Whether in response to a state mandate, a local policy, economic incentives or constituent support, communities and waste districts in North America have increasingly identified the organics fraction of their municipal solid waste (MSW) stream as a means by which their overall landfill diversion rates can be lifted.

To meet this demand, technology providers have come forward with a number of ways to use anaerobic digestion (AD) and other methods to divert these materials and produce energy from them.

But before AD and other waste-to-energy methods began attracting investments and attention, composting had long been seen as a way to capture value from organics while diverting these materials from the landfill or from an incinerator, where their high moisture levels are generally unwelcome.

Three waste management entities were recognized by the Silver Spring, Maryland-based Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) with 2017 Excellence Awards for composting programs deemed to be leading the way in organics diversion.

Comprehensive composting in the Empire State

The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA), a SWANA 2017 Excellence Award Winner, describes itself as running the largest municipal food recovery program in the state of New York. North Syracuse, New York-based OCRRA also claims it is “the only one producing compost certified by the United States Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance.”

In terms of scale, OCRRA in its SWANA award application states that since 2013, it has composted more than 15,000 tons of food scraps—and an even larger amount of yard waste—to create more than 30,000 cubic yards of the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA)-certified compost.

This volume has helped Onondaga County, which includes Syracuse as its largest city, achieve a 57 percent recycling rate, a percentage not easily reached by a district with some 450,000 residents to serve.

OCRRA has devoted 13 acres of land in Camillus, New York, to its composting operations. The site hosts eight 100-foot-long concrete bunkers that hold the material and are equipped with the aeration pipes that allow OCRRA to produce its 30,000 cubic yards of compost annually.

According to its SWANA award submission, the 90-day OCRRA composting process at the Camillus site in New York is completed in five stages:

1. Incoming food waste is mixed in a 1-3 ratio with yard waste and wood chips (which act as a bulking agent); this mixture is then placed on top of in-ground aeration pipes in the eight bunkers.
2. The food waste mixture is covered with already finished compost that helps control odors and helps maintain optimal moisture and temperature conditions.
3. Eight 1.5-horsepower blowers are timed on cycles that typically run for seven minutes every 15 to 20 minutes, creating the ideal aerobic conditions for decomposition.
4. After the food waste decomposes for 60 days and meets temperature and other monitored requirements, the finished compost is screened for use as a soil amendment.
5. Another 20 to 30 days are required for final curing.

The aeration pipes have proven cost-effective on several fronts when compared with more traditional windrow composting methods, according to the agency. The OCRRA contends the system in Camillus reduces its energy and fuel costs by 50 percent compared with what would be needed in a windrow system. In the windrow process, a piece of gasoline- or diesel-fueled heavy equipment operated by an hourly worker would be needed to turn the rows of compost five times in every two-week period.

With the aeration pipe method, just a modest amount of electricity (estimated by OCRRA as “a few hundred dollars per month”) is required to run the eight blowers at their specified intervals.

On the collection side, where landfill diversion starts, OCRRA says it “engages in extensive and continuous public education campaigns and training [sessions] with the participating food waste generators to minimize potential contaminants.”

Equipment deployed at the 13-acre Camillus campus also plays a role in creating compost that can meet the STA standard. Inbound food scraps are blended in a vertical mixer. According to OCRRA, the device “serves as a blender for the food and yard waste that creates a homogeneous blend and also rips open any bagged material” that arrives at the facility.

Yard waste comes in many forms, and a slow-speed shredder provided by Denver-based Komptech Americas and two horizontal grinders made by Pella, Iowa-based Vermeer Corp. help reduce trees and branches, pallets and other wood waste to a size that belongs in a compost blend.

In a final step, a trommel screen made by Ontario, Canada-based McCloskey International screens the compost before it is bagged or distributed in any other form.

Oregon trail leads to diversion

More than 2,000 miles west of Onondaga County, communities in the region of Benton County, Oregon, have worked with Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc. to create a composting system also honored by SWANA for its 2017 accomplishments.

The Pacific Region Compost (PRC) facility in Benton County, which includes the university town of Corvalis, is being managed by Republic to handle the food scraps increasingly mandated for landfill diversion by communities in the state.

The PRC site currently hosts comprehensive composting operations, and some of the material handled there may soon feed into an AD system. According to Republic, it is now “permitted to operate and build the first anaerobic digester in the Metro [Portland] region to process commercial food scraps.” The AD system is being designed and equipped to turn commercial food waste into fuel for collection vehicles, generate electricity to reach the grid and produce solid and liquid materials used for agricultural purposes. However, even after the AD system is up and running, composting will remain an essential part of the overall PRC operation, according to Republic.

The firm, in its SWANA Excellence Award nomination, indicates the PRC facility was designed to accept and process yard waste, but has evolved to include proper food scraps handling in its operations. As of 2018, the PRC facility can accept “proteins, dairy products and even bones” as inbound food scraps.

The windrow system is used for yard waste, with windrow turners used to rotate the rows to prepare material that can eventually be screened and tested until it is deemed ready for market. The food scraps are blended with composted yard waste in this process as well.

