TESTIMONY
of
Amy Kelley
DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, Zero Waste Committee
before the
DC Council Committee on Facilities & Procurement on
DC Department of General Services
Performance Oversight Hearing
February 28, 2019
John A. Wilson Building, Room 412
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before this committee today. My name is Amy Kelley, and I’m here to speak on behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter’s Zero Waste Committee, though I am also a DC small business owner, a board member of the DC Food Recovery Working Group, and a 6-year resident of Ward 6.
The DC Chapter of the Sierra Club would first like to commend the Department of General Services for the following accomplishments over the past year:
• Development and publication of the Share Table Guide for DC Schools. This guidance will help reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in our schools.
• Installation and launch of one of the largest on-site solar projects in the country at HD Woodson High School in Ward 7. The project is a combined 670 kW solar roof and parking lot installation and is currently the most powerful solar power generating system in the District.
• DGS’ annual Reduce First! Challenge involves schools across the District in finding solutions to waste challenges. Last year’s ‘Reduce First! Challenge: Plastic Edition’ resulted in actionable solutions developed by students and teachers to increase awareness of, and to reduce single-use plastic in schools.
• DGS’ school recycling and composting programs received local and national recognition in 2018. They were referenced in Prince George’s Resource Recovery Master Plan and used as a success story at the US Green Building Council’s School Sustainability Leaders Summit.
We recognize that DGS and its leadership are addressing a broad array of functions that are essential to the District. However, the Sierra Club is concerned that the momentum and success of the school recycling and composting programs are being compromised. In particular, we note that the organics hauling contract that served 76 DC schools lapsed at the end of last school year (2017-18) and we are unclear as to whether funding was set aside for an organics hauling program for this school year (2018-19). What is clear is that composting is not occurring in many schools this year. This situation is contrary to the 2018 Healthy Schools Act Report, which states on page 25 that:
“The organics recycling program will continue to be phased into additional District schools during school year 2018-19.”
We urge DGS to reinstate organics hauling at schools by the start of the next school year (2019-20) and to continue expanding the composting program throughout all DC schools to help increase the District’s waste diversion rate.
The Sierra Club is also concerned about a lack of transparency and data regarding waste diversion rates in schools and across all DGS facilities. Per the Healthy Schools Act (§ 38–825.01), DGS should have achieved a system-wide diversion rate of 45% on or before August 1, 2015. We have not seen any data showing what the diversion rate is, or if the goal was achieved. Further, the annual Healthy Schools Act reports contain no information on diversion rates, as required by the Healthy Schools Act (§ 38–825.01):
“The report shall include: A thorough, school-by-school breakdown of the waste stream in public schools, including tonnages, components, and diversion rates.”
We request that DGS begin reporting waste diversion rates for schools and the other facilities in its portfolio, and that DGS share this information with the Sierra Club and other interested stakeholders. This information is essential to track the District’s progress against the waste diversion goals in Sustainable DC 2.0, and the overall goal of achieving an 80% diversion from landfills and incineration in the District by 2032.
Finally, we would like to highlight two important vacancies at DGS:
• Associate Director for Sustainability and Energy, and
• Schools Conservation Coordinator
The Sierra Club requests that these positions are filled quickly, and with individuals who believe in and are committed to the mission of these jobs, and who have the skills and experience necessary to carry out that mission.
The DC Chapter of the Sierra Club feels that these are reasonable and realistic asks and essential actions if the District is to achieve its waste diversion goals. We have invited a DGS representative to speak at our upcoming Zero Waste Committee meeting in March to help us understand where our Committee’s time and resources are best put to use to help DGS achieve its environmental requirements. We stand ready to work with DGS in these endeavors.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.