2009 Recycling SYSTEM Excellence Award NOMINATION FORM

Transcription

1 2009 Recycling SYSTEM Excellence Award NOMINATION FORM Program/Facility Nominated: Contact Person Name & Title: Address: City, State, Zip/ Province, Postal Code: Phone #: Fax #: Nomination submitted by (if different than information listed above): Name: Phone #: If selected for an award, how would you like the name of the organization to read on the award (limit of 50 characters)? 2009 Applications must be submitted to SWANA no later than Friday, April 3, 2009 *** PLEASE NOTE THAT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS HAVE RECENTLY CHANGED*** See the attached Entry & Eligibility Requirements sheet for further information Application Checklist (Please make sure the following items are included in your submittal packet): Completed nomination form with signed release statement (this page) 1 original hard-copy application binder 1 copy of your award submittal on a CD-ROM Executive Summary of your nomination (NO more than 200 words) At least 2 pictures of your operation (may be included in nomination text) Check (made payable to SWANA) for nomination fee (in U.S. dollars) Please mail all application packages to: SWANA ATTN: Technical Programs Department 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 700 Silver Spring, MD Release Statement: I certify that the information provided in this application is accurate and correct to the best of my knowledge. SWANA reserves the right to publish the enclosed information. Nominations become the property of SWANA. My signature gives SWANA the right to reprint or make available for purchase any portion of this submittal. Signature: Date:

2 THE CITY OF SAN JOSE & GREENWASTE RECOVERY M U L T I F A M I L Y Recycling Systems EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The San José multi-family recycling system is the result of a unique collaboration between innovative solid waste processing firm GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. and the City of San José. While San José has had great success with their single-family Recycle Plus program, Compost from Multi-Family Waste increasing diversion from apartment complexes has been much more challenging. Recognizing the need for better processing of municipal solid waste, GreenWaste designed and built a one of a kind facility in San José. At this same time, the San José City Council adopted the Green Vision, a fifteen-year plan to make San José a leader in environmental innovation and sustainability. Driven by the Green Vision and its goal of Zero Waste by 2022, the City of San José strategically positioned itself to benefit from GreenWaste s newly completed facility and began processing apartment waste in July of This processing system includes state-of-the-art sorting, as well as composting of organics at the Z-Best Composting facility in Gilroy, California. This system design has helped the City of San José to achieve a diversion rate of almost 80% -- making San José s the best performing multi-family program in the nation. 1 of 20

3 THE CITY OF SAN JOSE & GREENWASTE RECOVERY M U L T I F A M I L Y Recycling Systems 1. DESIGN OF RECYCLING SYSTEM 1.1 The GreenWaste MRF Design GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. has been processing waste in San José since In 2008, GreenWaste greatly expanded their processing operations by adding two new processing lines for single-stream materials and municipal solid waste. Combined, these systems are capable of processing up to 47 tons per hour. The following description provides highlights of the operational features of the three systems MRF SortLine Diagram that comprise the new MRF: MSW processing, single-stream processing, and combined material processing. A schematic of the complete processing system is seen above and a 3-D Video of the diagram is also included. MSW Processing GreenWaste s new municipal solid waste (MSW) processing line is capable of processing up to 25 tons per hour of materials. San José s multi-family program provides the bulk of the MSW processed. Additionally, GreenWaste processes some food waste from commercial accounts. The following details various stages in the MSW process. 2 of 20

