Whether traveling for work or pleasure, many of us find ourselves living a portion of our lives in airports. Today’s airports have grown large enough to encompass most attributes of a city or community.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), for example, is ranked in the top 20 busiest U.S. airports with more than 34 million passengers passing through each year. It has roads, infrastructure, diverse facilities that provide a range of services and amenities, a long-term master plan guiding its future development and nearly 18,000 employees—that equates to a lot of waste.
Because of its sheer scope, these “mini- cities” also generate waste with unique characteristics.
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. recently conducted an in-depth waste and recyclables composition study at a U.S. airport that is similar in size to DTW. The study, which was conducted to identify opportunities for enhanced solid waste management and diversion goals, found that:
The industry’s effort to standardize and create better management practices for airports across the United States is commendable.
Twenty-two percent of waste was from food and water.
Twenty-five percent was easily recyclable materials (i.e., old corrugated cardboard (OCC), news and office paper, mixed paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), ferrous metals and aluminum cans).
In addition to the food and water, 14 percent of materials were found to be compostable.
An additional 22 percent could be potentially diverted from the waste stream (this includes other plastics, film and reusable textiles).
Water remaining in plastic bottles was a significant contributor to the overall disposed weight.
Contamination, especially in food waste and film, was a significant issue.
Trying to manage and divert this diverse waste stream is a challenge and an opportunity thanks to the variety of operations that take place and the transient nature of those who use these facilities.
The good news is that the Federal Aviation Agency Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) expanded the definition of airport planning when it was passed to mandate “developing a plan for recycling and minimizing the generation of airport solid waste” to help bring about a more conscientious approach to handling airport refuse.
The industry’s effort to standardize and create better management practices for airports across the United States is commendable. As solid waste management professionals, we know this issue well—one method of waste management does not fit all types of waste—but if we standardize our methods of measurement and reporting, we can learn more quickly what does and does not work for differing localities.
In order to better solve waste management challenges in these mini-cities across the country, it is important to watch how this community begins to tackle its waste management obstacles in new and innovative ways. All it takes is one model to help set the entire industry on the right flight path to smarter waste management practices. wt
Hino Trucks signs multiyear partnership with New York Jets
Hino Trucks, Novi, Michigan, has announced an exclusive multiyear partnership with the New York Jets. The agreement marks the first professional sports partnership for Hino Trucks and brands them the official commercial truck of the organization.
“The New York Jets are extremely proud to be the first professional sports team to collaborate with Hino Trucks,” Neil Glat, president of the New York Jets, says. “Hino’s commitment to their customers and the community makes them an ideal partner for our organization.”
As the exclusive commercial truck of the New York Jets, Hino Trucks will become the presenting partner of the Jets Facebook Watch series, “One Jets Drive: 2018 Training Camp.” The four-part series will feature exclusive footage from Jets training camp, including the team’s travel with the assistance of Hino Trucks, to Richmond, Virginia, for a joint practice with the Washington Redskins.
“Hino Trucks and our participating New York metropolitan dealers are thrilled to take this step with the New York Jets as our first sponsorship of its kind,” Glenn Ellis, senior vice president of customer experience at Hino Trucks, says. “As our partnership with the New York Jets developed, it became apparent that we have the same philosophy and fan base—people committed to working hard, passionate about what they do and connected to the streets our trucks operate on. Our partnership will go far beyond game days and will bring together two great New York brands working together throughout the entire year.”
Nine local Hino Trucks dealers will be participating in the partnership and will be able to use the Jets logo at retail locations in conjunction with Hino advertising and promotion. Dealerships include:
Milea Truck Sales, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods of New York City
Liebherr USA Co. expands dealer network in Florida
Liebherr USA Co., Newport News, Virginia, has announced its Construction Equipment Division has added Action Equipment LLC based out of Miami to its dealer network. Action Equipment will provide Liebherr customers with equipment rentals, product sales support and service.
