The grant was awarded through the state Office of Traffic Safety, and pays for the staffing and resources needed to conduct the late-night sobriety checkpoints.
Burbank police officers would conduct up to two checkpoints between now and September using the grant funds.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely approve receipt of the grant.
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Public Works officials will seek guidance from the City Council on its efforts to efficiently handle “green waste,” or yard trimmings, fallen fruit and untreated wood byproducts.
The city spends about $750,000 a year to hire a private firm to haul roughly 18,000 tons of green material from the city’s landfill to Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Due to the rising costs of the operation, coupled with the environmental impact of transporting the material with diesel haulers, the city has been exploring ways of diverting the material away from the landfill.
The most effective way is to persuade homeowners to start composting in their own yards because 85% of all green waste is generated from residential curb side collection, according to the staff report.
Other possible programs include periodic mulch giveaways generated by the city’s forestry crews, mulch giveaways at home improvement centers, or diverting “clean” green waste to Los Angeles’ Griffith Park composting program.
A far more expensive option would be to set up the city’s own composting site, probably at the Burbank landfill. Start-up costs for the program would likely cost between $400,000 and $500,000, with annual operating expenses at about $700,000.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely weigh the cost benefits of each composting program, which range from a few thousands dollars for periodic giveaways, to hundreds of thousands for a specific site operation, and then give direction to staff to return with more detailed plans.