4 Floor-Sort: When the materials are delivered to the tipping floor, bulky non-recyclable materials are manually removed (mattresses, carpet and carpet padding, etc.) and stored for disposal. Bulky recyclable materials, including E-waste, are manually removed and stored in bins (rigid plastics, wood, and metal) to be commingled off the line later in the process. Pre-Sort: The pre-sort process increases the total system throughput, machinery efficiency separation and the output product quality. The system includes five pre-sorting stations. Sorters remove garbage, wood and yard waste, metals, injection-molded plastics and glass prior to the material stream entering the mechanical portion of the facility. Items that have the potential to clog or get tangled in the mechanical portion of the system are also removed. The pre-sort lines from both processing lines utilize the same bunkers for materials. Staffing levels and locations are determined according to feedstock being processed on each feed line. Bag-Breaker: Materials from the pre-sort line continue through the bag breaker which tears open bagged MSW for separation and further processing. Trommel Screen: The trommel separates materials into two distinct fractions for the purpose of separating glass and fiber. Unders (approximately ¼ minus) are sent to a bunker for storage prior to being sent to Z-Best Composting facility. Overs continue on through to the drum separator. MSW Polishing Screen Drum Separator: This mechanical separation utilizes a vacuum to separate three-dimensional containers from the waste stream. The heavy materials continue onto another screen separator then into a bunker for storage prior to being sent to Z-Best. The lightweight materials continue on to the polishing screen. Polishing Screen: This screen is used to separate mixed paper from the containers. Mixed paper floats on top as the containers drop back through the bottom on to another conveyor to be commingled with the containers from the single-stream line. 3 of 20

5 Single-Stream Processing The new single-stream recovery system is capable of processing up to 25 tons per hour of recyclable materials. Sources of single-stream material include commercial accounts, City of San José government facilities, and single-family homes from neighboring jurisdictions. The following details various stages in the single-stream process. Direct Baling: Clean source-separated loads, such as cardboard and film plastics from commercial and City facilities, are fed directly into the accessible baler feed conveyor. The feed conveyor provides more than 45 feet of direct load capability. Pre-Sort: The pre-sort process increases the total system throughput and improves the efficiency of machinery separation, as well as increases the quality of the output products. Once on the tipping floor, sorters remove contaminants, large items, metals, and injectionmolded plastics prior to the material stream entering the mechanical portion of the facility. The pre-sort lines from both processing lines utilize the same bunkers for materials. The system includes ten pre-sorting stations. Staffing levels and locations are determined according to the feedstock being processed on each feed line. Cardboard Screen: All captured cardboard from both cardboard disc screens pass over one quality control sort station where up to two sorters clean the cardboard before directing it to the cardboard bunker conveyor for subsequent baling. News Print Screen: This screen Single Stream Cardboard Sorter separates newspaper from the rest of the stream. The newspaper is sent to a post-sort for clean-up prior to being baled. 4 of 20

6 Polishing Screen: This screen is used to separate mixed paper from the containers. Mixed paper floats on top as the containers drop back through the bottom onto another conveyor where it is commingled with the containers from the MSW line (see section below). Post-Sort: Quality control post-sort stations are included in the design to ensure optimum marketability of the recovered commodity. The system operates with 2 to 8 post-sorters depending upon the quality of the material and the overall performance of the system. Combined Single-Stream and MSW Processing After initial sorting, the two processing lines combine to optimize efficiencies. The following details various stages when the single-stream and MSW processing lines are combined. Optical Sorting: PET beverage containers are optically sorted prior to final manual quality control (post-sort) then stored in bunkers prior to baling. Any crosscontamination or trash is sorted out and redirected to proper streams via conveyors. Eddy Current Separator: Nonferrous metals (i.e. aluminum cans) are separated utilizing an eddy current separator. All Single Stream & MSW Optical Sorter non-ferrous metals are stored prior to baling. Electro-magnetic Separators: Ferrous metals are separated using electro-magnetic separators. All ferrous metals are stored in a common storage silo for later baling. If the primary electromagnetic separator is out of service a secondary magnetic separation unit provides redundancy. 5 of 20

