DRC Planning Document November, 2005

Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center Committee

Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center

Planning Document

November, 2005

ORGANIZATION: City of Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center
MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 62; Gustavus, AK 99826
CONTACT PERSON: Paul Berry; Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center Manager/ Operator
PHONE: 907-697-2118; FAX: 907-697-2136 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Gustavus Disposal & Recycling Center (DRC) and Community Chest (C Chest) is to reuse locally or to recycle as much material from the community’s waste stream as possible. What cannot be re-used or recycled is disposed of in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

Community/Landfill History and Background

The City of Gustavus is located in Southeast Alaska, about 50 air miles west of Juneau. Reached by air or boat, Gustavus is adjacent to Glacier Bay National Park and bounded by the waters of Icy Strait on Alaska’s Inside Passage. As a gateway community, Gustavus annually hosts approximately 60,000 visitors who enjoy the exceptional recreational resources of Glacier Bay National Park and the Icy Strait region. Our visitors find in Gustavus an outstanding natural environment rich in wildlife and an attractive, vibrant community of artists, writers, photographers, naturalists, outdoor guides, craftsmen, government workers, lodge and charter operators and other small business people. Our official population of about 400 residents doubles in the summer with the arrival of part-time residents as well as seasonal employees serving Park visitors and those enjoying our comfortable inns and many outdoor-related activities available around Gustavus.

The City of Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center (DRC) is an essential part of the infrastructure of Gustavus, supporting the lifestyles and livelihoods of our residents and the pleasant experience of our visitors. The way our community handles our waste stream says a lot about who we are and what we value. DRC services help Gustavus maintain its clean, attractive appearance important to residents and essential to our visitor-based economy. By providing a variety of viable and relatively inexpensive disposal options, the DRC reduces the accumulation and on-site disposal of trash by residents and businesses, and diminishes the associated animal problems. The DRC contributes substantially to Gustavus’ vision as a distinctive community that prospers by the protection of its environment—as a city that knows how to do it right.

If you visit the Gustavus DRC, you won’t find a heap of smoldering trash, feasting eagles or scavenging bears. Instead you will find DRC Manager Paul Berry working hard with his staff and volunteers to fulfill the DRC’s mission of recycling or locally reusing as much material from the community’s waste stream as possible. Prior to the City’s incorporation the Gustavus Landfill was managed by the Gustavus Community Association (GCA). Under its auspices, the landfill was transformed from an uncontrolled disposal site or “dump” to a model facility—truly an example for small communities throughout Southeast Alaska. In 1994 we started the process of becoming a fully compliant, permitted landfill, assumed responsibility for the community’s recycling program and began baling and burying our trash. In 1996, we started a food-composting program and encouraged landfill users to separate food waste from their trash and bring it to the landfill [in five-gallon buckets] to be composted by volunteers. Our landfill, unlike many in bush Alaska, is a relatively clean and tidy place.

Our operation has grown steadily, and in addition to baling our trash, shipping nearly 50,000 pounds of recyclable materials to Seattle each year, and pulverizing 40,000 pounds of glass, we now compost 70,000 pounds of food waste from the community and from the lodge at Glacier Bay National Park. We have a seasonal contract with Glacier Bay Lodge and an agreement with Glacier Bay National Park to serve as a transfer station for their recyclable materials and waste products.

In September 2004 we became part of the newly formed City of Gustavus, and became known as the City of Gustavus Disposal and Recycling Center. The City approved a Disposal and Recycling Center Ordinance supporting our vision as an integrated resource recovery and waste disposal facility. We operate with three part-time employees, an advisory committee, and over a dozen dedicated volunteers who help with our resale, recycling and composting programs. We are charged with the responsibility of managing the community’s waste stream so as to maximize the value of each class of waste and minimize the portion that must be landfilled. To these ends the DRC segregates wastes and processes them in categories as follows:

• Our Community Chest operation, located in a separate building near the Post Office, accepts donated reusable household items and construction materials for resale, generating revenues of about $10,000 per year, which are used to support non-revenue services of the DRC and special community projects.

• The DRC accepts and ships to recyclers aluminum cans, metal, cardboard, mixed paper, types 1 & 2 plastics, white office paper, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent tubes, television and computer monitors, computers and printers, waste oil and waste antifreeze.

