TIPPECANOE COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FIVE YEAR PLAN - Tippecanoe County ...
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TIPPECANOE COUNTY SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
FIVE YEAR PLAN
Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |2
1 Contents
2 Background ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
3 Vision and Mission Statement ........................................................................................................................... 3
3.1 Vision Statement ....................................................................................................................................... 3
3.2 Mission Statement..................................................................................................................................... 3
4 Contact Person .................................................................................................................................................. 3
5 Board of Directors ............................................................................................................................................. 4
6 Citizen Advisory Committee .............................................................................................................................. 4
7 Common Acronyms and Definitions .................................................................................................................. 5
8 Population of District ......................................................................................................................................... 5
9 Recycling and Waste in Tippecanoe .................................................................................................................. 6
9.1 Recycling .................................................................................................................................................... 6
9.2 Waste ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
9.3 Collection Services ..................................................................................................................................... 9
9.3.1 Electronics ......................................................................................................................................... 9
9.3.2 Household Hazardous Waste .......................................................................................................... 10
9.3.3 Medical Waste ................................................................................................................................. 10
9.3.4 Scrap Metal and White Goods ......................................................................................................... 10
9.3.5 Yard Waste ...................................................................................................................................... 10
9.3.6 Food Waste ...................................................................................................................................... 11
9.3.7 Waste Tire Facilities ......................................................................................................................... 11
10 Funding the Solid Waste Program ............................................................................................................... 11
11 Education and Outreach .............................................................................................................................. 15
12 Current Hurdles and Future Efforts ............................................................................................................. 16
12.1 Current Objectives for the District .......................................................................................................... 17
12.1.1 Short-term objectives - 2021 ........................................................................................................... 18
12.1.2 Long Term Objectives - 2021-2025.................................................................................................. 19
13 Financing and Implementation of the Plan ................................................................................................. 21
14 Plan Approval............................................................................................................................................... 22
15 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 22
Appendix A: Early versions of SWOT analysis conducted with the SWMD CAC...................................................... 23
Appendix B: Projected areas of growth in Tippecanoe by 2045. ............................................................................ 26
Appendix C: IN SWMD Expenditures ....................................................................................................................... 27
Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |3 2 Background Clinton County and Tippecanoe County came together to form the Wildcat Creek Solid Waste Management District in 1990 by Legislative Act 1240 which became Public Law 10-1990. This act formed solid waste management districts in most counties in Indiana with the purpose of reducing the amount of material going to landfills by 50% by the year 2001. In 2012, Tippecanoe County formed its own Solid Waste Management District, independent from Clinton County. 3 Vision and Mission Statement 3.1 Vision Statement An environmentally responsible community through waste reduction at the source, recycling, and hazardous waste disposal. 3.2 Mission Statement To reduce waste being sent to landfills and/or entering the environment by providing recycling and household hazardous waste disposal options to Tippecanoe County residents, providing outreach and education to the community, and partnering with local organizations to provide fiscally responsible waste diversion opportunities. 4 Contact Person Amy Krzton-Presson Title: Recycling Educator/Resource Specialist Address: 20 N 3rd St, Lafayette, IN 47901 Telephone: 765/423-2858 Plan Adoption Date: 01-January-2021
Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |4
5 Board of Directors
The District Board is made up of local elected officials pursuant to IC 13-21-3-5. The membership is
made up of all three County Commissioners, the Mayor of the largest municipality in the county, a
representative from the second largest municipality in the county, a representative from the County
Council, and a representative from the City Council of the largest municipality in the county.
Chair: Tom Murtaugh, County Commissioner, 20 N 3 St, Lafayette, 765-423-9215,
rd
tmurtaugh@tippecanoe.in.gov
Vice Chair: Tracy Brown, County Commissioner, 20 N 3 St, Lafayette, 765-423-9215,
rd
tabrown@tippecanoe.in.gov
David Byers, County Commissioner, 20 N 3 St, Lafayette, 765-423-9215, dbyers@tippecanoe.in.gov
rd
Tony Roswarski, Mayor of Lafayette, 20 N 6th Street, Lafayette, 765-807-1002, web-
mayor@lafayette.in.gov
John Dennis, Mayor of West Lafayette, 1200 N Salisbury St, West Lafayette, 765-775-5103,
mayor@westlafayette.in.gov
John Basham, Tippecanoe County Council, 20 N 3rd Street, Lafayette, 765-423-9215,
clbash9769@tds.net
Ron Campbell, Lafayette City Council, 20 N 6th Street, Lafayette, rcampbell@lafayette.in.gov
6 Citizen Advisory Committee
Per IC 13-21-3-11, each solid waste district shall have a solid waste management advisory committee of
citizens. At least fifty percent of the members of an advisory committee must be made up of the
representatives of the environmental community and other citizens, and the remainder of the committee
can be made up of waste industry professionals. All members of the committee must be residents of the
district. The Citizen Advisory Committee has the power to
• study the subjects and problems specified by the board
• recommend to the board additional problems in need of study or discussion
• if invited by the board to do so, participate, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the
board
An advisory committee and board shall conduct at least two (2) joint meetings each year to discuss
current and future issues, including the proposed annual budget.