7 1.2 Innovative Aspects of Recycling System The San José multi-family recycling system is innovative both for GreenWaste s comprehensive approach to processing municipal solid waste, and for the unique partnership between GreenWaste and the City of San José to overcome the barriers to increasing multi-family waste diversion. Processing Innovations GreenWaste's recently completed MRF is one of the most innovative processing facilities in the world, having demonstrated a nearly 75% recovery rate for municipal solid waste (primarily from San José apartments). The automated material recovery equipment was designed and manufactured by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), working closely with GreenWaste leadership, to develop a comprehensive sorting and processing system. Throughout its operation, GreenWaste has consistently tracked and evaluated each of the individual manual and mechanical processes, and has recalibrated the system to optimize results. The mechanical sorting mechanisms and processes have been calibrated, evaluated, adapted and recalibrated to increase recovery of materials, and to decrease crosscontamination of these valuable commodities in order to increase their value. The GreenWaste MRF is the first facility in the nation to step up to the challenge of Zero Waste processing by installing two side-by-side processing lines to sort both MSW and single-stream curbside recycling under the same roof. This arrangement takes advantage of both the unique and similar aspects of the two waste streams, merging clean product from both lines to maximize efficiency and increase the quantity and quality of materials recovered. This side-by-side design results in economies of scale and allows the facility to take a more comprehensive and cost-effective approach to process all incoming materials -- not just those materials that are source separated and easy to recover. After processing at the MRF, one of three processes ensues: 1) Recyclable materials are baled and prepared for market; 2) Organic materials are prepared for transport down to the Z-Best Composting Facility for further processing; or 3) Trash, non-recyclables and noncompostables are taken to the landfill. By controlling the entire process, from collection through processing and on to the end destination (whether market or landfill), GreenWaste 6 of 20

8 increases the opportunity to make incremental changes to the system that result in improved waste diversion. The volume and types of materials recovered for further processing at the Z-Best Composting Facility has expanded, and the quantity of compostable materials has improved. Z-Best can receive up to an average of 1,500 tons per day average of yard waste including up to 600 tpd of in-vessel municipal solid waste/food wastes (MSW) for composting. At the Z-Best Composting Facility, material is first inspected for contaminants by load checking personnel and any hazardous materials are either returned to the truck or brought to the site s designated hazardous materials storage area for appropriate disposal. Materials are processed in an enclosed 20,000 Z-Best Composting Facility square foot building to remove non-compostable items. Non-hazardous contaminants are sorted and placed in trash receptacles for disposal. The compostable items are then shredded and transported to the composting area where they are injected into a 350-foot long bag that houses all the compostable wastes. PVC pipes are also introduced into the bag and used to aerate the compostable materials. Retention time in the bags is about four months. After this time, the contents are removed, turned and cured prior to screening. The materials are then transported to a screening system that is used to remove any larger materials, which are then disposed. The smaller compostable materials are stockpiled and cured for an additional four weeks before being screened. Final compost products are then marketed to local landscapers. 7 of 20

9 Program Innovations The San José recycling program is innovative in its approach to improving waste diversion at multi-family properties. The MSW line at GreenWaste services all multi-family dwellings in the City of San José, which includes 93,000 households from 3,200 complexes citywide. Increasing source separated recycling from the multi-family dwelling sector has posed significant challenges over the years. There is often a lack of available space for recycling bins at apartment complexes, and sometimes they are placed in inconvenient locations. While single-family residents are incentivized to recycle with a Pay-As-You- Throw rate structure, multi-family residents, who don t normally pay directly for garbage service, do not have a financial incentive to recycle. Outreach to multi-family residents has also proven challenging, due to high resident turnover and inconsistencies of property management. After many years of promoting recycling through various outreach activities, the City of San José was able to achieve a diversion rate of 18%. While many jurisdictions would be satisfied with this result, San José had recently adopted its Green Vision plan that required higher waste diversion. The Green Vision is a fifteen-year plan to make San José a leader in environmental innovation and sustainability. One of the Green Vision s ten goals directs staff to divert 100% of waste from landfills by To accomplish this, the City sought input from the local chapter of the California Apartment Association. Their members wanted to avoid mandates that would require them to monitor recycling at their complexes and force them to place many more recycling bins than they might have space for. They new program accomplishes this because the back-end processing at GreenWaste and Z-Best occurs behind the scenes. Nothing needed to change at apartment complexes, and properties could continue to use existing containers. Because recycling is a higher and better use of the material than composting, residents are still encouraged to recycle in singlestream recycling containers. 1.3 Environmental Benefits of System Back-end processing of MSW from multi-family dwellings presents a unique opportunity to overcome behavioral obstacles and space limitations, and to increase waste diversion. This back-end processing supplements San José s traditional source-separated recycling program. 8 of 20