• The DRC accepts and crushes glass for reuse locally as road or driveway surfacing material.

• DRC residential and commercial customers deliver segregated food waste in buckets, and the waste is composted in our windrow system. Finished, sifted compost is sold within the community.

• Other municipal solid waste is compacted and efficiently landfilled.

• Construction/ demolition debris and non compactable items are directly landfilled or burned.

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Oversight and Guidance

We are most grateful for the support and encouragement of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The guidance of Ed Emswiller of the Juneau office has helped us improve standards and achieve very good compliance inspection scores for more than a decade. Our initial permit was issued on December 19, 1994 for one year. First renewal was May 3, 1995 and was for 5 years. Second renewal was January 12, 2000 through September 30, 2005. Third renewal was on September 1, 2005 and is for 5 years.

Local Contribution and Other Funding Partners

The DRC committee has evolved a system of user fees from community households and businesses, Glacier Bay Lodge, and the National Park Service that fund the majority of operating costs of our recycling and composting programs. The National Park Service has further contributed to the success of our operation through the loan of baling equipment and the donation of wood chips.

For the year ending June 30, 2005 income totaled $119,708 and combined operating and capital expenses totaled $125,776. These figures include capital project expenses and related grant funding receipts. A further grant reimbursement for over $4,000 was received in August and applied retroactively against FY 2005 related expenses, thereby bringing our finances for FY2005 to near break-even. We collected $12,950 in annual fees and $11,400 in disposal and hauling fees from community members and small businesses. Glacier Bay Lodge paid $19,021 in disposal fees and the National Park Service paid $6,932. Gustavus Community Chest sales totaled $8,743. Recycling sales were $5,614, and compost brought in $814.

The Elihu Foundation Charitable Trust, the Leighty Foundation and the Denali Commission have funded a substantial portion of the infrastructure for our composting program. During the fiscal year 03-04 they granted us $11,000 to purchase sand and fencing materials to build a dedicated compost area, the perforated pipes we use to aerate the windrows, Compostex Compost Covers to cover the windrows while allowing them to breathe, and wood chips used as a carbon source. For the fiscal year 2005 they awarded us $11,000 for a Quonset structure to enclose the compost operations. We also purchased a hopper for our Bobcat. Now customers dump their food waste directly into the hopper, significantly reducing the labor associated with food collection.

With $5,000 from the Leighty Foundation we purchased and installed a forced air system to actively aerate our windrows. We now monitor and regulate the temperatures of our windrows to improve composting efficiency and to reduce unpleasant odors.

A Denali Commission grant of $40,000 funded our purchase of a Trom 406 screener for our compost operation. We use the screener to sift compost and remove wood chips. This improves the quality of compost and the chips can be recycled within the composting operation. We are proposing additional capital improvements in a grant request to the Denali Commission in 2005.

Site Environmental Protection

The DRC facility is located in an area heavily used by residents and visitors. It is essential that the facility not have detracting visual, noise, odor or water quality impacts. The facility must not attract bears or excessive numbers of scavenging birds.

To these ends, the DEC site is set well back from Dock Road, and is screened by a wooden fence, trees and shrubs. Only the rooflines of two structures are visible over the fence. No equipment, waste, or recycling materials are visible from the main road. Noise generation by DRC operations is significant, in that some activities can be heard outside the property boundaries. At present. glass crushing is the loudest (estimated 90-95dBA adjacent to the machine), but there may be means to reduce this noise through engineering controls. Odor is rarely noticeable beyond the fence due to improved waste and compost processing techniques instituted in recent years. Water quality is monitored annually at 2 of 6 monitoring wells as a condition of our DEC operating permit. Testing has continuously confirmed that water quality meets DEC groundwater standards. An electrified chain link fence installed immediately outside the wooden fence has been 100% effective in preventing access by bears. Household garbage being landfilled rarely contains food. It is bailed and immediately covered when placed in the landfill. Ravens and crows are still attracted by compost activities, but covering of windrows and enclosure of a portion of the operation have greatly reduced access for birds. The only remaining exposure occurs during the brief compost mixing operation on the concrete pad before materials are windrowed. Anecdotal evidence suggests birds are present in substantially lower numbers since these improvements have been made. Nevertheless, complete isolation from scavenging birds remains a goal.

