SCS Engineers, Long Beach, California, has been commissioned to evaluate collection, hauling and processing options for organic material and food waste in Placer County, California. Placer County has nearly 350,000 residents and stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento east to the Nevada border.
The county is seeking to be in compliance with California’s recently adopted mandatory commericial organics recycling law. According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, residents and companies in the state dispose of approximately 30 million tons of waste in landfills each year, of which more than 30 percent could be used as compost or mulch.
The SCS organics management study will attempt to help the county “develop various organics management strategies based on its objectives and find the most cost efficient method for optimal compliance with the new law,” according to an SCS news release.
SCS will analyze the volume of commercial organic waste produced in the county and assess capacity and operations at the county’s Eastern Regional Landfill and materials recovery facility. The results are intended to show the viability and impact of creating an organics recycling program and identify optimal locations for an organics processing facility.
SCS says it will then analyze the potential conditions that could impact the long-term success of the county’s organics program. A cost-benefit analysis will be used to recommend potential processing methods and technology to effectively manage organic waste, including food waste collection, processing options, capital costs and customer fees.
“Using the SCS study, the county can quickly and efficiently isolate the optimal compliance strategy for its particular needs now and in the future,” says Pat Sullivan, a senior vice president with SCS Engineers. “We want the county to get the maximum value and balance to its organic waste materials processing program.”