10 Through GreenWaste s innovative processing techniques, they are able to remove valuable recyclables that would otherwise be sent to landfill. In addition to recyclables recovery, GreenWaste has been able to recover organic materials (such as food waste and soiled paper) that are difficult to recover by conventional processing methods. After processing, this material is composted at the Z-Best Composting Facility. The net result of GreenWaste's back-end processing of MSW from multi-family dwellings is a significant reduction in the amount of material being sent to landfill and a corresponding reduction in methane and CO 2 gasses resulting from sending this recoverable material to landfill. It is estimated that during the first year of the new San José multi-family recycling program, GreenWaste will process approximately 72,000 tons of apartment waste. Of this, over 54,000 tons (or 75.8%) will be diverted from landfills through recyclables recovery and composting. The chart below shows the breakdown of multi-family MSW processed by GreenWaste and composted by Z-Best. Using the EPA s WARM model for calculating avoided greenhouse gasses, this equates to an annual reduction of almost 50,000 metric tons of CO 2 equivalent to removing 9,000 cars from the road. The combination of back-end processing with traditional recycling efforts results in a total diversion rate of nearly 80%, making San José the best performing recycling program in the nation. In addition to the environmental benefits of increased waste diversion and decreased greenhouse gasses due to the San José Total Multi-Family Waste Processed multi-family recycling program, GreenWaste has demonstrated its Multi-Family Waste commitment to the Disposed Multi-Family Waste 24% Composted 49% environment in a number of other ways. Since its inception in 1991, GreenWaste has been Multi-Family Waste Recycled 27% considered a leader in the recycling industry. This reputation is largely due to GreenWaste s highest and best use philosophy. As an 9 of 20

11 environmentally responsible company, GreenWaste makes every effort to find highest and best use solutions for recycled materials. Additionally, in order to reduce the impacts of transportation and potentially lower environmental standards from companies operating overseas, GreenWaste gives preference to domestic buyers when marketing their materials. Demonstrating their company philosophy to be "a brighter shade of green," GreenWaste recently completed the installation of a 300-kilowatt solar panel system to power the MRF. In an effort to reduce the dependence on non-renewable energy sources, GreenWaste leadership opted to utilize the power of the sun, a clean and renewable energy source, to power the processing and recovery of recyclable materials and organic waste. Their system is one of the largest commercial solar system installations in the City of San José, and is expected to produce GreenWaste Solar Panel System approximately 408M-kilowatt hours of energy in the first year of production, about a third of the energy needed to power the facility. The system is comprised of 1,552 panels spanning two buildings. Because neither building was originally designed with the use of solar panels in mind, GreenWaste maximized the surface area available on the roofs of the buildings and covered approximately 80% (80,000 square feet) of the roofs with solar panels. 2. REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 2.1 Permits The GreenWaste MRF was designed and is currently operating in compliance with the Solid Waste Facility Permit issued by the City of San José, Department of Planning, Building and 10 of 20