Chair: Ellen Tobias, concerned citizen, Wabash Township resident, ellentobias60@gmail.com
Polly Barks, industry professional, Zero Waste Consultant, Lafayette resident
Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |5
Maureen Berry, concerned citizen, West Lafayette resident
Monica Christopher, concerned citizen, Lauramie township resident
Abby Francis, concerned citizen, Purdue Student and West Lafayette resident
Derrick Mitchell, industry professional, Supervisor at Oscar Winski E-waste
John Thomas, concerned citizen, Wea Township resident
Elena Robles, concerned citizen, Lafayette resident
7 Common Acronyms and Definitions
CAC – Citizen Advisory Committee
MRF – Material Recovery Facility; definition – facility that sorts mixed recyclables and sells the sorted
materials to a broker or recycler
SWMD – Solid Waste Management District
TCSWMD – Tippecanoe County Solid Waste Management District
Bulky Trash – large, non-hazardous, non-recyclable items such as furniture or lumber
Sharps – used sharp medical devices such as needles and syringes
White Goods – large appliances that do not contain refrigerant, examples: washers, dryers, and stoves
8 Population of District
Tippecanoe County is in west central Indiana and covers approximately 503 square miles. It is home to
two medium sized cities and Purdue University. After West Lafayette annexed Purdue University, the
University population was incorporated into the West Lafayette population. According to the US
Census Bureau and the Tippecanoe Area Plan Commission (TAPC), the population of Tippecanoe
County was 172,780 in 2010 and an estimated 190,000 in 2018. It is expected to increase to 200,000 by
2025.
The number of households in Tippecanoe County also increased from 70,916 in 2010 to
approximately 75,000 in 2018 and is expected to be 85,021 by 2025 (TAPC). An increase in population
will directly influence the tonnage and cost of operating a solid waste district. Currently, Lafayette does
not provide curbside service to multi-family housing with four units or more, and does not require
landlords to provide that service. West Lafayette does require landlords to provide this service to newly
constructed multi-family residences. The majority of residential growth in the future is expected to
occur outside the City limits and will increase the number of people that will likely rely on the Solid
Waste District for recycling services (map of projected areas of growth by 2045 in Appendix B).Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |6
9 Recycling and Waste in Tippecanoe
9.1 Recycling
The SWMD provides free recycling drop-off locations throughout the county. There are three remote
sites (Southwestern Middle School, East Tipp Middle School, and the Town of Stockwell) and one
centralized site at the County Transfer Station at 2770 N 9th Street in Lafayette (Fig. 1). Currently,
there are two bins at Southwestern Middle, one bin in the town of Stockwell, one bin at East Tipp
Middle, three bins at the County Transfer Station, as well as a paper compactor and cardboard
compactor at the County Transfer Station. All remote bins are emptied four times per week (Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) and the bins at the County Transfer Station are emptied as
needed. The SWMD contracts with Best Way Disposal as the hauler. Best Way also operates the
County Transfer Station and receives the profits from accepting trash and yard debris at that location.
There are multiple entities providing recycling services in Tippecanoe County. Both Lafayette
and West Lafayette provide curbside recycling and trash services to residential buildings with four units
or less. Lafayette provides this service within the City limits, and fees are included in City taxes. West
Lafayette residents can choose to opt in to curbside service by paying a monthly fee if they are within
areas serviced by the City sewer system. Residents outside of these boundaries, or residing in multi-
family buildings of more than four units must either utilize a private hauler for their recycling or bring
their recyclable materials to one of several Solid Waste District drop-off locations. Residents of West
Lafayette that are unable or unwilling to pay the monthly fee for curbside recycling with the City, can
recycle at the SWMD recycling drop-off locations. Purdue University provides recycling to students
living on campus.Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |7 Figure 1: Recycling drop-off accessibility in relation to county population.
Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |8
In May of 2019 the West Lafayette Street and Sanitation Department closed their recycling drop-
off center located at 705 S River Road. In response to this, the SWMD increased the number of bins at
the County Transfer Station, added a cardboard and paper compactor at the County Transfer Station,
added an additional bin pick up day at the three remote sites, and added an additional bin at the remote
site at Southwestern Middle. In the past few years, Purdue University, Lafayette Curbside, West
Lafayette Curbside, and Solid Waste drop-off sites have an annual average collection of 7,800 tons of
recyclables. Monthly tonnages of recyclables collected by the SWMD drop-off locations, excluding
Purdue and City tonnages, during 2020 can also be seen below (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Monthly tonnage of recyclables collected by just the Solid Waste District drop-off locations
during 2020. Data provided by Best Way Disposal.
Monthly Tonnage of Mixed Recyclables
800
Recyclables in Tons
700
600
500
Figure 3: Monthly tonnage of mixed recyclables from City of Lafayette curbside, City of West Lafayette
curbside, Purdue University, and Tippecanoe SWMD drop-off bins from Sept 2019-Nov 2020. Data
collected from Best Way invoices.Tippecanoe SWMD 5-year Plan |9
There are no recycling sorting facilities (also called material recovery facilities, or MRFs) in
Tippecanoe County. There is a small MRF in Frankfort, IN owned by Werner and Sons’
Recycling. This MRF accepts the SWMD’s source-separated cardboard and paper. Best Way Disposal
hauls all commingled recyclables to the Republic Services-operated MRF in Indianapolis or the Best
Way-operated MRF in Muncie. Rarely, but on occasion, Best Way does haul commingled recyclables
to the Ray’s Recycling MRF in Indianapolis.
9.2 Waste
According to the Indiana Recycling Coalition’s Regional Recycling Infrastructure Study (2020), the
County Transfer Station operated by Best Way Disposal in Lafayette collected 24,985 tons of municipal
solid waste and 14,897 tons of construction debris. While there are numerous small trash haulers in
Tippecanoe, the primary entities and companies providing trash services can be seen in Table 1.
Table 1: Major trash and recycling haulers in Tippecanoe County, public and private.
