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SSC Annual Report 2000Sanitary Services Inc. 2000 Annual Report to the City of Meridian Prepared For: Mayor Robert D. Corrie Councilman Keith Bird, Chairman Councilman Ronald Anderson Councilperson Tammy DeWeerd Councilperson Cherie McCandliss Introduction Sanitary Services implemented a number of new programs and worked closely with city staff on a number of issues in 2000. In this annual report we will discuss the progress made in 2000 as well as present some ideas as to new programs and initiatives in 2001. This report is organized by the following types of collection systems: • residential collection • commercial collection roll off collection recycling services We also discuss community involvement issues and new program implementation and future issues. The bar graph below shows the total waste generation in the city in 1999 and 2000 in pounds. In 1999 there were 53.6 million pounds of waste generated, and in 2000 approximately 64.6 million pounds were transported to the landfill, a 20.5% increase in waste generation. Residential Collection Services Sanitary Services provides unlimited, weekly solid waste collection to the residents of the City of Meridian. At the end of 1999 there were 10,817 residential accounts and at the end of 2000 there were 11,450 residential accounts, a 5.8% increase for the year. The rate structure for unlimited weekly collection was $7.20 per residence per month for the first nine months of 2000. In October the rate was increased to $9.50 which included an increase of $2.10 per house per month for recycling and $0.20 per house per month cost of living increase. The optional toter cart program introduced in 1998 continues to grow. By the end of 2000 there were 4,160 toters in use as opposed to the end of 1999 when there were 3,904 in use. We will continue to distribute toters to homeowners in Meridian throughout 2001. We are experiencing a 60% to 80% acceptance rate for the carts depending upon the neighborhood. Residential Homes Serviced 12,000 11 000 ,.. r r ~ ;,, ~ ~ ;, 1+ ~~~~,~~ ~~~~~~~ ~i", ~~,.~'„~li~i i~~ ~ , ':5 ~ i~ i~r , Y +r r ~j.i 10,000 ~ r ?'F 1 i~ 9,000 ; ~; 8,000 ~„ _°~ ~. :~ 7,000 ,. .i? s ~t a ~~ 4 ~ ? r~ °! 4 ~ ~ 6 000 ~x i r'- , i ~ ~ ~; ,,. ~' 9Y, 5,000 Dec-97 Dec-98 Dec-99 Dec-00 Equipment Four, 1998 International trucks with 25-yard McNeilus rear-load compactor bodies provide service to the residential accounts. These vehicles were new in 1997 and were modified in 1998 with hydraulic tipping units to service 95-gallon toter carts. This equipment remained on a 20-day maintenance cycle throughout the year. Out of approximately 8,000 operational hours there were five hours of mechanical breakdowns throughout the year. There are two back-up trucks available in the case of breakdown or increased service needs. Waste Generation Rates In 2000, $136,445 in landfill fees were paid to Ada County for disposal of residential waste from Meridian. This is equivalent to 30,700,125 pounds of waste for the year, 7.55 pounds per house per day, and 2.52 pounds per person per day. All of these categories were essentially equal to 1999 statistics as you can see in the table below. 1998 1999 2000 Disposal Fees paid for Residential Waste $ 98,485 $ 136,660 $ 136,445 Total Pounds Discarded 27,784,537 30,748,500 30,700,125 Pounds per house per day discarded 7.61 8.10 7.55 Pounds per person per day 2.54 2.70 2.52 Landfill disposal rates remained unchanged in 2000 and the total amount paid for disposal was essentially identical to 1999 with a slightly lower total weight discarded which is in part due to the implementation of the curbside recycling program in October of 2000. Commercial Collection Services Sanitary Services provides at least once a week collection to each commercial business in Meridian. The frequency of collection and the container size are determined by the waste generation characteristics of each business. Numbers of commercial accounts are listed in the table below Year Number of commercial accounts at end of year 1997 250 1998 401 1999 461 2000 550 Commercial account growth has been 19.3% in the past year and 40% annualized over a 3 year period. Commercial customer rates were unchanged from 1999 levels until October of 2000 when rates were