Continuing Challenges

As we review our inspection reports and plan for the future we have identified these challenges:

Employee Development and Safety

• Training. The DRC is now an official function of the new City of Gustavus and the paid staff are employees of the City. It is the policy of the City that all City operations be in full compliance with State and Federal regulations. Compliance is also essential to good business practice. The ADEC mentioned compliance-required training in its most recent inspection report. The DRC advisory committee, which includes a Certified Industrial Hygienist, has developed a 2005-2006 Training Plan aimed not only at meeting safety compliance requirements, but at improving the professionalism and certification of the staff. We are pleased to have been approved for a $12,000 Solid Waste Management Grant from the US Department of Agriculture to fund our training program beginning in Fall, 2005. DRC volunteers will also benefit from safety training under our plan. Priority level A.
  

• Safety and Health Program Improvements. We have completed a walkthrough safety inspection and have identified a number of safety compliance issues including the need for written programs covering hazard communication and personal protective equipment. We need improved storage for personal protective equipment and tools and supplies. Hazardous Waste Handling training will be funded by our USDA training grant. We need to be reviewing safety issues continuously and making improvements as issues are identified. Priority level A.
  

Environmental Issues and Relations With Neighbors

• Site environmental improvements. Noise reduction is an opportunity for environmental improvement. The first priority for noise reduction is the glass crusher. Site appearance particularly from Dock Road and neighboring properties could be enhanced. There is no litter problem, but landscaping and tree planting can improve screening and general appearance. We have committed to planting more trees along the Dock Road edge of the DRC property to improve site appearance. We planted five trees in Spring 2005 and six more in Fall 2005. We will continue to make landscaping and screening improvements in Spring 2006 and beyond reflecting requests from some neighbors. As improvements are made to the city-owned boat harbor parcel, the DRC site will participate to assure that its appearance complements the adjacent property. Priority level A.
  

• Animal access to DRC facilities. We need to continue to monitor access to food sources by animals, particularly ravens and crows, and find ways to eliminate such access. Priority should be given to blocking access to any part of the composting operation. Improvements to the Quonset building are underway in Fall, 2005. Priority level B.
  

• Groundwater quality monitoring. ADEC requires ground water quality monitoring semi annually and beginning in 2006 will require the permitted facility to interpret the laboratory results in a letter to the Department. The staff and committee have the ability to interpret and report the results. Priority level A.
  

• Relations with neighbors. As the neighborhood is residential around the principal DRC facility, relations with neighbors will remain a major concern. Efforts will continue to engage key members of the neighborhood in the DRC decision-making process, and to reduce all sources of potential conflict . Priority level A.

Stockpiled metals and Household waste items.

• Metal shipments. We have a large amount of recyclable metal, other than aluminum, on hand and many residents have junk cars and other recyclable metal at home. The stockpiled metals are unsightly and the accumulation impedes other uses of the facility. We are including funding for shipment of the recyclable metal on site, but not for cars, in a 2005 grant proposal to the Denali Commission. Junk car removal is a long term need.
  

• Obsolete propane tanks require special processing prior to shipment as scrap steel.
  

• Household hazardous and other waste shipping. We have accumulated a large stockpile of various types of household wastes for which we have not had disposal or recycling options until recently. These include such materials as TV’s computers, monitors, fluorescent tubes, a drum of waste oil, a drum of antifreeze, two drums of alkaline batteries, one drum of nickel cadmium batteries, and a collection of used oil filters. We have recently identified a contractor willing to accept these materials. Funding for shipment for disposal or recycling is included in the 2005 Denali Commission grant proposal.

Facility and Process Improvements and Maintenance.

• Site facility improvements. We need more covered space for the recycling operation, an improved water supply and a toilet facility. We would also like to construct an on-site office for our facility. Priority level A.
  

• Metal processing facility. We need to facilitate the quick processing of metals as collected and ship them promptly in small lots to avoid stockpiling. We plan to build a metal processing shed with a hydraulic shear to cut metal items to length for shipment on pallets. The facility will be equipped to process propane tanks and weigh materials brought by customers. Funding for this facility and related equipment is included in our 2005 Denali Commission grant proposal. Priority level B.
  

