Transfer stations require proper management to facilitate order and ensure on-site safety. However, high traffic, tight quarters and various oversight responsibilities often make transfer stations difficult to manage.

To help transfer station managers and other industry participants get the tools they need to run these facilities, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) developed its Transfer Station Management Course. This course addresses operational best practices managers can use to facilitate the safe and efficient management of waste through a facility.

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Joe Williams, principal of Common Sense Consulting of Franklin, Tennessee, and an instructor of SWANA’s Transfer Station Management Course, has spent three decades in the waste industry. He worked as a district manager of environmental, safety and health for Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) of Memphis, Tennessee, and as a director of solid waste for the city of Franklin before transitioning to his current role.

According to Williams, the first consideration that paves the way for a well-managed station is having a facility that is adequately built to handle the volume of waste and traffic that is, or could eventually, flow through a building.

“The first thing you need to make sure you have [is] enough property to ensure safe movement of both large and small vehicles, and you also need to keep these vehicles separate,” Williams says. “You also have to make sure you have enough room for the immediate programs you’re planning for, as well as those that may come later [if your needs change]. Most importantly, be sure you have good data on the type and volume of waste you are handling and what the growth prospects are in your area. I’ve seen folks handling 300 tons of waste a day build a station for 400 tons a day and two years later, they have garbage spilling out the door because they didn’t plan for the future.”

Because these facilities are often used for decades, Williams says it is best for sites not to be “landlocked” should more area be needed to accommodate changing volumes or site operations. These sites should also be well maintained to appeal to the neighboring community. Williams says that a little effort landscaping the front of a facility and preserving its appearance can mitigate complaints and reduce conflicts with the community.

Williams says that while a good fence, strong gate, lock and surveillance cameras should be standard to protect transfer stations from outside threats, a continued investment in maintenance is needed to keep a facility and its assets looking—and operating—their best from within.

“Good, complete maintenance is the key to protecting the building and the rolling stock, but operators need a budget to do it right,” he says. “I’m always amazed at folks who will buy a $100,000 piece of equipment and then budget $1,500 for maintenance and repair in its third year.”

Understanding the importance of compliance and regulation

Transfer station managers never know what kind of waste might inadvertently be brought on-site, but keeping a close eye on waste composition is essential for avoiding enforcement by regulators. That’s why Williams says it’s important for transfer station managers to vet every load brought into a station.

“While landfills are required to have a waste screening plan in place and are required to screen a percentage of all loads, transfer stations, on the whole, do not,” he says. “I’m a proponent of transfer stations instituting their own waste screening requirements, including inspections. They are easily accomplished by the loader (or spotter if one is used) as the collection truck unloads. If there is a problem, it is discovered immediately, and the collector can be notified of responsibility. More than that, if you inform the driver right away, they may have a pretty good idea of exactly where the contraband was collected based on its position in the load.

“This waste screening starts with the hauler and moves to the transfer station, then the disposal site, so it requires consistent training at each level. If waste collectors can find unacceptable items in the stream and remove it at the outset, it saves transfer station and landfill managers from having to spot it. However, this is not always the case. That’s why if the transfer station can catch what collectors miss, it saves landfill operators from having to do it—that’s three opportunities to keep the wrong kind of waste out of the disposal stream.”

Williams says being vigilant on inspecting waste and keeping proper records can help alleviate the headache of dealing with regulators. He cites examples from his time working as director of solid waste for the city of Franklin as evidence of how remaining in compliance can help ease the burdens of enforcement.

“It sounds simple, but I struggled more as a director [dealing with regulations] than any other part of my job. Why? Because sometimes the regulations change or sometimes things got so busy, I couldn’t complete an inspection or review a file in a timely manner. But when our team finally got it together, it made dealing with my state regulator so much easier. He would show up, we’d hand him the file, and he would do his thing in the conference room. Eventually it became just a friendly discussion—sometimes he asked to see paperwork and sometimes he didn’t. But it helped build a rapport so that if something did go wrong, I was able to call him and get advice on how to correct it before it became a Notice of Violation,” Williams says.

Managing with efficiency and safety in mind

Perhaps the biggest challenge for transfer station managers is coordinating the flow of traffic in and out of the site in a safe, efficient manner. Establishing a protocol for managing waste that limits cross traffic is a must for alleviating congestion and safeguarding against preventable accidents.

Williams says he favors the top-load method of filling trucks since it is effective and cuts down on congestion.

“I’m a big proponent of the top-load method from a tipping floor. My motto is, ‘Keep it simple, stupid,’” Williams says. “This allows for simple operation. A collection truck unloads on the tipping floor, the loader pushes waste to a hole in the floor where it drops into the transfer vehicle and off you go. It’s simple and quick. Using this method, if you’re short on transfer vehicles, you can stockpile to get caught up and not hold up the collection fleet. It takes just three simple steps. What makes this so efficient is that the number of working parts is minimized. This method works best in locations where managers have a commitment (and backup of their leaders) to enforce safety measures, spec and maintain the right equipment, and hire and train good employees.”