Organization Type Services
City of Lafayette Government curbside trash and recycling, bulky waste, yard waste
City of West Lafayette Government curbside trash and recycling, yard waste
Tippecanoe SWMD Government drop off recycling, household hazardous waste,
e-waste events
Best Way Disposal Private transfer station, solid waste, construction debris, yard
waste
Waste Management Private transfer station, curbside trash and recycling, roll-off
rental
Republic Services Private curbside trash and recycling, roll-off rental
D and D Trash Private curbside trash and roll-off rental
Trash Kans Private curbside trash and recycling, roll-off rental
Oscar Winski Scrap Private scrap metal recycling
Oscar Winski E-waste Private electronics recycling
There are no landfills in Tippecanoe County. Tippecanoe County did have a privately-operated
landfill from 1971 through 1989. In 1990, the United States Environmental Protection Agency listed
this site as a Superfund on the National Priorities List. Tippecanoe County petitioned the USEPA for
site closure and removal from the National Priorities List in December of 2017. Currently, the closest
landfill is Walnut Creek Landfill near Frankfort in Clinton County and is operated by Republic
Services.
9.3 Collection Services
9.3.1 Electronics
Indiana law prohibits several types of electronic waste from being sent to landfills. There are several
options for safely recycling electronics in and around Lafayette. Many office and electronics stores,T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 10
such as Best Buy and Staples, offer recycling programs. Oscar Winksi E-Waste accepts electronics
from the public on the second Saturday of every month. Most items are free, but they do charge for
televisions, microwaves, and CRT monitors.
Twice a year the SWMD partners with Oscar Winski E-waste and the Tippecanoe County
Partnership for Water Quality to host two electronic recycling collection events. The SWMD and the
Partnership for Water Quality jointly fund these events, and it is a chance for local citizens to dispose of
electronics free of charge. In 2018 these two events collected 32.5 tons of electronics. In 2019, the
tonnage collected increased by 20% and over 39 tons of electronics were collected. Due to the Covid-19
global pandemic, the spring 2020 e-recycling event was cancelled, and the fall event had a slightly lower
participation rate, with 19.9 tons collected.
Currently there is only one business that accepts items with refrigerant (dehumidifiers,
refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, etc.). Trustworthy Appliances (3128 Old State Road 25 N,
Lafayette) will remove the refrigerant for a fee and either return the appliance to you, or dispose of the
appliance for an additional fee.
9.3.2 Household Hazardous Waste
The Tippecanoe Solid Waste District also provides a permanent household hazardous waste drop-off site
at the County Transfer Station that is managed by Best Way Disposal. In 2019 The SWMD collected
35.67 tons of household hazardous waste. Almost 33 tons of household hazardous waste was collected
in 2020 in Tippecanoe County.
9.3.3 Medical Waste
The Tippecanoe County Health Department (629 North 6th St, Lafayette) accepts sharps regularly at no
charge. They provide free sharps containers as well.
Both Lafayette and West Lafayette Police Departments collect medication on a monthly or
special event basis. Most commercial pharmacies in town collect medications for free disposal.
9.3.4 Scrap Metal and White Goods
Oscar Winski Scrap Metal (2407 N 9th Street, Lafayette) collects scrap metal, including white goods,
during regular business hours. Oscar Winski offers reimbursements for the value of scrap metal brought
to them.
9.3.5 Yard Waste
The County Transfer Station accepts woody and leafy yard debris from the public for a fee per ton. The
City of Lafayette collects curbside woody and leafy yard debris year-round. The City of West LafayetteT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 11
collects curbside leaf debris in the fall. R&R Topsoil accepts leaves and grass clippings for free from
the public year-round.
9.3.6 Food Waste
The West Lafayette Street Department hosts a food and cooking oil waste drop-off at their facility on South River
Road. These materials are delivered to the West Lafayette Waste Water Treatment Plant to be processed in the
anaerobic bio-digester. The off-gassed methane is used to power the plant and the bio-solid residuals are given to
Tippecanoe County farmers to be used as fertilizer. This food waste drop-off is available to anyone in the public.
9.3.7 Waste Tire Facilities
All waste tire facilities are entirely privately operated. Most tire and auto repair shops will accept
regular tires for recycling for a small fee. Pomp’s Tire (2700 Schuyler Ave, Lafayette) accepts large
tires such as tractor and truck tires for a fee.
10 Funding the Solid Waste Program
The SWMD is primarily funded by general property taxes. The percentage of tax revenue that goes to
the SWMD is dependent on the approved budget for that year. There is not a set percentage earmarked
for Solid Waste. A smaller amount comes from multiple other sources (Table 2). During 2019 the
Tippecanoe County Government granted an additional appropriation of $80,000 to cover expenses
outside of the SWMD budget. The budget in 2020 was also insufficient to cover the cost of the solid
waste services. The County allocated an additional $70,000 to the County Commissioners’ budget, and
again granted the SWMD an $80,000 appropriation in 2020. These additional funds did not cover all of
the expenses incurred in 2020.
Table 2: 2020 Revenue sources for SWMD, sourced from Indiana Gateway SB131.