As in Onondaga County, aerated pipes are used at the PRC to process food scraps. In the Pacific Region Compost’s aeration process, air is pumped through each row for approximately one minute at roughly 30-minute intervals.

In addition to Corvalis, several other Oregon communities, including Salem, send organics to the PRC facility. According to Republic, more than 120,000 tons of organics are now being processed at PRC each year, and the company says it remains committed to working with communities in Oregon to provide “composting resources for generations to come.”

The company also touts cooperation between its management and Oregon communities as a means of proceeding without “cart before the horse” problems that can occur when collection programs are mandated before any processing or end market solutions exist.

Republic says via the PRC it was able to invest in and create “a stable processing option so cities could develop organics [collection] programs.”

Cooperation also has led to “a model organics collection system for MidValley Oregon communities” that means Republic and PRC managers can have a relatively consistent flow of materials and be properly equipped to handle them.

Finally, Republic states that cooperation also has led to the development of a rate structure designed so cities pay for new and existing programs in ways that reduce misunderstandings between local governments and Republic in its role as the facility manager.

For community solid waste planners and waste management company executives alike, the three SWANA 2017 Excellence Award winners are a model of what effective organics programs can achieve when waste diversion is made a priority by those involved.

The author is an editor with the Recycling Today Media Group and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net.

Seven Waste Pro drivers from the Columbus, Mississippi, office are being recognized for their safe driving habits.

At an awards banquet held July 27, drivers Eddie Washington, Kenneth Eckford, Johnathan Moody, L.W. Jefferson, Jerry Harris, Willie Beard and Lennard Brown were each presented with the Longwood, Florida-based company’s $10,000 safety bonus. Washington, Moody, Jefferson and Brown also received the bonus in 2015 and were awarded plaques denoting six years of exceptional service and an excellent safety record at the banquet.

The $10,000 Safety Award Bonus is given to drivers who have a spotless work record for three years, excellent customer service, no accidents, injuries or property damage, a positive attitude and attendance record and a well-kept truck. Waste Pro says it is the only company in the United States that offers this bonus to drivers.

“I could not be prouder of the accomplishments of this great group of employees and the management team. It takes a team effort to maintain the safety culture that is happening in Columbus,” Alan Reed, regional driver trainer in Columbus, says. “It takes a lot of teamwork with the employees encouraging each other, every employee having pride in what they do, respecting our customers and fellow employees, but mainly holding themselves accountable for shortfalls and each employee celebrating each other’s victories.  We are a family that respects each other, and each employee is passionate at striving to be the best driver possible and to assist those who are not there yet. We are a family with pride using teamwork and respect to accomplish safety.”

Covanta Holding Corp., Morristown, New Jersey, has announced it has successfully completed the sale of its interests in the Koma Kulshan hydroelectric project in Concrete, Washington, to Atlantic Power Corp., Dedham, Massachusetts.

In operation since 1990, Koma Kulshan is a 13-megawatt hydroelectric project located north of Seattle. The project sells its electrical output to Puget Sound Energy Inc., Bellevue, Washington, under a long-term power purchase agreement expiring in March 2037. The purchase price of $12 million was paid in cash.

"We are pleased to receive fair value for an asset outside of our core business,” Stephen J. Jones, Covanta's president and CEO, says. “This transaction demonstrates our wider plan to rationalize our assets as we strive to improve returns and sharpen our focus on our energy-from-waste business."

Annually, Covanta's energy-from-waste facilities safely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste from municipalities and businesses into electricity to power one million homes and recycle approximately 550,000 tons of metal, the company says. Through a network of treatment and recycling facilities, Covanta also provides comprehensive industrial material management services to companies.

Natick, Massachusetts, a town with about 33,000 residents, used to have a lot of trash. After facing pressure from regional budget cuts, the town was forced to reevaluate its public programs.  One such program was the city’s waste collection service.

“Our journey has largely been influenced by pay-as-you throw (PAYT),” said Jillian Wilson-Martin, sustainability coordinator for Natick and speaker in the Pay-as-You Throw Best Management Practices and Success Programs webinar, which took place July 26 and was coordinated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainable Materials Management Web Academy.

According to the EPA, Washington, typical waste collection programs charge residents fixed fees or property taxes regardless of the amount of materials they throw away. In PAYT programs, according to the EPA’s website, “Residents are charged for the collection of municipal solid waste (MSW)—ordinary household trash—based on the amount they throw away.”

Wilson-Martin said, “The real story here is that PYAT has saved our town quite a bit of money,” adding that the program also increased the amount of recycling in Natick by about 20 percent.

Making the switch

Susan Bush, senior consultant for Orlando, Florida-based RSE USA, said in the webinar PAYT programs come in various shapes and sizes. Programs are generally implemented with a base fee, which typically covers recycling service, base-level trash service and yard trimming collection. Some programs might include composting or household hazardous waste. Residents face an extra charge when the amount of trash they dispose exceeds the volume covered by the initial fee.

