5.
City Council Combined Special Meeting/Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 11/12/2019
- From:
- Todd Hanson, Solid Waste Section Director
TITLE
Discussion about the life of the landfill, composting and organic waste
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Provide staff with direction and feedback as to what other actions Council would like to see explored.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Cinder Lake Landfill is a 343-acre municipal solid waste landfill providing disposal services to the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County. The City has operated the landfill since the late 1960s under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The Current anticipated final closure date is 2060.
This discussion will cover past, present, and future efforts to extend the life of the Landfill through various initiatives to divert waste from the Landfill thereby serving the community, protecting the environment, minimizing further capital expenditures, and keeping disposal costs low for residents. The focus of this discussion will be on efforts other than the City’s existing curbside and commercial recycling program, which has been in place since the late 1990s has experienced minimal growth in participation.
Included in the discussion will be strategies for preventing and diverting organic waste, such as composting. Composting is recycling for organic material. It converts organic materials, like food waste and yard trimmings, into a valuable soil amendment that contributes to soil health and keeps organic wastes out of landfills.
This discussion will cover past, present, and future efforts to extend the life of the Landfill through various initiatives to divert waste from the Landfill thereby serving the community, protecting the environment, minimizing further capital expenditures, and keeping disposal costs low for residents. The focus of this discussion will be on efforts other than the City’s existing curbside and commercial recycling program, which has been in place since the late 1990s has experienced minimal growth in participation.
Included in the discussion will be strategies for preventing and diverting organic waste, such as composting. Composting is recycling for organic material. It converts organic materials, like food waste and yard trimmings, into a valuable soil amendment that contributes to soil health and keeps organic wastes out of landfills.
INFORMATION:
Landfill Background
The Cinder Lake Landfill is a 343-acre municipal solid waste landfill providing disposal services to the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County. The City has operated the landfill since the late 1960s under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The Landfill receives an average of 385 tons per day of material. The Current anticipated final closure date is 2060 based on 3% growth, and 2070 based on 1% growth.
Currently there are only approximately 2,000 Solid Waste Landfills in the United States and the number is steady decreasing. Obtaining a site, permitting and construction of a new Landfill will cost 100’s of millions of dollars. Current estimates range from 1-2 million dollars per acre. The Landfill is also home to the Hazardous Products Center which is forecasted to divert 66 tons of Household Hazardous Waste and 17,286 pounds of electronic waste from being buried in the Landfill this fiscal year.
Existing and past efforts to prevent and divert material from the landfill:
Composting pilot with NAU – This pilot program allows the City to test the collection of different streams of organic material within the community. It will start with the diversion of material from City parks and move to other streams, such as commercial food scraps and potentially yard waste from residential customers. Collecting and diverting these streams of organic waste could require new infrastructure and this pilot will allow us to explore those infrastructure needs.
Direct Recycling Outreach – Staff have begun to provide direct feedback on residents' recycling habits. When staff finds contamination in recycling carts, staff provides a tag informing them of what is incorrect. Our pilot studies have shown that this not only reduces contamination but increases the amount of recyclable items collected.
Implementation of Volumetric Pricing – In Spring 2020, staff plans to pilot the rollout of volumetric pricing, which allows residents to choose from more trash cart sizes with smaller sizes available at a lower cost.
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Study – With consultant help, staff are exploring options related to the expiration of the existing MRF contract. Included in these efforts are discussions with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and surrounding municipalities to utilize Flagstaff as a regional hub for the sorting of recyclables, which would increase the financial viability of the MRF.
Construction Waste Advisory Committee – For the past two years staff have been meeting with a group of construction contractors to explore strategies for diverting impactful construction and demolition waste material. Currently, the landfill is collecting clean concrete from demolition with the plan of using it as alternative daily cover or road base. The landfill has accumulated 200 tons of clean concrete so far.
Innovate Waste Challenge – This entrepreneurial competition seeks to promote end markets for waste produced in Flagstaff by offering cash prizes to fund the startup of viable business ideas that turn waste into a viable product or service. The second annual challenge will take place in Spring 2020.
Tarp System – In the summer of 2019, the Landfill implemented the use of a Geosynthetic cover (tarp) system for alternate daily cover. The advantages of tarps include using no airspace, minimal cost, speed of deployment and removal, and the fact that they are reusable. This operational change extended the life of the Landfill a minimum of five years.
Metals Recycling – Since 2006, approximately 3,700 tons of metal has been recycled at Cinder Lake Landfill. Approximately 1,300 customers have utilized this service.
Lumber Diversion – Since 2013 approximately 1,500 tons of lumber waste has been used as alternative daily cover. Approximately 2,500 customers have disposed of the product at the Landfill.