12 Code Enforcement (SWIS No. 43-AN-0019, issued November 15, 2006), and operations are consistent with the Negative Declaration for the initial study, Conditional Use Permit (CP ), the Special Use Permit (SP ) as an addendum to the Neg. Dec., and Statewide NPDES (General permit # CA ). The MRF is permitted to operate as a Material Recovery Facility, Processing Facility, Transfer Station and Solid Waste/Transfer and Wood Waste Grinding operation. The MRF is in compliance with the Peak Daily Tonnage of 1,400 tons/operating day for all solid waste and recyclables, remained in compliance during the initial Phase 1 peak tonnage of 400 tons per day (TPD) of solid waste as well as the current Phase 2 peak tonnage of 650 TPD of solid waste. The MRF has an active load checking program to identify excluded and/or prohibited wastes and maintains operating records for the daily gross tonnages of materials entering the facility through the gate. MRF operations are consistent with all State Minimum Standards for Solid Waste Handling and Disposal and all other requirements of GreenWaste s permits including, but not limited to: hours of operation, cleaning, storage, signage, record keeping, employee training for heath and safety, litter and dust control, street sweeping, traffic, noise reduction, odor suppression, monitoring and reporting. The Z-Best Composting Facility is located on 157 acres and was originally permitted in 1998 to process yard trimmings. With the additional goal of processing food waste and MSW, Z-Best applied for and obtained a full solid waste facility permit from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Z-Best was re-permitted in 2000 for additional daily tonnage and the addition of gypsum and food waste as feedstock, and the MSW composting program officially began in January Currently the facility accepts up to 350 tons per day of MSW compostable wastes from commercial establishments and area jurisdictions. The site is permitted for an average of 1,500 tons per day of yard trimmings and food waste with additional capacity for 2,500 tons per day for fifteen days per year. In 2008, Z-Best sold over 130,000 tons of compost product, which included the MSW compost. 2.2 Operations The MRF is integral part of GreenWaste's total solid waste management system. In addition to owning and operating the processing facility, GreenWaste offers collection services for solid 11 of 20

13 waste, recyclable materials, yard trimmings, compostables, food scraps, and construction and demolition debris. GreenWaste s sister company, Zanker Road Resource Management, owns and operates two additional facilities, the Zanker Road Landfill and the Z-Best Composting Facility. Zanker Road Landfill is a national leader in recovering construction and demolition debris and operates a processing facility that boasts a combined diversion rate of up to 90%. The Z-Best Composting Facility transforms yard trimmings and food waste into nutrient rich soil amendments. Together, GreenWaste s facilities provide an environmentally sound option for local communities collection needs, ultimately diverting an incredible 85% - 95% of materials from landfills. The GreenWaste MRF opened in 1995 to process yard waste and curbside recyclables, and later expanded the operations to process construction and Z-Best Composting Facility demolition debris, and commercial waste. MRF operations further expanded in 2000 to accept food waste for transfer to the Z-Best Composting Facility. During their fifteen-year operating history, GreenWaste has been cited for violations on occasion, but has always acted promptly and diligently to correct all problems. Some primary issues of concern have been the exceeding of the allowable daily tonnage of all material received at the MRF, and the acceptance of MSW from townships served by GreenWaste as food waste. The MRF also had some minor dust and tracked dirt issues on a few occasions as well as some drainage issues related to truck traffic. In order to address these concerns, the dirt and concrete bunkers were removed and concrete aprons were poured around the drainage facilities. The MRF has also experienced a few violations with regard to food waste storage in bunkers, in large part due to the success of the expanded MSW and food waste programs. In order to 12 of 20