Revenue Detail Revenue Code Amount
General Property Taxes R1010 $225,448
Vehicle/Aircraft Excise Tax Distribution R1140 $20,529
Earnings on Investments and Deposits R9020 $1,233
Other Receipts R9130 $3,185
The original contract with Best Way Disposal for hauling mixed recyclables for the SWMD
included three remote bins and two bins at the Transfer Station. All bins were emptied for free three
times per week. The value of the recyclables and use of the County-owned property to host the transfer
station was the primary compensation to Best Way, and the Solid Waste District paid very little forT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 12
recycling services. After the closing of the West Lafayette Recycling Center on River Road, the
contract was amended to add a bin at Southwestern Middle School. Additionally, an extra pickup day
was added on Saturdays for all remote bins at an additional fee of $150 and $195 for Stockwell (due to a
longer driving distance). The contract with Best Way was also edited to charge the SWMD an
additional approximately $72 fee per ton for every ton over 600 tons per month, as well as a $350
transport fee per load of mixed materials sent to a MRF. This tonnage includes materials collected from
curbside recycling in both Cities and the mixed recyclables collected on Purdue University’s campus.
With this change in contract, all public recycling programs in Tippecanoe County impact what the
SWMD is charged for mixed recycling. This includes curbside materials collected in both Cities, mixed
materials collected at Purdue University, and all materials collected at SWMD drop-off sites. The Cities
and University provide staff and hauling to the County Transfer Station, but the SWMD is invoiced
based on the total tonnage of all mixed recycling brought to the transfer station. Due to this contract
change, from 2018 to 2019 the total expenses of the SWMD have increased almost 40%, approximately
$100,000. Total invoices to the SWMD increased again from 2019 to 2020 approximately $130,000. A
breakdown of the major costs for the SWMD can be seen in Table 3, with the total annual expenditures
in Table 4. The amount the SWMD has spent on Professional Services (this includes mixed recycling,
electronic recycling, and household hazardous waste disposal) can be seen in Fig. 4 below.
Table 3: Annual expenditures for SWMD Professional Services from 2018-2020.
Paid to/Year 2018 2019 2020
Best Way $8,190 $72,422 $177,549
Heritage $43,309 $89,538 $117,812
Oscar Winski* $7,403 $12,488 $5,502**
*These values are what the SWMD paid, but is only half of the total charge from Oscar Winski. The Tippecanoe
Partnership for Water Quality paid half of each invoice.
**Only one E-recycling event was held during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If two events had been
held, as is typical, this value would be larger.
Table 4: Annual Tippecanoe County Solid Waste District expenditures from 2017-2020.
Year Total Expenditures Percent Change
2017 $203,480.00 -
2018 $156,443.00 -30%
2019 $258,021.00 39%
2020 $388,394.00 34%T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 13
Expenditures to Recycling and Disposal Services
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
2018 2019 2020
BestWay Heritage Winski
Figure 4: Cost of Professional Services in 2018-2020. Best Way Disposal provides mixed recycling
hauling, Heritage Environmental provides household hazardous waste disposal, and Oscar Winski
provide electronics recycling services.
Over the past year and a half, mixed recycling tonnage has gradually increased (Fig. 3). It is
expected that 2020’s total tonnage will be similar to 2019’s. While it is always a goal to increase
recycling rates, the quality of recyclables is of equal importance. Recycling audits conducted in 2019 in
partnership with Purdue Ecological and Environmental Engineering students show that the
contamination rate in SWMD recycling bins is averaging close to 50% (Fig. 5). Compared to a national
average recycling contamination rate of 25% (Waste Management, 2018), this shows that many
members of our community need more education to improve their recycling practices. This would save
the SWMD money. If less contamination is going into the bin, then the weight will be lower, and costs
will be lower. As education and outreach continues, it is our hope that this effort will address both the
public’s confusion over what is recyclable, as well as lower the cost of this service. More information
about recycling tonnages at each drop-off location is needed to make a more definitive statement about
the trend in recycling tonnages.T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 14 Figure 5: Averaged results of four audits done at remote bins during fall 2019 and winter 2020. Grey and orange portions are recycling contamination. Figure 6: Monthly cost of hauling mixed recycling from March 2019-Nov 2020. Data collected from Best Way invoices. Starting in September 2019, the cost of recycling closely tracks the total monthly tonnage.
T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 15
The rate of population growth in Tippecanoe County is expected to continue to increase over
time. This will increase the cost of this program. The total expenditures of similarly sized single-county
solid waste districts and their spending per capita can be viewed in Table 5 below.
Table 5: 2019 population, expenditures, and spending per capita in Tippecanoe and other counties with
similar population sizes. Key: Perm. Recycle = permanent recycling site, PHHW = permanent HHW site;
Int. Recycle = recycling available intermittently (ie, montly, etc); IHHW = intermittent HHW; Re-use cntr
= re-use center
Perm. E-waste
Perm. Recycle
Perm. HHW
Bulky Trash
Int. E-waste
Yard Waste
Tire recycle
Int. Recycle
Re-use cntr
Int. HHW
Calculated
2019 2019 SWMD 2019
Population Expenditures spending
County (census.gov) (SB 131) per capita
Tippecanoe 195,732 $258,021 $1.32 X X X
Elkhart 206,341 $516,546 $2.50 X X
Vanderburgh 181,451 $575,181 $3.17 X X X X X
Hendricks 170,311 $758,635 $4.45 X X X
Monroe 148,431 $2,722,538 $18.34 X X X X X
While expenditures during 2020 have increased, the SWMD spending is approximately $388,394,
or $1.96 per capita in 2020. This is still far below solid waste district budgets in similar sized counties.
Based on 2019 SB 131 reporting and population estimates for 2019, of the 65 solid waste districts in the
database, 55 districts spent more per capita than SWMD to provide services to their residents. More
information on expenditures and population sizes of other districts can be found in Appendix C.
11 Education and Outreach
The only staff member that the SWMD employs is a part-time educator. This staff member answers
questions from the public on the Solid Waste hotline, manages the SWMD social media pages, updates
the website, provides community outreach and education to children and adults, organizes the bi-annual
e-waste events, and submits the required annual reports to the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management.
