The Greenbelt City Council met on September 8 for its first meeting following its August hiatus. During the meeting council decided to implement a Save-As-You-Throw (SAYT) pilot program and approved funds to support household food scrap collection and to purchase new equipment at the Greenbelt Aquatic & Fitness Center (GAFC). They also discussed questions that will appear on the November ballot and changes to the biennial Community Questionnaire.
Save As You Throw
Council unanimously approved a 12-month pilot program for SAYT starting on January 1, 2026. The pilot program will have an annual solid waste base service fee of $240 for all households. After that households have two choices in how to dispose of their trash: (1) They can buy program trash bags based on size (Small $0.80, Medium $1.25, Large $2.00) or (2) they may purchase a MaxTrash sticker for $140 annually (for a total of $380 annually). The MaxTrash sticker allows the household to throw out a maximum of three large trash bags not to exceed 50 pounds per bag per week.
Discussion of the program ranged widely from those who need to throw away a lot of trash (use the MaxTrash option) to those who throw away very little. For the latter, one could put the trash can out only when it needs to be hauled away.
The next step is an outreach campaign to educate residents about SAYT and to contact retailers about selling the SAYT size-specific trash bags.
Food Scrap Collection
Council approved an ordinance and a contract of $26,205 to support household collection of food scraps in partnership with Compost Crew. This effort was originally supported by a USDA Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) grant; now council has decided to continue the program. Participating residents pay $10 per month and there are currently 410 household units using the service; the capacity of the program is 600 households. The cost to the city is approximately $26,205 after resident co-pays of $41,000.
Councilmember Rodney Roberts felt that everyone should be able to partake in this effort and Councilmember Silke Pope agreed. However, it was pointed out that there is a limited capacity and that residents have the option of taking compost to the Recycling Center at Buddy Attick Park. There was widespread support among council to expand the program to all residents, but City Manager Josué Salmerón said that there are many challenges to an expansion that need to be surmounted before that can happen.
Council, with the exception of Roberts, voted to support the program.
Selling Compost Equipment
As part of the original USDA CFWR grant, the city purchased shipping containers and other items. Now Compost Crew would like to purchase these materials from the city and apply those funds to reduce the cost of the composting service.
Roberts felt that the city should sell the materials for the price the city originally paid for them ($24,080) and not include depreciation which would reduce the cost of materials to $19,264.
The motion carried 6 to 1 to sell the equipment to Compost Crew for $19,264 with Roberts opposing.
New Fitness Equipment
Council unanimously approved the purchase of new fitness equipment at a cost of nearly $47,000 for the GAFC. The equipment will include recumbent cycles, ellipticals and treadmills, which should improve accessibility over what is currently at the facility.
Referendum Questions
Council reviewed the draft referendum question regarding Ranked Choice Voting that will be on the ballot in the city council election in November. Most of the discussion was on whether to provide a long or a short simple description of the question.
Roberts objected to use of the word referendum. Mayor Emmett Jordan responded that the questions are advisory referendum questions and are nonbinding. Council decided to use the short description by a vote of 6 to 1, with Roberts voting no.
The other two questions on the ballot that council had previously approved were changing council terms from two years to four years and, if four years, should councilmembers be subject to voter recall petitions during their term.
Community Questionnaire
Council discussed the report from the Community Relations Advisory Board regarding the Community Questionnaire. There were many issues regarding the upcoming questionnaire, including adding queries on race and gender, the length of the questionnaire, how the data are used, how long it takes to complete and how long it has been in place.
Salmerón felt that the questionnaire “… has been used year after year and hasn’t had a thorough review.” Jordan felt it would be useful to have someone with community survey expertise take a look at the questions. Council decided to add this topic to the agenda for the next meeting.