Williams says that while he favors the top-load method, for those relying on the tipping floor to transfer materials, investing in a good floor is a must. A quality floor can reduce needed site maintenance and help a transfer station save money over time.

“When the city built a new transfer station in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004, we paid a nice price for a floor topped with 1.5 inches of iron-infused concrete,” he says. “Fifteen years later, I don’t think they have had to replace the entire floor yet. The floor is the lifeblood of a transfer station.”

Regardless of how waste is processed in a station, transparency and open lines of communication are paramount. Williams says maintaining a safe facility should be the primary concern for site managers. This includes not only creating a culture of compliance for employees, but also educating the public on safety best practices.

“There is no greater responsibility for a manager than the safety of his or her employees, customers and community, period,” Williams says. “Safety is more than a practice; it is a culture. It includes training and constant communication from bottom to top, top to bottom.”

Williams says managers need to take a comprehensive view on enforcing safety. This includes everything from making sure employees don the appropriate protective gear to having regular occupational training for staff. Williams says this training should be situational in nature to educate employees on real-world safety scenarios. However, even regular instruction can fall flat if it’s not prioritized throughout a company and its culture. He says that managers should spend some time with employees face-to-face in the scale house, on the floor and in trucks with transfer drivers heading to the landfill to see the daily issues employees face.

“More than just training employees on all the standard environmental and operational classes and programs you might have in place, safety is a committed attitude that is ingrained in an operation,” Williams says. “As much as waste collectors have to take the risk around traffic, transfer station employees are constantly around large pieces of equipment in near-constant motion, typically in a small and finite space. While every module of the waste business—collection, transfer and disposal—carries its own risk factors, I’m not sure there is a place that has more potential for danger than on the tipping floor of a transfer station.”

Beyond employees, transfer station managers should make transparency a priority with incoming members of the public. Williams says that each transfer station should have clearly worded entry signs that spell out the hours, costs, accepted materials, local emergency numbers and the contact information of the facility operator. He notes that social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter, as well as the company’s website should also be updated regularly to inform members of the public who are looking for site information before they arrive.

Once on-site, Williams says separating the public and smaller operations from larger haulers is imperative for efficiency and safety at the transfer station.

“Transfer stations should go to any lengths necessary to separate commercial and one-time mom-and-pop consumers,” Williams says. “Commercial drivers are pros. They are at your facility every day, and they are anxious to get in and get out. One-time users in pickups or small trailers may have never seen anything like a transfer station, usually do not have the proper personal protection gear and will be intimidated by large trucks. Have a separate area well away from the station itself with roll-off containers if possible to accommodate these individuals.”

Williams also says having the right type of employee at the scale house is imperative for establishing a positive customer experience, so managers should choose wisely when deciding on where to place staff.

“Remember that the most important member of your staff works at the scale house. Why? Because that person is going to set the tone for every customer that enters your facility. They are responsible for directing one-off users to the safest place in the safest way,” Williams says. “Moreover, I’ve seen drivers mad as can be hit the scale and watch as the attendant not only calmed them down, but had them smiling. I’ve also seen drivers in a good mood turn ballistic over some sourpuss who probably should not still have a job.”

Although there are a lot of moving parts one has to manage when overseeing a transfer station, Williams says being mindful of the details and taking advantage of available training and certification can give managers the tools they need to facilitate production while avoiding potential headaches.

This article originally ran in the May/June issue of Waste Today. The author is the editor of Waste Today magazine and can be contacted at aredling@gie.net.

Waste Management, Houston, introduced its second driver and technician training center in Glendale, Arizona, on June 21. According to the company, the Arizona Training Center, which complements its first center built in Fort Myers, Florida, extends the Waste Management’s commitment to providing centralized training for drivers and technicians across North America.

The Waste Management Arizona Training Center is located on a 13-acre property and includes a 30,000 square-foot maintenance shop, a 10-acre driver training course, classrooms, computer labs and technician workstations to simulate experiences at Waste Management facilities.

As part of the onboarding process, drivers and technicians attend a two-week program led by Waste Management trainers designed to enhance their capabilities and ensure they are engaged, customer-centric and safe out on the road. The program builds on the foundation of Waste Management’s Mission to Zero (M2Z) safety initiative, which aims to eliminate unsafe actions, behaviors and conditions on the job. During the training, Waste Management also provides nearby housing and catered meals to welcome participants into company.  

“Waste Management’s commitment to putting our people first is not just a catchphrase or slogan—we are focused on this as evidenced by our continued investment in the growth and development of our employees,” Tamla Oates-Forney, chief human resources officer at Waste Management, says. “We are differentiating ourselves with the frontline onboarding experience [we offer] through our world-class driver and technician training centers.”