In 2007, Bruno-Elias Ramos and Steve Ramos founded Action Equipment and established the company in Miami. The founders say business has progressed exceptionally ever since. The company opened its second location in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2015 and later expanded to six other Florida-based locations including Homestead, Orlando, Tampa and Vero Beach in 2016 and 2017.
“All of us at Action Equipment are excited about the addition of the Liebherr line. We have known the product for decades as a high-quality and superior product,” Bruno-Elias Ramos says. “Action Equipment has opened a statewide division to service Liebherr throughout the state from our nine locations in Florida. We look forward to a long and beneficial relationship with Liebherr and our valued customers.”
By putting customer needs first and offering the newest, safest and most reliable equipment, the company says it has steadily built a strong reputation in Florida.
“We are thrilled to work with Action Equipment as they are a rapidly growing company that does not forget the value of exceptional customer service. With over 100 years of combined experience, we are confident that our customers will be served well,” Peter Mayer, managing director of Liebherr USA’s Construction Equipment Division, says.
Advanced Enviro Systems relocates headquarters
Advanced Enviro Systems (AES), a waste and recycling consultant and equipment provider, has moved into a 21,000-square-foot facility in Camden, New Jersey. The move, which brings 27 new full-time positions to southern New Jersey, is designed to better position AES for sustainable, long-term growth and better serve the company’s customers and employees throughout the region.
The new facility provides space for welding and steel manufacturing, customer support, sales, services and leadership functions across the company, allowing AES to showcase its solutions and products to potential and existing clients. Located in Chester, Pennsylvania, since its inception in 1996, the company relocated to Camden using the tax incentives offered through Grow NJ, an assistance program offered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJDEA) to retain and grow state jobs and revitalize the community through redevelopment.
Originally founded as a waste and recycling equipment provider, AES has since expanded to cover a range of waste industry-related products and services. In addition to equipment and receptacles, the company provides commercial waste management services and solutions for hotels, multifamily housing, retailers, shopping centers, convenience stores, universities, counties and municipalities. Other services include sustainability consulting, program analysis, invoice auditing and bill pay, 24/7 call center support and individualized plans to address companies’ specific waste management needs. Most recently, the company acquired TrashPro, a waste management service provider in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, specializing in multifamily housing and municipal contracts.
AES plans partner with local businesses and neighbors for its staffing needs. In addition to the current new positions, the company plans on continuing to draw from South Jersey’s employment pool.
“The new location and enhanced operational efficiencies will help us continue to grow and develop to keep pace with clients’ needs in our continuous effort to provide exceptional value and superior service,” Ward says.
In addition to this facility, AES also continues to maintain a Southeast headquarters in Punta Gorda, Florida.
Designing for Safety
Features - Safety Focus | Landfills
Ensuring landfill operator and customer safety starts with the landfill’s design.
Landfill safety starts with intentional design. Landfills are complex operations with many hazardous environments, physical settings and people and equipment interactions that can pose risks to landfill workers and customers. However, through more intuitive design considerations, today’s professionals can help eliminate unsafe configurations and institute features that can proactively warn of and minimize hazards.
Figure 1: Steeply sloped landfill—difficult to maintain and poses safety challenges
Slope configuration design
Slope angle is a critical design parameter that determines the shape and available capacity of a site. There are the obvious factors, such as slope stability, that govern the maximum allowable slope angles of interim and final slopes as well as regulatory limits that influence maximum slope angles in a site. Designers must consider subgrade conditions, geotechnical factors and regulatory requirements when specifying how steep a landfill can be constructed.
Steeper slopes increase disposal capacity. As such, owners often push landfill designers to go as steep as possible with the slopes to maximize disposal capacity. The downside is that steeper slopes can pose increased hazards for maintenance and monitoring. Figures 1 and 2 on Page 33 illustrate steep and moderately sloped landfill configurations. Steeper slopes make mowing and maintenance of the sloped areas more difficult and dangerous. There are plenty of examples of overturned tractors and other heavy equipment mishaps occurring from operators mowing or working on slopes with aggressive inclines.
