TESTIMONY
of
Catherine Plume
Chair, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
Department of Transportation and the Environment Committee for
the 2021 Budget Hearing for the Department of Public Works
May 28, 2020
I’m Catherine Plume, the Chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, a lifelong environmentalist, and a 20-year District resident, and now a proud resident of Ward 4. Thank you, Councilmember Cheh, for being a champion of environmental issues in DC. I’m writing today to discuss the FY21 budget for the DC Department of Public Works (DPW).
First and foremost, the Sierra Club DC Chapter wants to recognize DPW and its entire staff for the hard work and services they have provided and continue to provide to District residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. With in-house restaurant dining closed, more District residents are eating at home, generating more waste and food waste. We commend the DPW first responders for continuing vital DC services during the pandemic. We are grateful for their commitment to DC.
We realize that these are unprecedented times for the District and indeed the planet. The Sierra Club DC Chapter recognizes the deep budget cuts that the District is suffering from the economic impacts of COVID-19 which are exacerbated by the US Senate’s decision to minimize recovery funds for the District. Given this situation and the economic challenges at hand, in general, we are in favor of the allocations in the Mayor’s draft FY21 budget, and we are pleased to see that many environmental programs for DPW and DC’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) have been left intact. Specifically,
- We are pleased to see that there is money in the draft FY21 budget to continue with the installation of electric charging stations at DC facilities (for the DC vehicle fleet) at a rate of 50 charging stations per year.
- The Food Waste Drop Offs are now (again) fully functional and drop-off rates are on a par with last year. We are pleased there are no proposed cuts to this program in the draft FY21 budget.
- There is money in the draft FY21 budget to hire 12 more FTEs for parking enforcement (including protecting bike lanes).
However, we were surprised to learn about some proposed DPW changes that Director Chris Geldhart mentioned at the budget oversight hearing.
Residential Composting
- We were surprised to learn that DPW is now looking at regional solutions to glass, residential composting (food waste and yard waste), and that conversations were happening and somewhat advanced for a composting program with Prince George’s County as of January. While we would prefer to find a local site for DC’s composting and had hopes that such a site could be incorporated into the revamping of the Benning Road facility, we support and appreciate the Prince George’s County Composting Facility. We support this alternative, however, we wish that DC’s environmental community could have been a part of this discussion versus learning about it through a DC Council hearing.
- We were saddened to hear that there seems to be no timeline for this compost program - in any form - to actually happen. While we recognize that there are budget constraints, DC residents have repeatedly expressed an interest in residential composting. Meanwhile, we see the current DPW administration continuing to kick this service down the road with compostable goods carried off to landfills and incinerators where it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions instead of being reincorporated into DC soils.
Recycling
We are pleased to learn that DPW is inspecting recycling loads brought in to the transfer stations by private haulers and levying fines for unacceptable contamination rates. While there is money in the current (FY20) budget for these inspectors, from the budget hearing we understand that funds to cover these positions are not included in the FY21 budget. As you well know, Councilmember Cheh, contamination of recycling materials is a major problem that can impact the recyclability of an entire load of recyclables. We ask that these inspector positions be fully funded.
Pay As You Throw
We are very frustrated to not hear anything about a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) pilot program in the proposed FY21 budget. Councilmember Cheh, you allocated funding for this pilot a few years ago. Other municipalities have shown us that a Pay As You Throw program is an excellent tool for reducing waste production and increasing composting and recycling. While we had the support of former DPW Director Christopher Shorter for the program, current DPW Director Chris Geldart told the environmental community that he wanted to meet with us to discuss the idea. Such a meeting never occurred. We are frustrated. The Sierra Club and the DC environmental community have spent hours on this topic, talking with experts and learning how this program could be successfully rolled out in DC. We are not clear what happened to these monies in the FY21 budget or if DPW has indeed cancelled the pilot program. We respectfully request clarifications on these points.
If the PAYT pilot program has been cancelled, we would like to engage with and understand DPW’s plans and milestones for achieving the District’s goal of 80% diversion from landfills and incineration over 2013 levels. As it is now 2020, and we still have a diversion rate that hovers in the low 20s (21-24%), we do not see how the goal is attainable without stated commitment and significant changes in current procedures and practices.
ZeroWaste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019
Finally, and as we noted in our December testimony, the Sierra Club wholehearted endorses the DC ZeroWaste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019. While we understand the reasoning for not bringing this legislation before the Council for a vote during the FY20 session, we hope that this bill will be passed in the very near future. We feel that it is ambitious but feasible, and necessary. We were pleased to see that this bill has wide council support. This bill has large implications for both DPW and DOEE and we encourage their leadership to begin looking at the impacts of this legislation on their departments now.
Once this bill is enacted, there will be a need for enforcement of key provisions through inspection of food service entities' premises to verify that they are complying with composting requirements and using reusable food service ware. In addition, Section 406(d) of the draft law would make grants available to assist food service entities to acquire dish washing capacity and acquire reusable food service ware. While we recognize that the FY21 budget is very tight, we would like to see a provision to include funding for such grants. As we move to support reusable food service ware in the District, small grants either for restaurants or third-party service providers to purchase commercial dishwashers and reusable food service ware could ensure that reusables for carry-out and on-premise food consumption becomes a reality.
The legislation will have positive financial benefits for all parties. Enactment will lead to a significant reduction in plastic food service ware that will save the DPW waste processing costs in this time of budget constraints. Meanwhile the bill’s composting requirements promises to create jobs for people, either working directly in the restaurant industry or for third-party foodware sanitation services. Studies have also shown that moving to reusable foodware can save food service entities money in a matter of weeks by switching to reusables. This should be welcome news to the District’s restaurant owners. Meanwhile, composting food waste will remove the food stream from landfills and incineration where it becomes methane, a greenhouse gas estimated to be at least 25% more toxic than carbon dioxide.
DPW Leadership
We commend Director Geldart for his leadership in running the District’s COVID-19 response team. However, we feel that it is all but impossible to run two essential District entities - the Department of Public Works and DC’s COVID-19 response initiatives simultaneously and both deserve full attention.
This concludes our testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the FY21 Department of Public Works budget. Please contact us should you have any questions regarding this document.