increased 3.5% on average to cover increased collection costs. Equipment Commercial accounts were changed from a rear loading system to afront-loading system in 1999. The conversion of all remaining rear load accounts to front load was completed in 2000. This newer system has reduced worker compensation claims and is more productive. Commercial collection equipment consists of a 1999 Volvo WX64 with a 40 cubic yard Wittke body and a 1993 Volvo with a 40 cubic yard Heil body. All commercial equipment was on a 20-day maintenance cycle throughout the year and there was 30 minutes of mechanical downtime during the 3,500 hours of use throughout the year. Waste Generation Rates Based on landfill fees paid for disposal of commercial waste, there was 15.47 million pounds of commercial waste collected from businesses in Meridian in 2000 which is approximately equal to 10.6 pounds per business per day. This amount of waste is a 8.4 percent increase over the previous year. Roll Off Refuse Collection Services Roll off services are provided to permanent accounts that have compactors, or roll off boxes, and temporary accounts that utilize 20, 30 or 40 cubic yard boxes. Temporary containers typically are used for construction debris during home or business building or renovation. By the end of 2000 there were 42 permanent commercial accounts. This is a 16.7 percent increase over 1999. Since 1998, permanent roll off accounts have increased from 28 to their current level. Temporary account activity was steady throughout the year with a seasonal high in activity in the summer months during the construction season. There were adjustments made to roll off service rates in October 2000 to account for increased cost of collection. Equipment We began 2000 with three roll off trucks, a 1999 International, a 1995 Volvo, and a 1989 White/GMC. Each truck is equipped with a cable hoist system. In July, a 2001 Volvo roll off truck was purchased to meet increasing demand. Out of approximately 6,000 hours of use there was 1 hour of mechanical down time in 2000. Waste Generation Rates Waste generation rates increased the most in the roll off container system. This increase is directly related to the amount of construction in the City. Based on landfill fees paid for disposal of roll off system waste, there were 15,504,100 pounds of material collected from permanent and temporary commercial accounts that utilize roll off boxes or containers. This is a 47 percent increase over the 1999 waste load of 10,535,590. Roll Off Waste Generation 20000000 k~ I I~ I ~ASU~ I ~ ~ L .9 ~~I+'ILI I p ^ ~~ _ ~ ~ ~'~ ~ 3 °^~'S5 ~~~ ~ J ~ d~ ~ ~ ~ I ~ 15000000 N ~ .ia s ~°~ ' ,~~ ~~, ' ~ * '~ ~ T 7 ;^r~ a r r I 4h~ lL IG r i ky '~ Irhl ~'%tt~~i ~ 10000000 l _ Ih ~ ~ III ~ ~' r ~ ~ , ~ L , I II I~Ibllq ',~' tea ~ . IIq IVI 1~~ 7 o a ~„, . 1 - y I 1 1k~~dhi~1~' , ~t ~ , +iq8 ~I~IIIiViI ~ ~~ Le L4 soooooa w 1 ~ „ I Nln I i ~ ~u I 1999 2000 Recycling Services Residential Services A number of new recycling initiates began in 2000. Residential curbside recycling began in October, 2000. Free programs to residents of Meridian continued and included used oil collection, fall leaf collection, phone book recycling, and Christmas tree collection. In conjunction with the residential recycling program, the household hazardous waste collection frequency was increased to a monthly basis. Curbside Recycling Collection On October 2, 2000 the residential curbside collection of recyclable material began. Residential collection fees were increased by $2.10 for all residential accounts. Material collected includes aluminum and tin, newspapers, mixed grade paper (junk mail), plastics, cardboard, and magazines. For the three final months of 2000 the weights of material collected was 195,320 pounds in October, 199,531 in November, and 193,550 in December. The drop off in weights in December is attributable to the Christmas and New Year holidays. Participation in the program is approximately 70%. The value of the commodities collected equaled $11,632.36. After subtracting the amount to conduct the household hazardous waste collection the net amount provided to the City of Meridian was $ 9,685.72. Household Hazardous Waste Collection Prooram In 1999 the household hazardous waste was collected on aone-time-per-year basis. In May