Future efforts:
Food Waste Prevention Programming – Even more important than composting is encouraging the reduction in edible food waste generated by individual consumers, as well as commercial kitchens. With the help of the Natural Resources Defense Council, staff are investigating the sources of food waste within Flagstaff. Based on this analysis, staff will develop programming to reduce food waste and encourage the donation of edible food to food security organizations.
Development of a Strategic Plan – Following the implementation of volumetric pricing, staff will develop a strategic plan to guide materials management efforts and lead to the achievement of goals identified in the Rethink Waste Plan.
Landfill Cell E Redesign – Cell E is currently designed to be 30 to 50 feet deep. However, it may be necessary to excavate 100 feet further down to realize cover material for future operations. This could result in an additional 10 years of Landfill Life with 3% growth. Not only would this give us more airspace, but it would also allow us to access the bedrock as a valuable revenue resource for regional transportation projects. This has been explored by staff and will be pursued when Cell's A, B, C and D are closer to capacity.
The Cinder Lake Landfill is a 343-acre municipal solid waste landfill providing disposal services to the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County. The City has operated the landfill since the late 1960s under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The Landfill receives an average of 385 tons per day of material. The Current anticipated final closure date is 2060 based on 3% growth, and 2070 based on 1% growth.
Currently there are only approximately 2,000 Solid Waste Landfills in the United States and the number is steady decreasing. Obtaining a site, permitting and construction of a new Landfill will cost 100’s of millions of dollars. Current estimates range from 1-2 million dollars per acre. The Landfill is also home to the Hazardous Products Center which is forecasted to divert 66 tons of Household Hazardous Waste and 17,286 pounds of electronic waste from being buried in the Landfill this fiscal year.
Existing and past efforts to prevent and divert material from the landfill:
Composting pilot with NAU – This pilot program allows the City to test the collection of different streams of organic material within the community. It will start with the diversion of material from City parks and move to other streams, such as commercial food scraps and potentially yard waste from residential customers. Collecting and diverting these streams of organic waste could require new infrastructure and this pilot will allow us to explore those infrastructure needs.
Direct Recycling Outreach – Staff have begun to provide direct feedback on residents' recycling habits. When staff finds contamination in recycling carts, staff provides a tag informing them of what is incorrect. Our pilot studies have shown that this not only reduces contamination but increases the amount of recyclable items collected.
Implementation of Volumetric Pricing – In Spring 2020, staff plans to pilot the rollout of volumetric pricing, which allows residents to choose from more trash cart sizes with smaller sizes available at a lower cost.
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Study – With consultant help, staff are exploring options related to the expiration of the existing MRF contract. Included in these efforts are discussions with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and surrounding municipalities to utilize Flagstaff as a regional hub for the sorting of recyclables, which would increase the financial viability of the MRF.
Construction Waste Advisory Committee – For the past two years staff have been meeting with a group of construction contractors to explore strategies for diverting impactful construction and demolition waste material. Currently, the landfill is collecting clean concrete from demolition with the plan of using it as alternative daily cover or road base. The landfill has accumulated 200 tons of clean concrete so far.
Innovate Waste Challenge – This entrepreneurial competition seeks to promote end markets for waste produced in Flagstaff by offering cash prizes to fund the startup of viable business ideas that turn waste into a viable product or service. The second annual challenge will take place in Spring 2020.
Tarp System – In the summer of 2019, the Landfill implemented the use of a Geosynthetic cover (tarp) system for alternate daily cover. The advantages of tarps include using no airspace, minimal cost, speed of deployment and removal, and the fact that they are reusable. This operational change extended the life of the Landfill a minimum of five years.
Metals Recycling – Since 2006, approximately 3,700 tons of metal has been recycled at Cinder Lake Landfill. Approximately 1,300 customers have utilized this service.
Lumber Diversion – Since 2013 approximately 1,500 tons of lumber waste has been used as alternative daily cover. Approximately 2,500 customers have disposed of the product at the Landfill.
Future efforts:
Food Waste Prevention Programming – Even more important than composting is encouraging the reduction in edible food waste generated by individual consumers, as well as commercial kitchens. With the help of the Natural Resources Defense Council, staff are investigating the sources of food waste within Flagstaff. Based on this analysis, staff will develop programming to reduce food waste and encourage the donation of edible food to food security organizations.
Development of a Strategic Plan – Following the implementation of volumetric pricing, staff will develop a strategic plan to guide materials management efforts and lead to the achievement of goals identified in the Rethink Waste Plan.
Landfill Cell E Redesign – Cell E is currently designed to be 30 to 50 feet deep. However, it may be necessary to excavate 100 feet further down to realize cover material for future operations. This could result in an additional 10 years of Landfill Life with 3% growth. Not only would this give us more airspace, but it would also allow us to access the bedrock as a valuable revenue resource for regional transportation projects. This has been explored by staff and will be pursued when Cell's A, B, C and D are closer to capacity.