The move to automated collection may be imminent for many municipalities, but putting together a system in which all the components work collectively - carts, trucks, customers, and employees - can be a challenge.

By Janice Kaspersen

Cincinnati is a case in point: After a tremendously successful pilot program two years ago to test semiautomated collection in selected areas, the city has been researching options to put before the city council to expand the program. "It just went over like gangbusters," remarks Diana Frey of Cincinnati’s Department of Public Services. "We see the benefit of a semiautomated system in solving the litter problem and the problem of containers with missing lids, as well as reducing injuries to our employees and increasing convenience to our customers. Everybody in the city was interested in being a member of the cart program," as the pilot project was known. "We as a city understand that’s the way we want to go." However, servicing 140,000 customers weekly and collecting more than 400 tpd of trash, the city wants to make sure that it’s making the right choices before purchasing more equipment or awarding contracts.

Similar to many other cities, Cincinnati faces obstacles in converting to automated or semiautomated collection. "We have a lot of hills here and a lot of alleys," Frey points out. Some leading companies in the solid waste industry have teamed up to help the city sort through the possibilities and ensure the choices it ultimately makes will be suited to the city’s terrain and will be compatible with each other.

Automation Options 2000 is a joint venture by Cascade Cart (Cascade Engineering Inc.), Heil Environmental Ltd., Volvo of North America, and Bayne Thinline Premium Lift Systems. Its intent is to help municipalities and private haulers reduce the start-up hassles associated with changing the way service is delivered. A demonstration at WASTECON 2000 may help other cities about to take the automation plunge. "System compatibility is the key," notes Gary Gengozian of Heil Environmental in Chattanooga, TN. "Automated systems require a cart to collect refuse or recyclables, the right chassis, the collection body best configured for the volume and route environment, and a quality lifter or fully automated grabber, depending on the type of operation. The objective is to ensure product compatibility for our customers. I’m sure most municipalities and private haulers alike will tell you they prefer not to be experimenting on-route."

"By working with cities and hauling companies to address real collection challenges and pooling years of on-route industry experience, we are ensuring that the bugs can be worked out before the first cart is tipped into a hopper," says Bob Zelinka, Midwest regional sales manager for Bayne Thinline in Greenville, SC. Rick Beavan, product manager for Volvo of North America in Greensboro, NC, adds, "The idea of demonstrating automated equipment is not new. However, focusing on collection equipment options designed to help municipalities meet those not-so-easy collection challenges appeared to be worth investigating."

Taking advantage of the several companies’ collective industry experience, Frey has tapped Automation Options 2000’s resources for more than just equipment options. She wanted to talk to other cities that had already implemented similar semiautomated collection programs, and the member companies put her in touch with counterparts that recently went through the same decision process. "It’s helped create a wonderful network of municipality contacts for me," she observes. "It’s one thing to say you can do this out in private industry, but it’s a completely different animal when you come into a municipality or a government agency. It’s much more helpful to me to have a contact at another municipality who I can talk to who understands the language I have to speak."

Helping cities craft a public awareness program is another service that Automation Options 2000 provides. "Any time you change anything, especially when it deals with somebody’s trash, there’s confusion," notes Frey. "The more education and the more notification, the better. They’ve certainly shown us that they’ve done excellent community notification and public information campaigns. And that’s a key element to any program being successful."

The four companies had independently set up programs with similar intent, and combining their efforts seemed a logical next step. Heil, for example, recently introduced an onsite Mobile Maintenance/Operator Training program with the industry’s first mobile training center. Cascade developed the Total Systems Approach and has worked closely with manufacturers of truck bodies, chassis, and lifters to ensure compatibility.

"It makes sense for industry manufacturers to demonstrate how automated collection operating and labor efficiencies can now be realized in most municipal collection environments," says Bill Birth of Cascade Carts. "Business conditions require municipal and private-sector operators alike to continuously evaluate routing, labor, insurance, equipment, and customer-satisfaction levels."

Although Cincinnati hasn’t made final decisions on equipment, Frey says people from other cities are already calling her for information. The city of Cincinnati is hosting the WASTECON 2000 show, including an Automation Options 2000 demonstration, and Frey hopes to pass along some of the knowledge she’s gained. "We’d like other cities to come see all the options that are available. We’re certainly willing to help them in any way that we can and share with them information we’ve gathered."

The Automation Options 2000 demonstration, cosponsored by MSW Management and featuring both automated and semiautomated vehicles and other equipment, is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25, 5-7 p.m., just outside Cincinnati’s Union Terminal.

MSW
September/October 2000