of 2000 the program was expanded to be every other month. Then, with the beginning of the residential recycling program the commodity revenue was used to fund a monthly collection beginning in October, 2000 for a total of six collection events in 2000. Sanitary Services contracted with MSE Environmental Inc. of Camarillo, California to conduct all of the events in 2000. Total weights collected for 1999 and 2000 are indicated in the bar graph at right. Total weights collected increased by 3.1 percent year over year while the number of cars serviced in these events decreased from 337 in 1999 to 293 in 2000. It is important to recognize that the Ada County Commissioners donated all of the disposal costs for Household Hazardous Waste Collected zo 000 ~d u. ~ ~ e a°~" ~a~~ t ~~ 18 ~0~ ~ ~. Y1"~p>,~~4 ~~~ ~} h ~ 1'i1~ ~ ti ai " § J+Y pA~r ~ x , S S~ d ~ X 9 16 000 ` ~~~I ~ I ~ Y ~~I ~~~ n ~ ~F ~~{ ; A ~ 1M 0 14 000 o. a ~` 4 a ~, rT ' ~:~ + ..y i ~a 12 000 I~J ~~!"k +*~~'~'~ "e s ~ ~1'~' ~~ : "~~~4' ~Y . iT~ i ,~ F i 10,000 1999 2000 the wastes that were collected. Without this donation it is likely that the cost of the program would be too prohibitive to conduct. Phone Book Recycling Annually, Sanitary Services donates all collection costs to complete recycling of US West Yellow Pages in Meridian. In November 2000, five, 6 cubic yard dumpsters were located at four Jackson's Texaco locations within the City limits of Meridian and at Sanitary Service's office. Books were collected periodically as the dumpsters were filled and the books were delivered to Western Recycling for processing. There were 34,030 pounds (17 tons) of phone books recycled. This is the third year in which Sanitary Service Inc. has participated in the program. Collection weights in the prior year were 21,550 pounds. Used Oil Collection Residents are allowed to place up to two gallons of used oil per week at the curbside for collection on their normal trash collection day. The used oil is poured into storage tanks on the trucks and at the end of the day pumped into a 500-gallon storage tank located at our shop at 722 W. Franklin. The used oil is collected by Thermo Fluids for energy recovery. As you can see from the bar graph, used oil collection steadily declined from the inception of the program through 1999. In 2000, the program volumes by month became steadier and there are seasonal peaks in the Spring and Fall of 2000. In total; 5,974 gallons (3,261 in 1999 and 2,713 gallons in 2000) of oil have been collected. This volume excludes the amount collected at the household hazardous waste events. Fall Leaf Collection Calendar year 2000 marked the second year of Fall Leaf collection. Residential customers were required to bag their leaves in large Kraft bags or place them in open top garbage cans. The leaves were placed at the curbside on the normal collection day and they were collected in a separate vehicle. Leaves were transported to the Ada County landfill where they were milled into compost. There were no disposal fees charged by Ada County for this material. More than 980 bags of leaves were collected from 225 homes in 2000. This was an 8.6 percent increase in the volume of leaves collected as compared with 1999. In the first year of the program there were some residents that were unable to purchase Kraft bags because local merchants did not stock enough supply. This year we did not hear of any such difficulties. Christmas Tree Recvclino During the week of January 8, 2001, 2,245 Christmas trees were collected for recycling. All trees were collected in a separate vehicle from residential solid waste. The trees were delivered to the wood chipping operation at the Ada County Landfill where they were chipped and shipped off site for cattle bedding. There were no disposal fees charged by Ada County for this material. Commercial Services Cardboard and wood wastes are both currently recycled from businesses in Meridian. Additionally, new recycling programs for Jabil Circuit began during the year. Businesses that recycle gain financially through reduced solid waste fees. Cardboard Commercial accounts that segregate cardboard into dedicated compactor units include Fred Meyer, RC Willey, Winco, and Office Depot. These compactor boxes are transferred and unloaded at Western Recycling on