Outreach and education efforts include, but are not limited to classroom lessons in local grade
schools, hosting booths at community events, speaking to local adult organizations, and partnering with
other local organizations with aligned missions in combined efforts.T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 16
The SWMD currently has two social media accounts, Instagram (@tippecanoesolidwaste) and
Facebook (@tippecanoecountywaste). Surveys show that approximately 70% of adult Americans use
Facebook, and 67% of 18-29-year-olds use Instagram (Perrin and Anderson, 2019). The Instagram
account was created in April 2020 and currently has over 100 followers. The Facebook account was
created in November 2018 and has approximately 700 followers. The Facebook following is currently
increasing by approximately 200 followers per year, and is likely to have over 1,500 followers by
2025. Social media is a low-cost way to reach many people in the community. Popular posts have
reached over 7,000 views. The hashtag #tippecanoerecycles has been created to make recycling
information pertinent to Tippecanoe County easier to find on social media. Social media has been
especially useful during the Covid-19 pandemic when in-person outreach was unsafe.
Figure 7: Facebook followers since creation of the SWMD Facebook page in Nov. 2018.
During 2019 and 2020 the SWMD educator has worked closely with Purdue University faculty
and students to identify community waste and recycling issues and collaborate on solving those
issues. Partnerships with other community groups such as the Tippecanoe County Partnership for Water
Quality have also been beneficial. The SWMD and the Partnership often collaborate to produce quality
education to a wide audience on a variety of environmental topics. Budget and staffing constraints make
partnerships with community groups essential.
12 Current Hurdles and Future Efforts
In order to identify major hurdles and weaknesses of the Solid Waste District, the current Citizen
Advisory Committee conducted an analysis of the SWMD’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats (SWOT). This strategic planning process identifies how an organization can improve while
considering both internal and external factors. The iterations of the SWOT grid created by the CAC is
in Appendix A.T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 17
The primary strengths and opportunities identified during the SWOT analysis are:
1. we host permanent recycling drop-off locations
2. a good working relationship with Oscar Winski
3. a potential to expand relationships with other businesses and organizations
4. a potential for new contract provisions in five years
The primary weaknesses and threats identified during the SWOT analysis are:
1. the public’s confusion over what is recyclable
2. dumping at remote bins
3. limited budget
4. competing priorities for elected officials’ time
5. the recycling market limits what materials we can accept
12.1 Current Objectives for the District
The SWOT analysis was not only used to identify strengths/opportunities and weaknesses/threats, but
also to identify avenues for improvement under each topic. These were then narrowed down to identify
a few action items the Solid Waste District should pursue in the next year, and several more we should
pursue over the next five years.
Action items that the Solid Waste District will explore over the next year are below. Items marked with
‘$$’ are those that will likely cost money or impact the SWMD budget.
• Increased collaboration between the County, Lafayette and West Lafayette on joint messaging,
an annual campaign, and potential cost sharing on mailers and/or a recycling web app
• Require quarterly reporting from Best Way stating the tonnage at each location, how often bins
at N. 9th St. are emptied, how often bins are landfilled, and what MRF each load is sent to
• $$ Cameras (Wi-Fi or game) at all locations and work with local law enforcement for follow-
up to reduce dumping
• Create a local school working team to increase school recycling and composting
Action items that the Solid Waste District will explore over the next 5 years are below. Items marked
with ‘$$’ are those that will likely cost money or impact the budget.
• Improve the layout of the existing bins at the transfer station
• $$ Increase the budget
• Explore the option to have separate metal recycling at the transfer station that could be sent to
Winski
• Ask Board members to attend at least one SWMD event per year
• Conduct an online search of additional options for end uses for materials
• Pursue sponsorships for take-back events
• $$ Explore options for accepting recycling from businesses and non-profits, potentially fee basedT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 18
• Explore the option of using the old landfill for an operating site
• $$ Ensure the continued existence of a permanent site
12.1.1 Short-term objectives - 2021
These objectives will be focused on during the 2021 calendar year.
12.1.1.1 Increased Collaboration between SWMD, City of Lafayette, City of West Lafayette, and
Purdue University
This region is somewhat unique in that both of the major Cities and the County government regularly
collaborate for joint efforts that benefit the community. The recycling infrastructure and municipal
contracts with Best Way Disposal means that all of the recyclables collected in drop-off bins and
curbside in both cities and Purdue University goes to the same place and the same materials get
recycled. The recyclables of both Cities and Purdue University also have a direct impact on what the
SWMD gets charged every month. Collaborating with City Street Departments and Purdue University
on consistent messaging would reduce confusion and amplify helpful messages. Consistent messaging
would raise the confidence of the general public in the recycling system, drop contamination rates, and
improve the likelihood that materials are not landfilled due to high contamination rates. Quarterly or
semi-annual meetings between the SWMD, the City Street Departments, and Purdue University would
accomplish this goal.
This objective would address the public’s confusion over what is recyclable, and ease some
financial pressure caused by a limited budget (weakness/threats number 1 and 3).