• Household waste handling scope. We need to develop greater capacity to accept, process, store, and ship household hazardous wastes for our community. This would include materials such as flammables, corrosives, and toxic substances. Hazardous waste training for the staff is the first step, followed by the construction of handling facilities and development of a formal program with procedures. We would like to hold a major household hazardous waste collection event within the next year or two, probably using an environmental contractor. Priority level B.
  

• Compost quality improvements. The grant-funded improvements mentioned above have greatly improved the efficiency and environmental aspects of our composting operation but we believe further improvements in compost quality are needed to improve marketability. Priority level B.
  

• Grease from Glacier Bay Lodge has been stockpiled and shipped annually to Juneau. There is a potential for odor problems and handling, shipping, and disposal are expenses. We believe the material can be composted in a dedicated system on site more effectively. Funding to construct a small grease composting processing facility is included in our 2005 Denali Commission grant proposal. Priority level B.
  

• Wood demolition and construction wastes have been burned once or twice a year in an open area of the landfill. Effective July 1, 2006 ADEC regulations will require that wood waste be burned in a metal containment at least 50 feet from buried waste. Funding to convert a dump truck bed currently holding scrap metal to a wood burner is included in our 2005 Denali Commission grant proposal. Priority level A.
  

• DRC equipment, including balers, glass crusher, Bobcat, Trom compost sifter, and glass crusher, must be maintained on schedule. Priority level B.

• Database and billing system upgrade. As part of our transition to a city owned and operated facility the DRC will upgrade its data collection, financial & statistical database and billing system for greater efficiency and robustness. The balance of operating expenses versus the fees we charge to our users will be fine-tuned to assure the operation is as self funding as possible. Priority level B.

• Site Ownership. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has approved transfer of the 12 acre historic landfill site to the City of Gustavus. We need to complete the process by having the property surveyed and completing additional transfer paperwork. This work is being done in conjunction with the Gustavus Lands committee as the adjacent boat harbor property is also available for transfer. Priority level B.

Long term projects and considerations

• Community Chest Relocation. The community chest building is located at a separate site making it difficult to integrate the waste streams efficiently. The existing Chest facility is a very old building on property that may have greater value for other uses if redeveloped. If the Community Chest could be relocated to the DRC site hours could be improved and material transfers between the two departments could be facilitated. Priority level C
  

• Waste Oil recycling or burning. We may want to consider installing a waste oil burner to heat the existing building and future office. This would eliminate the need to ship waste oil, but it is uncertain whether enough oil would be available in the community to make the burner cost effective. Priority level C.
  

• Septage. Currently there are no septage pumping or processing services in Gustavus. It is possible that the DRC could be directed by the City Council to provide septage services in the future. Our current property is not suitable for such service but there may be other sites in Gustavus that are suitable and available. There would be a substantial capital investment for any septage service and a privately-operated service may be preferable. Priority level C.
  

• Landfill relocation. Our current landfill site is permitted for the next five years, but the location close to commercial and residential properties causes some conflicts. The area currently permitted for landfilling will be consumed within a decade even with our current policy of minimizing landfilling through composting, recycling and reuse. We could increase the height of the landfill within the current permitted area, or perhaps seek a permit to expand to adjacent land on the parcel. We have studied site and permitting requirements for a new landfill and have completed an initial survey of potential locations in Gustavus. To date we have not found any potentially available site that meets the requirements for a new landfill. The Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit new landfills from being located within 10,000 feet of an active runway. Our current site is “grandfathered.” We will continue to study regulatory requirements, stay abreast of changes to requirements and technology, and be on the lookout for suitable sites that may serve the community better in the future. There is some interest in Southeast Alaska in having a new regional landfill. If Gustavus were to participate our current site may become a transfer station for materials to be landfilled, as it already is for recyclables. This may eliminate the need for a new, larger, more remote site. Priority level C.
  
  

Project Implementation schedule.

A project implementation schedule (work plan) in Excel is associated with this document. Action items are identified and priority levels set. Priority level A represents urgent items that need to be done in the short term, due to compliance requirements or funding source limits. Priority level B represents important items generally not requiring action within the first six months of 2005. Priority C items have a longer horizon, such as additional functions that the DRC may offer in the future. Responsibilities assigned and completion dates anticipated. The DRC Committee and staff will update the implementation schedule as work is completed or as item status changes.