In addition to slope configurations, designers have to ensure easy access to important monitoring points and environmental control features such as landfill gas wells, condensate sumps and leachate sumps. Steep slopes can increase the difficulty of accessing and monitoring these features. Design criteria should consider the practical aspects of using equipment and potential personnel limitations during all phases of the landfill life to account for changing configurations.
Many states regulate the maximum design slope that can be constructed before settlement while other states allow slopes to be constructed greater than the design limit to allow for settling back to the maximum allowed slope. In the latter case, if the maximum allowable final slope is 4H:1V, the operator might construct to 3H:1V or steeper and allow the slopes to settle back to 4H:1V. As an example of state requirements, Pennsylvania specifies a maximum slope of 3H:1V. However, use of a settlement accommodation plan allows for construction of slopes greater than 3H:1V to a maximum of 40 percent as long as the slopes settle back to a maximum of 3H:1V within 5 years and the maximum permitted height is not exceeded by 10 percent. Pennsylvania also requires terraces be installed every 25 vertical feet if the slopes are approved greater than 15 percent. The risk of this type of design is that if the slope does not settle back as anticipated to a maximum of 3H:1V, waste material will have to be removed to ensure compliance.
In contrast, Virginia has no such settlement accommodation provision. Although 3H:1V slopes are relatively steep and pose some challenges for mowing and monitoring, especially in wet, icy, or snowy conditions, operators have been able to deploy equipment to maintain and mow these steeper slopes safely. Although state laws vary, it is up to the designers to take practical, safety and regulatory considerations into account when establishing the configuration of a landfill.
Figure 2: Landfill bench and well-vegetated side slopes with easy access to landfill gas well near the bench
Site monitoring design
Most landfills have monitoring points for groundwater and surface water. Some of these monitoring points can be in remote and difficult-to-access areas. That’s why site access for safe environmental monitoring should be a design and operational consideration. Designing all-weather and maintainable access paths and establishing clear markers for these monitoring points can improve access safety and ease of monitoring. Figure 3 on Page 34 shows a challenging access configuration on an older closed landfill, and Figure 4 illustrates a better-defined and safer access example for monitoring on a newer landfill.
In Figure 3, there are no defined paths to the monitor wells, consequently mowing of the vegetation is infrequent, and ropes are needed to safely navigate from the top of the landfill slope to the bottom of the slopes to access the monitoring wells. Finding the monitoring wells can be a challenge, and the overgrowth of vegetation creates an environment friendly to snakes, mosquitoes and ticks. Figure 4 depicts a safer monitoring point configuration. The well is clearly marked, the area is free of debris and the monitoring area is protected from damage with bollards and a concrete collar that is easily accessible. Considering these features during the design process makes monitoring the landfill probes and the landfill groundwater, surface water or subsurface gases less costly.
Signage design
Simple and clear signage is a design element sometimes overlooked. Entering a landfill facility can be confusing for citizens. Questions regarding where to go in relation to the scale, the location of the active disposal area and the citizen drop-off area, and any vehicle restrictions that are in place can lead to unsafe behavior. Clear, large and visible signage is helpful for site users in explaining where they should go and how they should operate when navigating a landfill. For these reasons, the signage should be an important consideration during the design process and should be adjusted in the field depending on site operations.
Figure 3: Difficult access for environmental monitoring
Site access and traffic area design
Large garbage trucks and smaller passenger vehicles enter landfills daily. Safe landfill design protocols provide for the separation of these vehicle types through the presence of separate disposal areas. Distinguishing two areas for citizens and haulers helps minimize potential collision hazards in a busy, comingled dumping area. Many municipalities and private companies provide a safe disposal environment for the public using citizen convenience disposal areas away from the landfill itself.
The design width, surfacing material type and presence of traffic speed control measures can help create safer driving conditions. Specifically, sufficiently wide roads allow for safe two-way traffic between larger trucks. This helps prevent turnover that can occur when a truck is forced to move off the roadway edge on to softer landfill areas.