12.1.1.2 Request Quarterly Reporting from Best Way Disposal
The SWMD’s contract with Best Way Disposal has changed drastically in the past two years. The
District has gone from paying nothing for hauling to paying an average of almost $15,000/month. With
the current budget, this cost is unsustainable. Our current invoices do not show the tonnage collected
from each bin, nor do they show how often the bins at the transfer station are emptied. It is understood
that bins with high contamination rates are landfilled, but it is not clear how often that happens. In order
for the SWMD to proceed with data-driven decision making, obtaining the data is essential. The
SWMD needs Best Way to provide the following information either in the form of a quarterly report or
on invoices:
• tonnage of each bin when it is emptied
• how often transfer station bins are emptied
• when materials are sent to Republic Services vs East Central Recycling
• when bins are landfilled due to high contamination
This objective would support the opportunity to pursue a better contract in the future (opportunity
number 4).T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 19
12.1.1.3 Install cameras at remote bins
Dumping issues are a common problem at any un-staffed recycling bin, and our County is no
different. Dumping strains relationships with partners that are hosting the bins, such as public schools,
and costs the County staff time and money in hauling the materials away and disposing of them
properly. In response to the dumping issue, the Tippecanoe County Commissioners passed ordinance
2019-19-CM in August 2019. This provides a legal pathway for fining dumping at or in any SWMD
recycling bins. The SWMD currently utilizes the cameras at Southwestern Middle when dumping
occurs, however these cameras are not easily accessible to the SWMD. Neither Stockwell nor East Tipp
have cameras near the recycling bins. To reduce dumping outside the bins and maintain community
relationships, battery powered cameras at each of the three remote sites are necessary. This objective
would apply to the issue of dumping at remote bins (weakness/threat number 2), and would reduce costs
to the district (weakness/threat number 3).
12.1.1.4 Create a school working group
Local schools are a keystone to any community and it is important for the SWMD to maintain a good
relationship with our community’s schools and teachers. The Solid Waste District currently partners
with the Tippecanoe School Corporation to host two of our remote recycling bins, host and participate in
our bi-annual electronic recycling event, and to allow the SWMD educator to provide recycling and
waste reduction lessons to classrooms. This relationship can be nurtured and grown through more
communication and presenting ideas for lessons and projects to local teachers. Schools benefit from this
relationship through increasing their recycling rates, beginning composting programs, and reducing their
carbon footprint. All of which could financially benefit the schools as well. A school working group
can help to network and brainstorm activities, identify common goals, and improve our relationship with
schools and the community.
Working more closely with schools would increase the culture of recycling in our community
and reduce the confusion over what is recyclable (weakness/threat number 1), and would also strengthen
and build relationships with community partners (opportunity number 3).
12.1.2 Long Term Objectives - 2021-2025
These objectives will be worked on throughout the next five years.
12.1.2.1 Improve the layout of the existing bins at the transfer station
The current layout of the bins at the transfer station makes a safe and logical traffic flow difficult. Many
visitors to the recycling bins do not realize there is a separate bin for cardboard and paper because they
are not readily visible. There is signage directing traffic flow, but many people do not notice it. This
objective builds upon the strength of having a permanent recycling site (strength number 1).T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 20 12.1.2.2 Increase the budget The SWMD’s current budget is not sufficient to support the recycling opportunities this community is used to and pay for recycling services for a county of this size. The SWMD’s spending per capita is one of the lowest in the state, and is much lower than other counties of comparable size. As Tippecanoe’s population grows in the coming years, the costs of the services this District provides will also rise. This needs to be accounted for in future budgets. This objective addresses the issue of a limited budget (weakness/threat number 3). 12.1.2.3 Explore option for separated metal recycling at the transfer station to be sent to Winski A separate bin for metal cans at the transfer station would lower costs for the SWMD by diverting that weight to Oscar Winski scrap metal. This objective would likely go hand-in-hand with improving the layout of the existing bins at the transfer station. This objective would strengthen the relationship with an existing partner (strength number 2) and reduce costs (threat/weakness number 3). 12.1.2.4 Ask Board members to participate in at least one SWMD event per year Tippecanoe County citizens value recycling, safe disposal options for hazardous waste, and clean communities. The SWMD actively works towards all of these goals. The board of directors can show residents that they continue to support these goals by taking part in one of the various take-back days, education efforts, or clean-up events. Being involved in hands-on efforts would also reinforce the value of an active Solid Waste District in the minds of the board members and the community (threat/weakness number 4). 12.1.2.5 Conduct an online search of additional options for end uses for materials The recyclable materials accepted in the SWMD’s recycling program are limited to what the MRFs in central Indiana are able to sell to brokers or recyclers for a profit. There is a potential for additional materials to be collected from the Tippecanoe public, source separated, if buyers can be found (threat/weakness number 5). 12.1.2.6 Pursue sponsorships for take-back events Currently, the SWMD only holds one type of take-back event, our bi-annual electronic recycling event. Other districts commonly hold events for other items such as tires, sharps, medicine, or paper shredding. These events are designed to give the public a way to easily dispose of these items to keep them out of both the trash and recycling stream. Currently, there is no room in the budget for the SWMD to fund any of these events. There are local and national businesses in town that may be interested in sponsoring an event (strength/opportunity number 3 and threat/weakness number 3).
T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 21
12.1.2.7 Explore options for accepting recycling from businesses and non-profits, potentially fee
based
Currently the SWMD only accepts recyclables and hazardous waste from households. Businesses and
non-profits are not permitted to use our services, and there is no room in the budget to allow this in the
near future. Several businesses and non-profits have expressed interest in using our services,
particularly the cardboard drop-off. There is a potential to open access to this site to small businesses
and non-profits by building a fee system to cover the cost (strength/opportunities number 3).
12.1.2.8 Explore the option of using the old landfill for an operating site
Tippecanoe County owns the land the former landfill operated on located on North 9th Street. This site,
formerly a superfund site, is still undergoing well water testing but is otherwise un-used. This may be
an appropriate place for a future comprehensive county-operated recycling center, compost, and mulch
site. This objective is more complex than most of the others and is primarily focused on collecting
information and exploring options to be used in future decision-making (strength/opportunity number 1
and 4).
