MADISON SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

DATE: June 3, 2009 TIME: 10:00 AM

PLACE: Town Hall

MINUTES

PRESENT: Chairman David Downes, Ruth Ham, Selectman Mike Benoit, Raymond O’Brien

ABSENT: Marcia McKenna

POSTED: This meeting was posted at the Madison and Silver Lake Post Offices and at the Town Hall upstairs and downstairs on more than 24 hours in advance.

CALLED TO ORDER by Chair Dave Downs at 10:10am

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: We forgot to approve the minutes of 5/11/09.  We’ll get to it at our next meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

ITEM:  Schedule next meetings – Do we need another besides the June 18th meeting?

DISCUSSION: We did not schedule another meeting at this time.

ITEM:  Review Ray’s analysis of the savings from using a loader/backhoe. 

Ray reviewed what he found out about getting a loader and estimating a cost/ benefit scenario.  After hearing from Bill Chick, Ray adjusted those items to reflect his input.

DISCUSSION: Ray will modify the above estimate as a graduated estimate of costs and benefits for buying a used loader (best and worst case scenario).  Ray will contact a dealer for a maintenance repair estimate.  Mike will contact Adam Tasker  at Wolfboro Transfer station as to estimates on compactions and visits. 

ITEM:   Review sign order status.  Ray filled out order and sent to Melissa.  She was going to check it with Billy, then send in the order.  Ray will check with Melissa on the status of the sign order. 

Melissa checked with Billy and faxed the order on June 8, 2009.

ITEM:    Review results from NRRA assessment of our grinding needs.  Ruth, Dave, and Bill Chick will meet with Ivar at the transfer station June 3, 2009 at noon for a quick review of our needs, possible costs, and possible benefits of having the glass pile run through a portable grinder.  The quick report from that meeting is as follows:

Ivar estimates that they usually need a minimum of 400 tons at about $20 per ton or $8,000- $10,000 to set up and make the expenses worth it.  He had to meet some people in Wakefield that afternoon.  Their needs might work with our needs to increase the volume and reduce travel time so a better price might be reachable.  All of the toilets in that pile could be ground up with the glass.  The product made from the grinding process comes out in two grades.  Using a screen, 35% of the product is a finer sand-like material.  65% is about 3/8inch in size and makes good drainage material.  The plan would include our highway department hauling the material as it is produced and stockpiling it behind the town highway building for road projects.  Ivar also explained a lot about the transportation, equipment, blades, the wear and tear and required maintenance and parts replacement in order to make things happen.  Ivar will consult with his partner (brother) after finding out information from the Wakefield people.  Then he will contact the selectman’s office and/or William Chick.

ITEM:    Review draft of status report to selectmen.

DISCUSSION: The following is a draft of our presentation to the selectmen.  We amended it as we discussed it:

MISSION/GOAL

"We are seeking the support of Madison's Board of Selectmen in continuing the work of the solid waste study group to improve the operation of the Madison Transfer Station, with a goal of steadily reducing the net cost of operating the facility over the next several years.  This would be accomplished through a program of public education about the importance of recycling and its favorable impact on town expenses and on the environment, which could lead to changes in the way the solid waste facility is operated."

APPROACH

Data Collection for understanding and decision making

• Tonnage reports NRRA & Waste Management
• Transfer Station sticker quantities
• Input from the Transfer Station Operator
• Prepared sketch of the facility
• Input from transfer station operator and road agent

Issues Identified:

• Too much going into solid waste compactor
• Too much bulky/demo material
• Cardboard, metal, etc. in the bulky roll-offs
• Is all the demo debris from Madison?
• Should glass be separated from the other comingled material?
• Operator ability to monitor entirety of facility
• Operator has to educate too many residents on the facility
• What to do with glass pile
• Should metal have its own roll-off?
• Can we improve the layout of the facility for simplification?
• Do we have proper fee structure and collection?
• Facility user education needs improvement
• Volatility of the recycling market may dictate changes in how we collect recyclables

Speculated on a Vision of the facility

Made various map suggestions of changes and ran them by the operator and road agent.

