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<br />WS – Item 3 <br /> <br />WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />Work Session Item No. 3 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Date: September 8, 2015 <br /> <br />To: City Council <br /> <br />From: Marty Asleson and Aubrey Fonfara <br /> <br />Re: Recycling Free Store Proposal <br /> <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Many items brought to Recycling Saturdays are in still usable or repairable condition, <br />suggesting significant opportunity for material exchange in Lino Lakes. While an effort is <br />made to donate these items to Bridging, Inc., the charity takes mostly household goods <br />and has strict guidelines on the items they will accept. This disadvantages residents <br />looking to donate items not accepted by charities, and those who may be unable to <br />provide transport of their items to Recycling Saturdays. <br /> <br />The City Council has considered implementing reuse programs such as “Trash to <br />Treasures” in the past but this idea has not been initiated due to programming costs. <br />Environmental Department Staff propose the City sponsor a Free Store website as an <br />easy and extremely low-cost alternative to the original “Trash to Treasures” idea. Web <br />content would make reuse more convenient and desirable for Lino Lakes residents and <br />allow them to share materials in good condition within their own community. <br /> <br />A tentative website has been created using Wix.com, which can be operated for free <br />using a prescribed domain name. The City may choose to pay $10/month, which would <br />allow it to choose its own domain name and remove ads from the site. Community <br />members would be able to use and post on the site at no charge. <br /> <br />The site works by allowing residents to submit items they would like to get rid of or post <br />items they seek, for free. The website emphasizes that it is “not a platform for selling – <br />the purpose… is to divert still usable materials that you might otherwise throw away.” <br /> <br />The website administrator has full control of the website. Users submit their post through <br />a contact form on the site or directly by email, which the administrator then uploads to <br />the website if approved. This allows the City to filter out any inappropriate content and to <br />track the weight/volume of material being diverted from the waste stream. <br /> <br />The Free Store website would be administrated by the Recycling Intern. In the event of <br />the intern’s absence, another City staff person would be appointed the task until a new <br />intern is hired. There would be no additional administrative costs.