Citizen convenience center design
Citizen convenience centers keep public traffic separate from the large commercial and municipal collection vehicles that deliver waste to landfills. Despite design considerations enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other regulatory bodies, the design of these facilities can still pose unique safety challenges. Many of these facilities have elevated areas from which the public can unload into roll-off containers, which are located 8 to 12 feet below where the vehicles pull up. The primary hazard is citizens falling into the roll-off containers from the unloading area. Design features such as walls, railings and signage can help protect customers from slipping or otherwise falling into dumpsters. Designing these facilities on a grade can also help eliminate these fall hazards.
Figure 4: Well-designed monitor well access and protection
Landfill construction design
Safety concerns can arise during the construction of the environmental control systems at a landfill. For example, leachate and condensate sumps can accumulate explosive gases. Proper design of these mechanical/electrical systems and enclosure access points can help address these hazards. Also, appropriate signage needs to be installed to identify hazardous areas. Landfill gas wells should be designed with grates at the top of the borehole to protect construction and site workers from falling into these areas.
Achieving objectives
Every phase of landfill design should involve considerations of safety. Landfill designers should include features that minimize health and safety concerns associated with landfill construction and operation, including ways to configure landfills to allow for safe operation, access features to allow for easier and safer monitoring of the landfill’s environmental control systems, and design elements that provide appropriate protection against the hazards that develop in a landfill environment. In order to meet these objectives, landfill designers must be willing to work in close collaboration with field and operations staff to incorporate a design that is user friendly, effective and safe.
Bob Gardner is a senior vice president of SCS Engineers, Long Beach, California, and oversees the firm’s solid waste practice nationwide. He has nearly 40 years of experience in solid waste management.
Product Spotlight
Departments - Product Spotlight
New and updated products and technology for the waste industry.
Air-Weigh, Eugene, Oregon, has debuted the BinMaxx Cloud. The product combines the features of its front-loading BinMaxx Scale with a cloud-based portal. Features of the BinMaxx Cloud scale include:
front-end loader arm scale that uses cloud-based technology to collect and store data automatically via Bluetooth technology
identifies and records each lift daily
portal that displays container weight, lift locations, pickup fees and expected landfill charges
ability to generate detailed lift reports in spreadsheet and PDF formats
Industrial Magnetics magnetic separation pulley and conveyor system.
Industrial Magnetics Inc., Boyne City, Michigan, offers a magnetic separation pulley and conveyor system designed for the automated separation of weakly magnetic stainless steel. Features of the magnetic stainless separation conveyor and magnetic stainless separation pulley include:
magnets are designed to attract and hold stainless steel scrap from e-scrap, chopped wire and auto shredder residue
offered as an all-in-one conveyor unit or as a standalone head pulley that can be integrated into existing conveyor systems
available in several standard strength and width configurations ranging from 36 inches to 80 inches
available in custom strengths and widths to fit the needs of the application
Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based Liftomatic Material Handling Inc. released the Liftomatic 10HT-4W. The model 10HT-4W is a four-wheel hand truck designed with ergonomic safety in mind. Features of the 10HT-4W include:
designed to handle all rimmed steel, fiber and plastic drums weighing up to 1,000 pounds
drum truck has two 10-inch main wheels with full roller bearings and two 4-inch swivel casters to support the drum
uses Liftomatic’s parrot-beak clamping design
a clamping mechanism that can be adjusted to handle all drum sizes from 10 to 85 gallons
Lincoln, Nebraska-based BinMaster says the technology it offers can bring “precision and reliability to measuring and monitoring volume and tonnage in freestanding stockpiles.” Features of the Stockpile Reports estimating tool include:
automates pile measurement using pictures from a cell phone, drone, plane or fixed camera
data is accessed and shared on a web portal
a dashboard populated with photographs, site statistics and materials reports with vital information on the volume, tonnage and condition risks for each pile
scalable from five to more than 500 piles for one site or for multiple locations managed by a company
Morbark LLC, Winn, Michigan, is now offering the iQ-View Smart Controller on its 3-liter gas engines for the Beever M12R, M12D and M12RX models of brush chippers. Features of the iQ-View include:
smart display and controller designed to present engine and machine parameters to the operator and control the chipper’s auto- feed function
user can select four parameters to display simultaneously
a second screen can be set to display four additional parameters
on-screen diagnostics can be used to troubleshoot system issues
Best Process Solutions vibratory magnet feeder line.
