TESTIMONY
of
Catherine Plume
Chair, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
Department of Transportation and the Environment Committee
Budget Oversight Hearing for the Department of Public Works
June 4, 2021
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.
At the Department of Public Works (DPW) oversight hearing early this year as well as on other occasions, the Sierra Club has expressed concerns about the Agency’s and even the Office of Waste Diversion’s (OWD) commitment to achieving DC’s zero waste goal of 80 percent diversion from landfills and incineration by 2032. Sadly, we continue to have this concern. DPW repeatedly tells us that Zero Waste for DC is a long (long) way away. We don’t see any concerted effort or aspiration to achieve this 80 percent goal. We find OWD’s priorities confounding.
A Renovation of the Benning Road Transfer Station
We were thrilled to hear that the Mayor included a $100M capital budget line item in her 2022 budget for the renovation of the Benning Road Transfer Station with $32M of this amount meant to be spent in FY22. We understand that the renovation of this facility will substantially increase the District’s waste diversion capacity. While planning for the facility is at a very early stage, we are pleased to learn that current plans include the installation of a large solar array, state of the art waste/recycling sorting, and glass recycling infrastructure. We sincerely hope that these elements will be included in the final design.
Residential Composting Services
We hoped that any restructuring of the Benning Road facility would allow for a composting facility for organic waste, and we are saddened to hear that this is not a part of DPW’s plans. At a recent DPW budget review hearing, we learned that the Office of Waste Diversion (OWD) has some willingness to expand the number of food waste drop-off operations at DC farmers markets, but there is still no plan for a residential composting program. We have been told that organic waste will be included in the Zero Waste Plan that the agency is compiling, and we continue to hope that such a program will be developed and prioritized by the Agency. As it is, far too much of the District’s organic waste is incinerated or landfilled, creating toxic methane gas that contributes to climate change and negatively impacts the low-income and Black and brown communities who reside near these facilities.
Implementation of the ZeroWaste Omnibus Amendment Act
We are frustrated to learn that OWD has no plans to implement any aspect of the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act that requires funding. While the draft budget includes a $117K spending budget for OWD, we have learned that a “substantial portion of these funds will be used to execute the ZeroWaste Plan” with any remaining funds to be spent on education and outreach – though no specifics were discussed. We do not see any political will within DPW to proactively implement any aspect of the bill that requires funding, despite the cost-saving elements for DC businesses (composting, reusable containers) that would also contribute to the District’s zero waste goals. DPW has made it clear that the Council will need to find additional money to implement any aspect of the bill that requires funding. While we see other DC agencies actively seeking external funding to further waste reduction efforts, sadly, OWD doesn’t mention this as one of their strategies. This attitude coupled with OWD’s assertion that no additional full-time equivalents (FTEs) are needed to move forward on DC’s waste diversion goals, again, makes us question OWD/DPW’s commitment to waste diversion.
Recycling Outreach and Education
At a DPW Stakeholder meeting earlier this year, OWD noted that they would begin recycling outreach to DC office buildings – a strategy that we question due to the current historically low office occupancy rates. We have learned that DPW in 2022, intends to increase outreach efforts to multi-family dwellings, a tactic that we wholeheartedly support as more DC residents are working from home than ever before. Furthermore, outreach and messaging to multi-family dwellings should be similar to that designed for single-family homes, and therefore represent a cost savings to the agency. We also urge OWD/DPW to take a firmer stance on ensuring that recycling is adopted and correctly practiced within all DC government (DCG) facilities as required by law. We know that current recycling rates within DCG hovers around 10 percent. During a recent conversation with OWD staff, the Agency said that this rate can be increased by providing standardized signage across all DC government agencies. The Sierra Club strongly believes that a far more comprehensive outreach initiative is required.
Electrification of the DC Fleet
Within the Department of Public Works, our chapter also has an interest in the Fleet Management Administration as it relates to the electrification and decarbonization of District-owned vehicles. Air quality and District residents' respiratory health suffer from heavy usage of internal combustion engines, and lifecycle assessments find that electric vehicles (EVs) need less maintenance over their years of use. From heavy-duty vehicles to sedans used by city employees, the DC chapter of the Sierra Club recommends DPW allocate the Fleet Management Administration increased funding, not decreased, for acquisition of electric and zero-emission vehicles, in line with the Mayor's goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. We are pleased to learn that DPW plans to increase if not double the number of EV charging stations, from the current 83 stations as of May 2021 to 163 by September 2022. And while we are pleased to learn that DPW intends to increase the number of packers, 6-wheel, and 10-wheel vehicles running on biodiesel to increase to 58 percent, 39 percent, and 17 percent by the end of 2022. While biodiesel is preferred over fossil fuels, we urge the Agency to establish a preference for EV options for these heavy use vehicles. Biodiesel vehicles should be only an interim solution until viable 100 percent electric options are available.
Conclusion
To summarize, Councilmember Cheh, the Sierra Club DC Chapter continues to have real concerns about DPW’s commitment to waste diversion in the District. Instead of celebrating a DC residential diversion rate of 25.25 percent in 2021, DPW should be incredibly concerned. The lack of overall creative vision for attaining DC’s zero waste goal along with the lack of any political will to implement any aspect of the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act – when funds are available – is regrettable. We do not get a sense of urgency from OWD/DPW to meet DC’s Zero Waste goals. While it pains us to say this, we feel that they have given up on this goal.
This concludes our testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Please contact us should you have any questions regarding the issues we’ve discussed today.