12.1.2.9 Ensure the continued existence of a permanent site
The permanent recycling and household hazardous waste sites are considered a strength of Tippecanoe’s
Solid Waste District. Not all districts have permanent sites for recycling and hazardous waste. Instead,
some conduct monthly or semi-annual take-back events for recycling and/or hazardous waste. Having a
permanent site and allowing the public to dispose of these materials responsibly increases the quality of
life in Tippecanoe County. Currently, the SWMD budget does not cover the costs of this service. This
goal is tied to the goal of expanding the budget to at least adequately fund these services. All future
contracts should make every effort to continue to include a permanent recycling and HHW drop-off
location (strength/opportunity number 1).
13 Financing and Implementation of the Plan
The Recycling Educator and Solid Waste CAC will be in charge of implementation of the District Plan
with the oversight of the Board of Directors. Enforcement of County Ordinance 2019-19-CM is the
duty of the Board of Directors. The current and anticipated short term cost of operating this Solid Waste
District is approximately $400,000 per year.T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 22 14 Plan Approval This plan for the Tippecanoe County Solid Waste District has been approved by the Tippecanoe County Solid Waste Management District Board of Directors. 15 Works Cited US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/ Last accessed 12/16/2020 Indiana Gateway. https://gateway.ifionline.org/ Last accessed 12/16/2020. Indiana Recycling Coalition. 2020. Regional Recycling Infrastructure Study: Northwest Indiana in Focus. https://sites.google.com/view/ircstudy2020/home Perrin, A. and M Anderson, 2019. “Share of U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact- tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since- 2018/ Waste Management, 2018. “The battle against recycling contamination is everyone’s battle.” https://mediaroom.wm.com/the-battle-against-recycling-contamination-is-everyones-battle/
T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 23
Appendix A: Early versions of SWOT analysis conducted with the
SWMD CAC
Table 6: SWOT analysis, after round 2. Bolded items were selected as most important to the CAC.
Favorable Unfavorable
Strengths Weaknesses
• A permanent recycling drop-off site • Only one half-time employee with limited budget
• A permanent household hazardous waste drop-off site • A lower per capita spending than most other
• Having Oscar Winski for e-cycle and metal recycling districts
• Curbside recycling within the cities • Confusion over what is recyclable
• Experienced staff in both city sanitation departments • Limited market for the kind of recyclables we can
Current
• Decades of community experience in recycling and HHW take
• History of intergovernmental cooperation • Businesses and non-profits are not able to utilize
• Purdue faculty and student expertise and support government services
• Local partnerships with other organizations • Limited control over our recycling system
• Committed and supportive community • Relatively low priority for government staff and leaders
• Organizational structure to support recycling, ie statutes, revenue, • Fewer disposal programs than most other districts, i.e.
etc special events for tires, shredded paper, etc.
• A lower per capita spending than most other districts • Lack of supportive requirements within the Best Way
contract for the county
Opportunities Threats
• Gaining more help (financial and experiential) from • New contract terms could be worse
businesses, i.e. Suburu, etc. • Competing priorities for elected officials, time and
• Expanding institutional participation in recycling and HHW money
• New contract provisions with handlers that expand options • Dumping at remote bins
• Leveraging Purdue more, especially on creating new end uses • Reducing support for environmental protection at the
Future
• Aligning cities and county on a message about what is recyclable federal level
• An abundance of non-profits and social groups who could help • Economic uncertainties due to the pandemic
• Leveraging the total volume of recyclables in the county with • Limited economically feasible end uses for recyclables
downstream handlers • Growth of population outside cities
• Utilizing the high level of education and educators in the county
• Stronger partnerships between cities, towns and townships
• Continuing education and collaboration opportunities for staff
• Growth of population outside the citiesT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 24
Table 7: Results of round 3 of SWOT analysis. Prioritized actions for 2021 and for entire 5 years. Actions that are highlighted are prioritized for
the first year (2021) of the five-year plan. Actions that are underlined are to be worked on throughout 2021-2025. Some actions have been
combined with others that are similar.
Favorable Unfavorable
Strengths Weaknesses
A permanent recycling drop-off site Only one half-time employee with limited budget
• Ensure the continued existence of a permanent site • Increase position to full-time in 2022
• Improve the layout of the existing bins • Maintain one intern from Purdue at all times
• Expand recycling options at the site • Increase funds available and expand the program
• Look into the potential for an expanded centralized site A lower per capita spending than most other districts
A permanent household hazardous waste drop-off site • Increase the budget over next five years
• Ensure the continued existence of a permanent site • Gather information on how other SWMDs are funded if they do not
• Improve the layout of the existing bins have landfills in their counties
Having Oscar Winski for e-cycle and metal recycling Confusion over what is recyclable
Current
• Work to maintain, strengthen and expand the relationship • Account for Every Day Direct Mail in annual budget
• Explore option to have separate metal recycling at the transfer • Collaborate more with cities for joint messaging, potentially
station that could be sent to Winski cost share EDDM or annual campaign or RecycleCoach
Curbside recycling within the cities • Develop comprehensive marketing program that includes
• Utilize these parallel efforts to amplify a consistent educational materials, on site education, expanded web presence,
recycling message and update all government websites mechanism for reaching all households, etc.