Bush, who spoke in the webinar on behalf of the Denton, Texas-based Carton Council, said PAYT programs provide a monetary incentive for residents to reduce the amount of trash they dispose.

“PAYT is one policy that has been proven to be the single most effective way of reducing the amount of trash disposed and increasing recycling,” she continued.

Communities with PAYT choose between a cart program or a bag program. Citing Closer to Zero, a study by Washington-based Institute of Local Self Reliance (ILSR) that will be released to the public in September, Bush said cart programs have been found to be less effective at reducing amount of trash disposed than bag programs.  Bag programs give residents smaller increments of volume to work with, Bush said, so these programs keep trash disposal at “the front and center” of residents’ minds.

Charles Kamenides, waste services manager for the city of Longmont, Colorado, and a speaker in the webinar, said his community chose the cart program for safety reasons. “A big drive for that was to reduce injuries received from collecting material. Each of our trucks go out with one driver and an automated system.”

Despite ISLR findings, Kamenides said the cart program made a notable difference in reducing the amount of waste landfilled in Longmont.

He said, “Of our trash tons collected and landfilled, in our first six months we’ve landfilled about 13,000 tons. Longmont’s typical total landfill tons per year is about 28,000 to 30,000.” He added that if the city continued on this route, it would make a difference in Longmont.

Persuading the public

Though the webinar speakers all had different stories of PAYT implementation, they all agreed that transitioning a community into PAYT programming can be a challenge.

“Funding for PAYT is often partly tax based and partly an additional fee paid on a utility bill or paid by somebody when they purchase their bags,” Bush said. “It can be challenging if a community has always had tax-based services and now the cost of the program is suddenly more visible and more transparent.”

She continued, “People have started to think of trash and recycling as something that ought to be free or really is free, and there are obviously costs associated.”

When a community transitions to a PAYT program, some amount of backlash is likely, speakers agreed. Bush said the best way to handle this is to communicate with the public as much as possible. 

“Anticipate any concerns and address them in advance,” she said. “In this world of social media, it’s very easy for false information and fears to spread like wildfire, so if you’re trying to implement a PAYT program in your community, it’s best to get in front of those concerns. Let the public and the local officials know how well the program is doing so that it can continue to garner support.”

Before Longmont transitioned to PAYT, Kamenides said he hired a consultant to outline the most optimal program for his town. The consultant developed cost/risk models, which allowed the city to implement a plan that would pay for itself.

Kamenides said he expected a lot of complaints from residents regarding the increased rates. Overall, however, he said few people called to complain, adding that many people appreciated the “equity” of the new program. He said, “PYAT gives you an opportunity to select your rates.”

After noticing residents’ confusion over PAYT options, Kamenides put together a “value package,” which he said made the program more accessible.

“We determined that all the new choices appeared to be overwhelming for our residents; but, when we decided to bundle and create these value packages, it really resonated across the community,” he said. “Think about how you’re bundling your TV or your cable or [how] you’ll buy a value meal. It really resonates with the community in a marketing sense.”

Wilson-Martin said Natick faced a budget shortfall of about $1.5 million because of statewide cuts to local aid. To address the problem, the town implemented a one-year trash fee of $150 per household and formed a PAYT committee charged with investigating PAYT options for Natick.

The committee was composed of members from the town’s recycling committee, the Board of Selectmen and the sanitation division. Members worked to design a program that would prevent widespread layoffs and cuts to government programs. In addition, Wilson-Martin said committee members were “champions of public outreach and education.”

Even with the development of the PAYT committee, Wilson-Martin said the change resulted in “political backlash” from a group of Natick residents angry about the extra fees. Residents against PAYT collected enough signatures to demand a special election regarding PAYT in Natick. Despite said backlash, Wilson-Martin said 72 percent of voters voted to keep PAYT.

Paying it forward

Though communities switching to PAYT programs face a somewhat unpredictable adjustment period, the programs have been shown to be effective in the long run.

Based on a national study, Bush said communities with PAYT programs see a 50 percent increase in tons recycled and a 15 to 20 percent decrease in disposed materials. Additionally, two-thirds of communities do not see a budget increase with implementation of PAYT, and 90 percent of residents prefer the program once it is implemented.

Wilson-Martin said PAYT resolved Natick’s budget issue, prevented widespread layoffs, cut waste by 40 percent and reduced collection costs.

“PAYT is not a settled issue in Natick,” she said. “I think that in the future we will continue to have PYAT programs, but the size and shape of that program might change.”

In Longmont, Kamenides said the diversion rate has reached 40 percent and 4,000 people signed up for the composting service, with the number still climbing.

“Why did Longmont consider PAYT?” Kamenides asked. “It was about the increased importance of what we do. We like looking 10, 20, 30 years down the road so we can be prepared for what’s coming.”

He continued, “The importance of planning for the future and sending less to the landfill revolves around it’s expensive and difficult to open more landfills. We just need to look forward and plan our future waste management, and for Longmont our future is less landfilling and more managed diversion.”