Brunswick, Ohio-based Best Process Solutions (BPS) says its vibratory magnet feeders are being deployed to help sort materials created by the electronic scrap shredding process. Features of the line include:
stainless steel feeders designed to prevent the magnetization of the material
dual-motor operation for counter-rotation for linear material movement
can be customized to existing plant schematics of all sizes
Rotochopper, St. Martin, Minnesota, manufactures industrial wood waste grinding equipment. The B-66 can transform a range of raw materials into mulch, animal bedding and more. Features of the B-66 include:
colorizer that injects water and colorant directly into the grinding chamber
screen change system that lets operators switch screens at ground level with no need for overhead lifting equipment, fasteners or special tools
track and dolly system that switches from road travel on tires to site navigation on tracks
engine options include 755 to 1,050 horsepower diesel engine or 500 to 1,000 horsepower electric motor(s)
United Kingdom-based CP Automation says its handheld cordless radio control units for cranes and hydraulic material handlers allow operators “to remain on the facility floor out of range of load swings and potentially dropped loads.” Features of the remote-control units include:
cordless flexibility that allows the operator to move to different locations
cranes can be fitted with CP Automation and motion control products made by Magnetek Inc., United Kingdom, as an integrated package
package can include power delivery systems, collision avoidance systems, radio remote control transmitters, motor gearboxes, failsafe brakes and variable frequency drives (VFDs)
below-the-hook attachments such as magnets, grabs or C-hooks are able to be managed by a single operator
Since its inception, Covanta has been dedicated to finding innovative ways to make use of waste and its byproducts. The Morristown, New Jersey-based company, formerly known as the Ogden Corporation, got its foray into waste-to-energy (WTE) through the acquisition of the North American licensing rights to the Martin GmbH system of waste combustion in 1983. Since then, Covanta has expanded to feature a global network of WTE and material processing facilities.
One of the ways Covanta has begun to better leverage its WTE offerings is through colocation agreements. Through these partnerships, Covanta supplies steam generated through its waste processes to a neighboring business and takes in nonrecyclable waste in return to add to its feedstock. Because of engineering considerations and construction costs, the majority of these partnerships are made with companies that are, or are willing to move, within 2 miles of an existing Covanta plant.
According to Dave Burke, manager of export steam sales for Covanta, these agreements are mutually beneficial.
“The reason colocation works for us is that we’re able to secure a predictable price [for exporting steam] that is potentially higher than what we would get for a wholesale energy price on the electrical grid. That is attractive to our investors.” Burke says. “From the customer side, they’re likely going to get a reduced price on their energy; they’re not going to have to focus on the staffing or operation of a boiler house, which takes a lot of time and resources; and then there are the ancillary benefits of them being able to send their waste to us and avoid landfills.”
According to Burke, the process of establishing these agreements can happen organically when a preexisting business in proximity to a Covanta WTE facility is in need of affordable steam power or can stem from an outside business building a new facility on available land close to a Covanta plant.
Burke says that the ideal candidate for colocation is one that needs industrial volumes of steam and power. He cites heavy industry, paper mills, electrochemical facilities and emerging businesses such as data centers as prime candidates with which to partner. The company also looks for businesses that are sustainably minded and that want a more conscientious process for using energy and managing their waste. For these reasons, the decision to partner was a no-brainer when Greenpac Mill LLC came to Covanta looking for solutions to help meet the energy needs at its new Niagara, New York, linerboard plant, which broke ground in 2011.
Partnering up
Founded by Quebec-based Cascades Inc. in partnership with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and Jamestown Container and Containerboard Partners, Greenpac Mill LLC opened its Niagara facility in July 2013 after 22 months of construction. The opening of the new facility marked a departure from its normal mill operation, in that the company made a concerted effort to utilize lean principles and new technologies to minimize the site’s environmental footprint.