• Use expertise to explore curbside costs and benefits for Limited market for the kind of recyclables we can take
smaller towns • Conduct an online search of additional options for end uses for
• Expand curbside to areas outside the cities materials
• Partner with Purdue to create an on-going exploration of new end
uses for plastics and glass
• Expand recycling options to compensate for soft markets in some
recyclablesT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 25
Opportunities Threats
Gaining more help (financial and experiential) from businesses, i.e. New contract terms could be worse
Subaru, etc. • Improve relationship and dialogue with Best Way and our two MRFs
• Pursue sponsorships for take-back events • Explore options with other haulers
• Create a list of businesses and industries, develop approach • Explore option of providing in-house hauling, including total cost
strategies and implement • Explore option of using old landfill for an operating site
• Meet with Subaru to learn if we can implement some of their • Maintain and expand community support
“world class” recycling techniques Competing priorities for elected officials, time and money
Expanding institutional participation in recycling and HHW • Create clear priorities for 2021 and the 5-year plan period to help
• Explore options for accepting recycling from businesses and maximize the impact of scarce time and dollars
non-profits, potentially fee based • Maintain an active CAC that can be used to leverage staff and
Future
• Create a local school working group to increase school elected officials’ time
recycling and composting • Maintain and expand community support
• Create a list of other potential institutional partners. Assess • Increase the number of board meetings until the budget issues are
their strengths, how we can help them and vice versa, develop resolved
an approach strategy and implement • Ask that all board members attend at lease one SWMD event per
New contract provisions with handlers that expand options year
• Require quarterly reporting from Best Way stating the Dumping at remote bins
tonnage at each location, how often bins at N 9th St are • Get cameras, wi-fi or game, at all locations and work with local
emptied, how often bins are landfilled, and what MRF each law enforcement for follow-up
bin is sent to • Develop comprehensive marketing program that includes
• List desired additional recycling options and develop contract educational materials, on-site education, expanded web presence,
language for the next contract supplement mechanism for reaching all households, etcT i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 26 Appendix B: Projected areas of growth in Tippecanoe by 2045.
T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 27 Appendix C: IN SWMD Expenditures Total 2019 expenditures, estimated population, and spending per capita in Indiana Solid Waste Districts. Sourced from Indiana Gateway and US Census Bureau. District spending per capita 2019 2019 Total Expenditures est. 2019 population Warren $ 59.54 $ 667,469 8,265 Lawrence $ 50.02 $ 2,284,245 45,370 Brown $ 48.31 $ 736,337 15092 Bartholomew $ 43.57 $ 3,854,104 83779 Spencer $ 42.13 $ 954,285 20,277 Adams $ 40.09 $ 1,401,288 35777 Laporte $ 38.78 $ 4,278,490 109,888 Posey $ 33.80 $ 793,896 25,427 Crawford $ 32.28 $ 344,058 10577 Pike $ 30.00 $ 260,756 12,389 Washington $ 29.67 $ 1,128,950 28,036 Warrick $ 29.44 $ 1,841,800 62,998 Perry $ 27.17 $ 519,136 19,169 Daviess $ 26.72 $ 885,789 33351 Fulton $ 23.67 $ 475,663 19,974 Dearborn $ 23.02 $ 1,023,952 49458 Wabash $ 19.10 $ 601,896 30,996 Decatur $ 18.43 $ 446,329 26559 Harrison $ 17.60 $ 710,075 40,515 Huntington $ 16.22 $ 277,184 36,520 Monroe $ 16.08 $ 2,722,538 148,431 Tipton $ 14.13 $ 234,264 15,148 Jay $ 13.72 $ 291,537 20,436 St Joseph $ 12.49 $ 3,381,228 271,826 Shelby $ 12.23 $ 545,464 44,729 Miami $ 11.99 $ 426,325 35,516 Northeast $ 11.98 $ 1,929,668 165427 Howard $ 11.95 $ 984,102 82,544 Fountain $ 11.44 $ 197,360 16,346 Lake $ 9.64 $ 4,781,703 485,493 Clark $ 9.55 $ 1,130,064 118302 Porter $ 8.34 $ 1,813,847 170,389 Randolph $ 8.28 $ 282,798 24,665 Knox $ 7.79 $ 287,477 36,594 Starke $ 7.32 $ 167,821 22,995 Southeastern $ 7.15 $ 1,445,605 151624 Kosciusko $ 6.82 $ 537,671 79,456 Marshall $ 6.80 $ 314,811 46,258 Cass $ 6.76 $ 260,188 37689
T i p p e c a n o e S W M D 5 - y e a r P l a n | 28 District spending per capita 2019 2019 Total Expenditures est. 2019 population Rush $ 6.48 $ 107,961 16,581 Dubois $ 6.01 $ 255,805 42,736 Wildcat Creek $ 5.89 $ 190,580 32399 Wells $ 5.86 $ 164,139 28,296 Henry $ 5.00 $ 245,796 47,972 Hendricks $ 4.54 $ 758,635 170,311 Boone $ 4.53 $ 303,652 67843 Northwest $ 4.22 $ 476,153 113006 Vigo $ 3.71 $ 348,240 107,038 Hamilton $ 3.64 $ 1,202,999 338,011 Johnson $ 3.12 $ 500,772 158,167 Morgan $ 3.10 $ 266,739 70,489 Elkhart $ 2.51 $ 516,546 206,341 Vanderburgh $ 2.20 $ 575,181 181,451 East Central $ 2.07 $ 641,995 309473 Sullivan $ 1.72 $ 36,906 20,669 Blackford $ 1.67 $ 20,092 11758 Tippecanoe $ 1.49 $ 258,021 195,732 Wayne Union $ 1.11 $ 81,190 65,884 Hancock $ 0.89 $ 72,151 78,168 Vermillion $ 0.74 $ 8,750 15,498
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