• Improve flow of traffic
• Better roll-off configuration
• Improved signage
• Better/easier coverage by operator
• Glass, metal and ceramic management improvement
• Office location  move

Status of Suggestions:

• Glass – Something will have to be done with the glass pit as soon as possible.  We could have it ground on site and use the material in our projects.  This will have a cost.  Future glass will go in the comingled roll-off.
• PORCELAIN, CONCRETE, AND BRICKS – We should have a designated space for this that gets dealt with regularly either by grinding or hauling to a landfill.  This will have a cost.
• Metal – We should put a pad in the old glass pit (using the ground material in the base) and use that pit for metal to keep it confined and easier to deal with.  And, make a pad adjacent to the pit for refrigerators and Air Conditioners waiting to be serviced to remove Freon.  This will have a cost.
• Roll-offs – Probably little or no change to the roll-off configuration.  However, we should use a method of compaction to reduce the number of hauls required.  Purchase a used loader backhoe for this purpose.  This equipment will have other uses as snow removal.  This will have a cost.  See estimate.
• Office – No change due to cost of moving utilities and minimal benefit of moving it.
• Brush pile – Needs to be addressed further.
• Signage – The signs that are needed were identified and several can be obtained for free.  Mounting and color coding to be determined.
• Recycling – Probably the biggest thing we can do for improvement is to educate the Public on the importance of recycling in reducing the operating cost of the transfer station.
• Why recycle – to reduce our cost for hauling our MSW in addition to environmental benefits
• How to recycle – what is recyclable
• How to do it in our transfer station
• Proposed education plan  below
• Evaluate the recycling rates after the education plan has been implemented.  Determine if recycling rates warrant future measures such as Pay as you throw and/or Mandatory recycling.
• Fee assessment and collection: Further study needed.

Next Steps:

• Feedback from selectmen
• Cost analysis for proposals
• Revise/refine any proposals/suggestions and get approval
• Set plans to implement any accepted suggestions

Transfer Station Education Plan

ASSUMPTIONS:

• Transfer Station layout defined
• Recycling “best practices” defined
• Three pronged approach:
• Transfer Station education
• Tri-folds
• Presentations

TRANSFER STATION

• Map at entrance
•  Simplistic
•  Color coded and descriptions of what is included/excluded
• Brief explanations
• Detailed explanation in tri-fold
• Tri-folds available in boxes on the sign
• Each stop in the Transfer Station color-coded
• Each stop visible from the entrance
• Large color-coded, moveable, signs

TRI-FOLD’s

• Update existing transfer Station informational tri-fold
• Create a “Why Recycle?” tri-fold
• Have tri-folds available at:
• Transfer station in outdoor covered boxes
• Town Office
• Library
• Post Office
• Madison businesses (hdwe store, deli, gas station, etc.)
• Town web site
• Possibly disseminate with tax bills, town mtg, election or any “time appropriate” mass communication event
• In a packet for any new town residents and for seasonal residents and renters

PRESENTATIONS

• 2 different presentations in video and/or PowerPoint:
• “Why Recycle?”
• Transfer Station structure, usage and benefits
• Have well publicized advertising to get the word out:
• One or more meetings to present to people directly
• Run repeatedly on MADTV
• Presentation at Old Home Week
• Booth at Old Home Week
• Accessible on town web site
• Present to all school children
• Present at any appropriate town or Madison focused meetings/organizations
• Encouraged viewing for any new town residents and for seasonal residents and renters

ITEM:   This item left as a final point to keep our group on course.

• Data Collection
• Analyze Data
• Decisions and Tasks
• Document and Publish
• Educate
• Implement
• Post Implementation Review

OLD BUSINESS:

• Field trips – on hold
• Capture ideas that might get lost in the shuffle:
• Composting pile
• Dump store
• Reconfigure roll-offs for double haul opportunities
• Divert plastic to compactor
• Proper refrigerator handling
• Roll-off for metal?
• Beautification

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

NEXT MEETING: The next meeting of the MADSWAC will be held on June 18, 2009 at 7pm at The Town Hall

ADJOURNMENT: On a motion by Ruth and seconded by Mike we voted to adjourn at 11:50 am

Recording Secretary,

Raymond F. O’Brien