; and
 
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff work with residents who have held successful Give-Away Days to develop the necessary information and publicity for the event, with any information and publicity to include a requirement that, at the end of the Give-Away Day, people remove any uncollected items from the curbside; and 
 
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff prepare an evaluation of this event for the Planning and Environment Committee, with the objective of holding two Give-Away Days per year if the event is deemed successful. 
 
                                                                                                            CARRIED