14 address the MSW and food waste storage time issues, GreenWaste first attempted to solve a permit condition to reduce the holding time in one bunker to just 16-hours per day instead of two bunker alternating storage days with up to 24-hours of storage time. Eventually, it was determined that a revision to the SWFP was necessary to reduce the storage time from 24-hours to 16-hours and the revision was obtained. The table below provides additional details of GreenWaste s MRF violations. Facility/Date Notice of Violations (NOV) Explanations August 2003 Terms and Conditions of SWFP Tonnage Tonnage violations over peak tonnage. Operator applied for and received a revision to accept additional tonnage. April May 2003 Various Dust Control, Drainage and Cleaning Violations Bunkers to store soil and inerts created dust and occasional drainage problems. The bunkers were removed from the facility and dirt is no longer accepted. Drainage facilities upgrade with aprons. Nov April 2003 Terms and Conditions of SWFP Food waste bunker storage time The TPR allowed for up to 24- hour storage in two bunkers. Bunkers were combined into one and removed daily. Operation obtained a SWFP revision to reduce storage hours of food waste from 24 hours to 16 hours Jan Feb Terms and conditions of SWFP peak tonnage On various days the peak tonnage of food and yard waste was exceeded, but the cumulative peak was not. 13 of 20

15 To ensure the MRF is operating effectively and in compliance with all permits and regulations, GreenWaste employs an extensive waste screening procedure. The MSW tipping floor includes a floor sort prior to processing the material on the line. Typical materials that are removed during the floor sort include bulky items (mattresses, carpet, padding, concrete, tires, etc.), visible e-waste (batteries, computer monitors, televisions, etc.), visible recyclable materials (wood, rigid plastic, metals) and other items that have the potential to clog or get caught in the machines or cause jams. Potentially hazardous waste are also removed during waste screening, and properly handled and disposed of. 3. PLANNING GreenWaste took great care in the design of their MRF to ensure that it would be able to handle and process San José s solid waste as efficiently and effectively as possible. However, when the facility was designed, GreenWaste did not have a dedicated flow of material and did not know whether the material would be from the commercial, residential or multi family sector(s). Because of this challenge, GreenWaste could not conduct a waste characterization study to determine the types and quantities of recyclable materials that would need to be processed. With the material flow now stabilized, GreenWaste has made a number of changes to improve the efficiency of the sorting process, which has resulted in a higher quality of material and an exceptional rate of recovery. In addition to the careful planning that went into the design of the MRF, GreenWaste has an extensive preventative maintenance program to ensure proper operations at the facility. GreenWaste believes in, and makes the investment in, preventative maintenance and employs all the necessary staff (mechanics, welders/fabricators and electricians) to maintain the system and prevent downtime, and to operate the system as effectively and efficiently as possible. GreenWaste conducts all the maintenance and upkeep at night and on weekends, when the lines are not operational. GreenWaste experiences about an hour of down-time each day, collectively - five minutes here and there. There are shut-off switches throughout the lines. When one is triggered, all the material feeding to that point stops, and all the material being processed after the shut-off point continues on for further processing. This allows GreenWaste to protect the employees and the equipment without shutting down the entire line. 14 of 20

16 4. PERFORMANCE, ECONOMICS & COST-EFFECTIVENESS 4.1 System Performance As mentioned previously, GreenWaste took great care in the design of their MRF to ensure that it could efficiently and effectively process both MSW and single-stream material. However, because the exact composition of the waste stream was initially unknown, some modifications were needed after start-up. Although in many respects the MRF is functioning more optimally than anticipated, it is significantly more labor intensive than originally thought. To help keep labor costs at a minimum, the MRF Operations Manager has a strong presence in the processing facility, frequently reviewing operational data to increase operational efficiency. The labor designated at each of the manual sorting stations is reviewed and adapted daily, and the equipment is calibrated to respond to the quality and type of materials in an effort to increase diversion, reduce resources, and optimize labor inputs. GreenWaste measures the success of the facility by the overall recovery rate, as well the recovery of each individual waste stream. In this regard, the facility has met all expectations, and for some waste streams, it has exceeded expectations. For example, GreenWaste has been able to recover over 90% of the waste processed from the San José International Airport. GreenWaste also measures its success by the quality of the materials recovered. Prior to operating the MSW line, GreenWaste received feedback from brokers that they were nervous that the recovered material from the MSW line would be contaminated. These fears proved to be unfounded, because the system was designed to both integrate and separate materials in such a way that GreenWaste could keep the materials very clean. GreenWaste also conducts regular quality checks and cleans up materials prior to shipping, enabling them to sell the products for a premium. These efforts have allowed GreenWaste to maintain materials markets even when the recyclables market crashed unexpectedly in October of of 20

