MSW Management Issues

You’ve heard it before…and will again: Waste compaction is a foundational part of sound, efficient landfill operations. And lots of effort has gone into ways to pack the most trash into a fixed space. Machine manufacturers, as well as specialty manufacturers of compactor wheels and teeth, are continually improving their products, making them more reliable and durable. When it comes to compacting waste, we have the tools we need. So why isn’t every landfill with a compactor achieving maximum density? Bec...>... More >

Each load of waste is measured in tons as it comes into the landfill and then gets transformed into cubic yards out on the workface. Though profitability is derived from cubic yardage (which determines air-space utilization efficiency and operational lifetime), a landfill’s cash flow is determined by the ton, since tipping fees are charged on a per-ton basis. In any business, the basic financial input is cash flow. Therefore, much of a landfill’s success depends on the accuracy and efficiency of its tru...>... More >

No doubt about it, the times are a-changin’. Actually, they’ve changed. Credit is tight and tax revenue is down, but the trash keeps piling up, equipment ages and new technology beckons. What to do? There have long been alternatives to the old cash-on-the barrelhead routine for buying or replacing collection equipment, and with the economy in the shape’s it’s in, now’s as good a time as any to dip into this varied bag of tricks. Leases, when properly managed can get you the truck you need and with a lit...>... More >

INTEC VIDEO SYSTEMS INC. Intec Video Systems Inc. was founded in 1970 as a manufacturer of industrial closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. In 1978 Intec introduced Car Vision, an advancement of the CCTV technology to provide an extra margin of safety to operators of large vehicles by eliminating blind spots. Intec now provides a product line of over 30 cameras and monitors, in black-and-white and color. The pioneer in rear vision, Intec has remained on the cutting edge of innovation by constantly d...>... More >

As we know, virtually all MSW operating expenses should be paid from current revenues, but long-lived capital assets are a different story. If several future generations of customers will use a new waste-to-energy plant, or a set of new transfer stations, the cost of these facilities should not fall only on today’s ratepayers. The answer is to borrow, using long-term debt. But this is expensive and has the rub that, during perhaps several years of construction, current customers pay high debt service co...>... More >

MRFs will most likely continue to change, grow, and take advantage of exciting new technology in addition to being quite tuned in to product and economic shifts as the tide of materials thrown away rises and falls. Some MRFs related that the tonnages of materials being processed at their facilities are steadily rising, for the most part. Expansion Means Higher Volumes Lee County, FL’s MRF complex is just above the town of Naples, some two hours south of Tampa, FL. Recently, the facility did a conversion...>... More >

In my callow youth I had the privilege of wallowing in mud, choking on dust, and enduring insults and inane commands from the mouth of my drill instructor, whose unenviable task it was to turn me and 29 other miserable scum-sucking civilians into Marines. His name was “Sir,” followed very quickly by the rest of his name, “Yes Sir.” And it was only after I had graduated from his care, that I found that he had other names… Sergeant Daly and even Ralph to his contemporaries, whose ribbon-bedecked tunics sp...>... More >

Dramatic reductions in worker accidents and injuries. Lower labor costs. Fewer Workers’ Compensation claims and lower insurance rates. Strong customer satisfaction and convenience. Fewer rodent and litter problems. Huge increases in recycling participation and tonnage. With so many benefits, why hasn’t automated collection become the norm in the United States? In fact, even during the economic downturn of the past several years, automated collection has been making slow but steady inroads. While no comp...>... More >

Managers use weighing, ticketing systems to make their transfer stations operate at peak efficiency.>... More >