OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting - May 21, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, May 21, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, May 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:09:45

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good.

0:00

Good.

0:01

All right, we're called an order.

0:03

I'll do a quick roll call roll call.

0:06

Member Barnes.

0:08

Member Blair.

0:09

Remember Splair.

0:10

Remember S.

0:10

Blair, thank you.

0:12

And uh Vice Chair Lachelle.

0:15

And uh Absent are uh Member Chandler, Member Grove, and Member Clair.

0:24

Is there any public comment for items not?

0:26

And Joe is online.

0:27

Oh, excellent.

0:28

Yes.

0:28

Okay.

0:28

So add him to the is there any public comment?

0:35

Or anybody online?

0:38

There's any public comment, please raise your hand.

0:45

I don't know why you have just ignored it.

0:47

I'm looking at Barbara.

0:48

Barbara, do you have any public comment to make?

0:52

No.

0:53

Okay.

0:53

All right.

0:54

Um any changes to the agenda?

0:57

All right.

0:58

Agenda's approved unanimously.

1:01

Um any changes or corrections to the minutes?

1:06

All right, they're approved unanimously.

1:08

And with that, um, you guys are up.

1:14

All right, fantastic.

1:16

Thank you uh so much for having me.

1:18

Uh let me get my screen uh sharing uh set up.

1:21

But uh before while I do that, um was anyone at at the event that I did in your in your wonderful community uh a few it was on Earth's Day, I think actually.

1:30

Um just wondering if uh there's any awareness of what I do and uh and that type of thing, or if we're we're starting fresh.

1:36

Well, we knew you you were doing it, but we wanted you here because we weren't able to attend.

1:41

All the other things.

1:42

Okay, there was a county council person that was in attendance there.

1:45

So I'm in the audience.

1:49

Okay.

1:50

Fantastic.

1:52

Right.

1:53

Well, let's get this fired up here.

1:55

Can people see my screen okay?

1:57

Yes.

1:59

Fantastic.

2:00

Um I always love to just start at the sort of founding story of how I stumbled upon uh this this project that has turned into something far greater than I ever uh imagined.

2:10

Um this picture, these are my my son here when he was six years old, and we're up here in Seattle, far far away from you.

2:18

Um, and we were really motivated to have a lot of uh not a lot of waste and live sustainably.

2:24

And uh, you know, I think realizing how hard that can be, given recycling rule changes and uh availability of drop-offs and all that type of stuff, um, we had a lot of things that had accumulated in our home in this basement room.

2:38

And so they had light bulbs and batteries and plastic bags as you see here, and uh styrofoam and holiday lights all sort of set aside.

2:46

And so what I ended up doing kind of on a whim in 2018 was I started a project with Owen, my oldest son, who is six, where every weekend we picked one thing that we were determined to find a good home for.

2:58

And so it was a lot of internet research and phone calls to discover where the heck uh in the Seattle area can we take light bulbs so they don't go to the landfill?

3:05

Where the heck can we take plastics, etc.?

3:08

Um and that was just our goal to just clear through this room, but do it in a way that everything didn't didn't go to waste.

3:14

Um we discovered places, they were far away, they had you know limited availability, and so we decided to make it a kind of a neighborhood wide project.

3:22

And so what we would do is make posts like you see in these pictures.

3:25

Um and we gave our project a little name um and I'll sometimes hold stuff up here.

3:30

But we would hold we would wear shirts like this, and we called our project Owens list after him.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Waste Management█████████████████████████████29%
Energy Management███████████████████████████27%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Environmental Protection█████████9%
Miscellaneous██████6%
Procedural████4%
Legal Review███3%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Education And Outreach██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting - May 21, 2026

The Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) of Los Alamos County met on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Room 110 of the Municipal Building and via Zoom. The meeting included presentations on the Ridwell Recycling Program and an On-Bill Financing initiative, an update on the single-use plastic bag ordinance, and standard reports from board members and staff.

Consent Calendar

  • The board unanimously approved the agenda and the minutes from the April 16, 2026, meeting with no changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Barbara (Counselor/Citizen): Provided a public comment at the end of the meeting, notifying the board about a Santa Fe-based startup that recycles paper and clothing. She shared a sample of their paper products and information on their school education programs, suggesting the board might consider them for future agenda items.