17 GreenWaste considers customer service an essential component of performance, and is committed to providing exceptional service to both residential and commercial customers, as well as the elected officials and staff representing the jurisdictions that they serve. GreenWaste customer service representatives are trained to work cooperatively with customers to ensure that their needs are met and that top quality service is provided. Customer service representatives are encouraged to learn the operational side of the business by visiting GreenWaste s processing GreenWaste Line Sorters facilities and by becoming familiar with collections operations. GreenWaste management is committed to working with the jurisdictions they serve to solicit feedback to improve operations and to provide the opportunity to increase operational efficiency, enhance customer relations and adapt to changing technology. 4.2 System Economics Although GreenWaste has been challenged by the recent collapse of recycling markets and the overall global economic downturn, they have made modifications to their operations that will eventually ensure long-term profitability. Tip fee revenues were affected when the economic downturn forced GreenWaste to reduce tip fees to remain competitive. Tip revenue was further reduced when projections for throughput from the equipment manufacturer were lower than expected, which resulted in processing less material. GreenWaste s initial budget was developed using projected revenues when the recyclables market was at its peak. Within six months of beginning operations, the markets crashed. Additionally, some expenditures were higher than anticipated, including construction costs and operational costs resulting from increased labor needed for manual processing. The net result has been that revenues are lower, and expenses on the sorting operation are higher. Because GreenWaste s side-by-side MSW and single-stream system is unique to the industry, it is difficult to compare operating costs with other facilities. It would be safe to assume, 16 of 20

18 however, that most other processing operations are experiencing the same drop in revenues and increased labor costs. Fortunately, the recovery rates for some waste streams have exceeded expectations. GreenWaste has also been scrutinizing the operational efficiency of the system and has made some significant operational improvements that are resulting in reduced ongoing operational costs -- without compromising the total recovery rates or quality of materials. From the standpoint of the City of San José and its multi-family customers, the new recycling program has proven to be very cost effective. The City negotiated a favorable processing rate that was less costly than if they had attempted to achieve similar diversion rates from increasing traditional recycling alone. In addition to the expense of providing many more recycling containers, the City would have needed to greatly increase costly outreach efforts and add additional staff to police recycling at multi-family properties. Apartment owners and managers also avoided their own internal costs for maintaining many more recycling containers. Because of these cost efficiencies, the local apartment association wrote a letter of support to City Council (see attached) and did not oppose the moderate 8% rate increase needed to fund the program. 5. UTILIZATION OF EQUIPMENT/SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES As mentioned previously, the GreenWaste MRF utilizes equipment produced by Bulk Handling Systems. The system GreenWaste envisioned was unique to the industry, so GreenWaste worked closely with the engineers at BHS to design the most efficient and effective system to process mixed MSW. A partial list the equipment utilized includes: cardboard screen newsprint screen polishing screen bag breaker trommel screen optical sorter eddy current separator electro-magnetic separator drum separator 17 of 20

19 A complete description of equipment operation is included in Section 1.1, The GreenWaste MRF Design. The net result of the side-by-side single-stream and MSW processing lines at the GreenWaste MRF, combined with the MSW composting at Z-Best, is a remarkable 85% combined Single stream pre-bale mixed paper diversion rate for all materials, and a diversion rate of nearly 75% for MSW alone. The down-time of the equipment is minimal. The system was designed to include many points for manual and mechanical calibration that allows GreenWaste to continue to increase the operational efficiency of the equipment. 6. WORKER HEALTH & SAFETY The safety and health of employees is a top priority for GreenWaste, and it is of the utmost importance that all MRF employees are properly trained to avoid injuries and are well informed about the process for reporting injuries. The MRF Operations Manager holds regular monthly meetings with all employees to review potential safety hazards and reiterate the process to report any and all injuries to their supervisor. All MRF employees are provided with extensive on-the-job training. Sorters are trained to work at all the stations on the MSW and single-stream processing lines, and they are regularly alternated in their positions to reduce the potential for repetitive injuries. The MRF Operations Manager and supervisors maintain a regular presence in the MRF throughout the week, providing helpful tips to reduce the potential for injuries and to adapt manual sorting processes to protect workers. Green Waste Sorters No major injuries have occurred at the GreenWaste MRF. 18 of 20