Cole Road. In 2000 there were 10,993 cubic yards of compacted recyclable cardboard diverted from the landfill. This is equivalent to 2,968,110 pounds or about 1,480 tons of cardboard. The value of this material is remunerated to the generator of the cardboard. Additionally, 562 cubic yards of loose cardboard were generated at commercial establishments. These loads are typically generated at new commercial accounts during the time when the shelves are being stocked prior to opening. This volume equates to about 20 tons of material diverted from the waste stream. Wood Waste In 2000, 1,440 cubic yards of wood waste were diverted from the landfill; a 37 percent increase in volume over the 1,048 cubic yards collected in 1999. Wood waste is transferred to the landfill where if is milled in a tub grinder for various uses. The wood waste is collected at commercial businesses such as Consolidated Freightways, Jabil Circuit, and Yellow Freight, in a 20 or 30-yard roll off box. Jabil Circuit Working vath Western Recycling and Sanitary Services, Jabil Circuit has arranged to recycle Integrated Circuit tubes and reels from their manufacturing facility in Meridian. Although there is no commodity value to the material, Jabil realizes a cost benefit from segregation of the material through avoided disposal costs. In 2000, 1,140 loose cubic yards of this material were recycled. Community Involvement Sanitary Services is very privileged to be part of the community of Meridian. We feel that it is important to give back to the community that makes us successful. Below are listed some of the organizations and functions that we supported with cash or service donations in 2000: American Diabetes Association Cherry Plaza Festival of Wreaths Friends of Meridian Parks Lions Club Rodeo Meridian Athletic Roundtable Meridian Chamber of Commerce- Chili Feed and Pancake Feed Meridian Chamber of Commerce- Courtesy cans emptied once per week throughout downtown. Meridian Churches -donated collection services for events at many churches. Meridian Dairy Days Meridian Downtown Merchants Association -Scarecrow Festival Meridian Education Foundation Meridian Fire Department -Salmon Feed Meridian Girl Scouts Meridian High School Girls Soccer Program Meridian Optimist Club Meridian City (all departments) -Donated collection services Meridian Rotary Club Legion Baseball Meridian Senior Association Meridian Soroptimists National Multiple Sclerosis Society P.A.L. Soccer Association US West Dex r New Program Implementation and Future Issues New Shop/Office Facility with Transfer Station With the tremendous growth of the City of Meridian and the upcoming closure of the Ada County Landfill within the next 5 to 10 years there is a need for a new shop and office with a transfer facility. Our current location at 722 W. Franklin is not adequate to meet the needs of our expanding fleet from a service or logistics standpoint. We require a two-bay shop and more area to park our trucks. With the closure of the Ada County Landfill the next disposal site may be many miles away and it will not be practical to drive our collection trucks. The transfer facility would be a large building located on the same property as the new shop and office. Our collection vehicles would drop off their waste loads when full within the confines of the building and the waste would be transferred into a larger semi-truck trailer that would then be driven to a disposal site. This would allow the collection trucks to be more efficient, and would allow for the competitive bidding of disposal costs so that we would not be at mercy of a single disposal site. We are currently working with a developer to determine if the property located immediately South of the City's wastewater treatment plant off of Ten Mile Road would be suitable as a site. We feel that the transfer facility would be a compatible use with the adjacent wastewater treatment plant. The transfer facility would be used as a location where other items could be diverted from the waste stream such as grass and wood wastes. There would be recycling drop off receptacles provided on site for those willing to drive material to the site. For example, glass could be collected in a drop off bin even though it is not collected in the residential curbside collection program.