Discussion Items

  • Ridwell Recycling Program Presentation: Ryan Metzger, CEO of Ridwell, presented the company’s hard-to-recycle material collection services, including a mail-in option available in New Mexico. He highlighted its transparent tracking, low cost compared to competitors like TerraCycle (bags at $9–$12 vs. TerraCycle’s $49 for a similar bag), and partnerships with over 300 reuse/recycling partners. Board members discussed:
    • Feasibility of recycling baling twine (Metzger said he would follow up).
    • Potential for community-scale partnerships, bulk discounts, and data sharing for zero-waste goals.
    • Life cycle analysis concerns (Metzger confirmed they are undertaking an audited analysis).
    • The possibility of using the Eco Station as a drop-off point (concerns raised about NMED permitting, blowing materials, and cost).
    • Barbara (a board member who had personally used Ridwell) shared her positive experience and advocated for community-wide procurement.
  • On-Bill Financing Program Overview: Angelica Gurule presented a program that would allow utility customers to finance energy upgrades (heat pumps, insulation, panel upgrades) through their utility bill, with capital provided by the Climate Investment Center. Board members raised significant concerns:
    • The program would likely require a contractor lien on the property, which could complicate home sales and put homeowners at risk.
    • Possible high default rates and collection issues for the county.
    • The need to explore multiple capital partners rather than committing early to the Climate Investment Center.
    • Difficulty in designing projects so energy savings offset loan payments (example showed a net negative monthly impact of $274).
    • Some members expressed support for the concept but urged careful program design and legal review.
  • Update on Single-Use Plastic Bag Ordinance: Shannon Blair reported that the working group (Blair, Erik Loechell, Jack Grow) had drafted an ordinance based on state models, focusing only on checkout bags, and had sent it to county attorneys for review. The board discussed whether endorsement would mean the ordinance is technically sound or that the board believes it is a good policy. The final draft is expected in June.

Key Outcomes

  • Ridwell Recycling: No formal action was taken. The board expressed interest in exploring partnerships but noted procurement would need to be competitive. A motion was not made.
  • On-Bill Financing: No vote. The board recommended that staff research other financing models and partners before presenting to the Board of Public Utilities (scheduled for June 3, 2026). Staff was encouraged to address concerns about liensing, debt collection, and program uptake.
  • Single-Use Plastic Bag Ordinance: The board will review the draft ordinance in June (with a possible special meeting on June 8). A decision on endorsement is expected at that time, with the intent to forward a recommendation to County Council in July.
  • Reports & Updates:
    • Chair’s Report: David Hampton noted the Board of Public Utilities approved a gas rate increase (~16% effective increase) to restore fund health; Foxtail Flats Solar Array groundbreaking occurred; Transportation Board discussed bicycle safety and Idaho Stop law; Parks and Recreation Board reported (member absent).
    • Bee City Los Alamos: Britton Donharl reported pollinator garden weeding is understaffed.
    • Sustainability Alliance: Sue Barns debriefed Earth Day event success and upcoming farmers market tables.
    • Staff Report: Angelica Gurule reported newsletter subscribers at 147 (62% engagement); EV charging construction at Mesa Library paused temporarily; a $1.2M food composting grant was rescinded; county will seek new food waste solutions; April diversion rate was 31% (17% yard trimmings, 14% recycling); 18 trucks of trash sent to Valencia landfill costing $34,489.44.
  • Preview of Upcoming Agenda Items: Open Meetings Act training with Katie Thwaits (June); Bio Solid Composting Operation with Josh Silva (July).

Meeting Transcript

Good. Good. All right, we're called an order. I'll do a quick roll call roll call. Member Barnes. Member Blair. Remember Splair. Remember S. Blair, thank you. And uh Vice Chair Lachelle. And uh Absent are uh Member Chandler, Member Grove, and Member Clair. Is there any public comment for items not? And Joe is online. Oh, excellent. Yes. Okay. So add him to the is there any public comment? Or anybody online? There's any public comment, please raise your hand. I don't know why you have just ignored it. I'm looking at Barbara. Barbara, do you have any public comment to make? No. Okay. All right. Um any changes to the agenda? All right. Agenda's approved unanimously. Um any changes or corrections to the minutes? All right, they're approved unanimously. And with that, um, you guys are up. All right, fantastic. Thank you uh so much for having me. Uh let me get my screen uh sharing uh set up. But uh before while I do that, um was anyone at at the event that I did in your in your wonderful community uh a few it was on Earth's Day, I think actually. Um just wondering if uh there's any awareness of what I do and uh and that type of thing, or if we're we're starting fresh. Well, we knew you you were doing it, but we wanted you here because we weren't able to attend. All the other things. Okay, there was a county council person that was in attendance there. So I'm in the audience. Okay. Fantastic. Right. Well, let's get this fired up here. Can people see my screen okay? Yes. Fantastic. Um I always love to just start at the sort of founding story of how I stumbled upon uh this this project that has turned into something far greater than I ever uh imagined. Um this picture, these are my my son here when he was six years old, and we're up here in Seattle, far far away from you. Um, and we were really motivated to have a lot of uh not a lot of waste and live sustainably.

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