As the largest and one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in North America, Greenpac Mill manufactures a lightweight linerboard made with 100 percent recycled fibers and has an annual production capacity of 540,000 short tons.
Greenpac Mill takes the unrecyclable parts of its waste stream generated during production to the Covanta Niagara plant. This waste is then mixed with Covanta’s incoming municipal solid waste (MSW) and metered onto the company’s grate system where the combustion process occurs. During the combustion process, water in steel boiler tubes is heated and converted into high-temperature steam. The steam is then returned to the mill through a dedicated steam line built just for Greenpac, which it uses to dry the paper it produces.
Utilizing Covanta’s energy has allowed Greenpac to operate more efficiently while expediting its processes.
“Everything in our plant is automated,” Greenpac GM Murray Hewitt says. “We rely on each stage of the process to work well. The steam gives us faster drying times for our paper so that we can continue to produce and keep up with demand.”
Although the partnership has been pivotal in helping the organizations reduce cost and cut down on waste, Covanta and Greenpac are continuously working to find new ways to improve their processes and create a more environmentally friendly operation.
“Our employees believe in it, they enjoy coming to work and most of all, they speak confidently about the company when they are outside of our buildings, which drives positivity in the community. We set out from day one to have a green presence and we continue to look for ways to be creative about it and to get better,” Hewitt says. “Today we’re only sending 11 percent of our waste to the landfill and that is mostly sludge. I know that Covanta can help us find a solution and get us to zero waste to landfill in the next couple of years.”
From left: Greenpac GM Murray Hewitt with Dave Burke, manager of export steam sales for Covanta
Branching out
In addition to Greenpac Mill, Covanta Niagara has five other collocated facilities nearby that utilize the low-cost steam generated from the 2,250 tons of MSW the facility processes per day.
The coordination between Covanta and its adjacent companies has opened communication channels and set the stage for partnerships where more than steam and waste are transferred. According to Burke, these relationships are all made possible thanks to the proximity the businesses enjoy.
“For our Niagara facility, we have adjacent businesses that are in each other’s value chain,” Burke explains. “For example, the nearby industrial gas plant that is a steam client of Covanta also sends nitrogen via pipeline to three adjacent steam clients of ours. And the electrochemical plant is providing chlorine to another industry near us. If you have customers nearby that are in complementary value chains, you can pass products back and forth without having to put these items on a tractor trailer or train. That’s a great benefit of colocation.”
Burke says that Covanta Niagara is currently looking to add to its customer base and is actively recruiting candidates that can benefit from its offerings.
“In order to talk about what kind of energy savings can be realized from one of these arrangements, it is important to talk to the company about how it’s using its energy,” Burke says. “When I go in to talk to these companies about a potential partnership, I look at all their inputs to production so I can determine if and how I can make a neighboring plant more competitive. Once I understand what their needs are, then I can look at our available solutions and we can put together a proposal from there.”
With plenty of land on-site, and New York’s incentive programs, the company is being strategically aggressive recruiting new businesses to relocate to the area.
“There are 50 acres of brownfield available around our Niagara location” Burke says. “I’m currently looking for companies with complementary offerings to give them an automatic competitive advantage. This offers a great carbon footprint solution. New York has brownfield development credits. It also has what is known as empire zones. There are incentives for businesses to come in on previously used brownfield land around our plant.”
While the value of colocation for the organizations is clear, it’s the impact that these partnering companies can have on the community that really helps solidify these agreements as a worthy strategy for WTE facilities to pursue.
“You could call us the ‘green anchor’ for this community,” Kevin O’Neil, business manager for Covanta Niagara, says. “Essentially, we are a utility for these businesses and our steam keeps these companies going so they can employ more than 600 people in good-paying manufacturing jobs. That’s something to be proud of.”
The author is the editor for Waste Today and can be contacted at aredling@gie.net.
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Adam Redling