According to Waste Management, the Arizona Training Center “is a leading example of the company’s continued investment in a ‘safety- and people-first’ culture.” During the two-week training and development experience, drivers learn safety rules, procedures, vehicle inspections, safe lifting and Department of Transportation-required curriculum that provides scenarios reflective of day-to-day operations. Trainees spend their first week in the classroom learning, and by week two, transition to simulated driving courses. Technicians learn the basics of hydraulics, electrical, preventative maintenance practices and safety procedures through two weeks of integrated classroom and hands-on learning at workstations.

At the end of the two-week training course, drivers and technicians receive a comprehensive evaluation of performance prior to returning to their respective locations for additional on-the-job training programs.

Waste Management training centers help address the industry challenge of driver and fleet technician new-hire turnover, while also improving retention. The standardized training translates to better employee performance and a longer career with Waste Management, according to the company. This unique onboarding program also helps Waste Management recruit critical driver and technician roles.

The Arizona Training Center began welcoming Waste Management drivers in late April and technicians in early June. At full capacity, the center expects to train and develop 2,500 drivers and 750 technicians per year.

Sarasota, Florida-based Single Stream Recyclers (SSR), a material recovery facility (MRF) that serves residential and commercial recycling programs, has added what it describes as Florida’s first artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered recycling robotic system.

The system uses AI to identify, grab and sort aseptic and gable top food and beverage cartons from the recycling stream.

“We are excited to be a leader in Florida—and the country—in adding this innovative technology to make sure we capture as many food and beverage cartons as possible to prevent them from ending up in landfills,’’ says John Hansen, co-owner of Single Stream Recyclers, which opened its Sarasota facility in March 2018.

Developed by Amp Robotics, Denver, the system uses advanced computer vision and machine learning to recognize different colors, textures, shapes, sizes and patterns that identify food and beverage cartons in the recycling stream. It directs a high-speed robot to pick, sort and place the cartons for recycling. The robot learns as it goes, improving over time and picking up to 80 items per minute, about double the average pick rate of a human, Single Stream Recyclers says.

This robot is the first of six to be installed at the nearly 100,000-square-foot recycling facility.

“It’s more important than ever to sort out the most valuable materials,” Hansern says. “Employing this robot will be another step toward making recycling more effective, while also reducing the amount of waste that goes to our landfills or worse, ends up as litter.”

“SSR is leading the way as a recycling innovator, with this being the single largest deployment of AI and robotics in the nation,” Matanya Horowitz, chief executive officer of Amp, says. “John and his team have been fantastic to work with in making this happen. Robotics will continue to revolutionize recycling, and this represents another milestone of industry adoption. The support from SSR and the Carton Council puts us another step closer to making that possible.’’

A grant from the Carton Council of North America, Denton, Texas, made installation of the first robotic sorter possible.  

“We are thrilled to partner with SSR on bringing this cutting-edge technology to Florida,’’ says Scott Byrne, director of government affairs for the Carton Council and circular economy expert for the U.S. and Canada for Tetra Pak. “Food and beverage cartons are a recyclable package. Made of high-quality fiber with end markets across North America, as well as solid export options, they should go on to be used to produce new paper products or environmentally friendly building materials. We hope other communities will take note and boost their efforts to capture as many food and beverage cartons as possible.’’

Maine and Vermont are joining a growing number of localities banning plastic bags for consumers.

The states signed legislations on the same day, June 17, that will phase out plastic bags among other single-use plastics.

Maine’s bill, LD 1532, prohibits retail establishments from using single-use carry-out bags to bag products at the point of sale or otherwise make single-use carry-out bags available to customers.

Exemptions are available for certain types and uses of plastic and paper bags. For example, pharmacy bags may still be used, as well as newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags and bags used for items such as fruits and vegetables.

Retail establishments may provide recyclable paper bags to bag products at the point of sale for at least 5 cents per bag, with exceptions to the fee requirement for certain types of retail establishments. The prohibition is effective April 22, 2020.

Meanwhile, the Vermont law, SB 113, goes one step further and prohibits food service establishments from providing plastic carryout bags, expanded polystyrene food service products and plastic straws to customers. Straws may be provided to customers on request, and people requiring straws for medical conditions are exempted from the law.

The bag ban applies only to bags at point-of-sale, while household trash bags or produce bags are exempt. It also implements a 10-cent charge for recyclable paper bags.

National Geographic calls Vermont’s legislation the “most comprehensive plastics ban in U.S.”

The law takes effect in July 2020.

The new laws bring the number of statewide plastic bag bans up to four, including California and New York. Hawaii is also notable. While the state government hasn’t implemented a ban, each of its counties has done so.

State lawmakers have introduced at least 95 bills in 2019 related to plastic bags, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Most of these bills would ban or place a fee on plastic bags. Others would preempt local government action or improve bag recycling programs.

Plastic bags have been taxed or banned in 127 nations, according to a United Nations count.