20 7. PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE, APPEARANCE AND AESTHETICS 7.1 Equipment and Facility Aesthetics The GreenWaste MRF is located on a 6.05 acre fully-permitted property that contains two material recovery buildings totaling approximately 95,000 square feet, and an operations yard with a scale and vehicle parking. The MRF also includes storage bunkers for pre-processed and processed recyclables, recyclables collection container storage, and baled recyclables ready for market. GreenWaste places a high priority on maintaining the cleanliness and overall appearance of the MRF operations yard, buildings, equipment, and vehicles. Streets are swept regularly and any materials that escape the buildings during processing are immediately captured in the yard before leaving the property. The MRF itself is swept and cleaned 6 hours per day with a sweeper, and is steam-cleaned weekly. Throughout each day, seven days a week, the MRF is deodorized with a citrus solution to suppress smell and with an enzyme-based bacterium that eats away odor causing bacteria. These solutions are applied to the equipment, conveyer belts and other surfaces that come into contact with materials. Additionally, the MRF runs two MSW shifts with a half-hour break in between to allow for maintenance of specific system components to increase operational productivity and reduce the potential for equipment damage due to material jams. GreenWaste also places a high priority on the cleanliness and maintenance of vehicles. All vehicles are cleaned regularly and an extensive preventative maintenance schedule is maintained. Daily operations at the GreenWaste MRF are carefully planned in advance to ensure a safe and efficient work flow. Inbound and outbound traffic moves smoothly, as materials are accurately tracked and documented. All inbound vehicles proceed through the yard to the scale for load checking and weighing. After proceeding through the scale, vehicles are directed to either the main recyclables processing building (MRF A) or to MRF B, where construction and demolition debris and yard waste is processed. Outbound materials from MRF A are consolidated by material type in bunkers, then baled and transferred outside the building for storage until sale. Outbound materials from MRF B are placed into trucks and prepared for transport for market, or transferred to the Zanker Road Landfill or Z-Best Composting Facility. 19 of 20

21 7.2 Public Relations and Good Neighbor Efforts GreenWaste employs four full-time positions to support public relations and public education: MRF Operations Manager, Community Relations Manager, Outreach Coordinator and Graphic Designer. The MRF Operations Manager maintains regular and ongoing communications with the jurisdictions serviced by GreenWaste, provides tours of the facility to the public (in coordination with the Community Relations Manager), and schedules jurisdictional on-site waste audits. The Community Relations Manager is responsible for maintaining relationships with these same jurisdictions, as well as coordinating public relations and conducting outreach to the community. This outreach typically includes information on innovative projects developed by GreenWaste, processing improvements at the MRF, and the status of diversion rates from various jurisdictions and waste streams. The Outreach Coordinator and Graphic Designer are dedicated to developing and producing outreach materials (including web-based educational outreach) geared to the sectors serviced by GreenWaste, which includes information on company philosophy, materials processed, and the services provided. GreenWaste prides itself on being a good neighbor and maintaining a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the community. GreenWaste routinely goes above and beyond the norm to ensure that each and every one of their neighbors is satisfied with operations at the MRF (including traffic flow), and with the cleanliness of the facility and surrounding areas (see Section 7.1 for more details). GreenWaste checks-in regularly with its neighbors and routinely sweeps the streets surrounding the facility during days of operation. 20 of 20

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