Farewell 2008...and Good Riddance

By the time this issue of MSW Management hits your desk, the election will be over, and whether your favorites fared well or not, the relief from the stress of a birthing that rivaled at least in duration that of an elephant has to be enormous to us all. Now we can get back to the day-to-day issues with which we can deal, leaving our elected representatives to face the rest.

What a year this has been. Without trying to catalog events, a few stand out in bold relief…the run-up of fuel and material prices (including those for a number of recyclables) and the collapse of the housing market and the underlying credit debacle…the causes and presumed bailout of which beggar the imagination. You, I, and the auto industry might not be too happy with the way things have gone in the recent past, but now as the smoke from the credit meltdown, bailout, and election hyperbole begins to thin, it’s time to take stock of what the future might hold.

The Industry’s Perspective
I spent three days attending presentations, wandering the show floor, and chatting with attendees and exhibitors at this year’s WASTECON in Tampa, FL, asking a variety of people, ““What are the most important issues you see yourself facing this next year?” The question brought forth a variety of responses that generally came down to (but not necessarily in this order) the following:

• H.R. concerns running the gamut from replacing retirees to bringing in competent entry-level workers
• Rising costs in nearly every aspect of the business. Concerns over equipment purchase and O&M costs, the latter paced by see-sawing fuel prices, were the most prevalent, but meeting regulatory demands required increasing attention as well.
• After record-setting revenues over the past several years, all of a sudden prices for many recycled materials were falling…in some cases, a better term was plummeting.
• Municipalities facing tax revenue shortfalls leading to competition with other departments for resources
• Questions regarding sustainability versus department operating processes were creating confusion.
• Public-policy decisions, often as not relating to changing economic conditions, makes it difficult to initiate and carry through operational changes.
• Uncertainty over the wisdom of adopting new processes and technologies where the outcome lies in doubt
• Fleet maintenance issues

And underlying all of these, the uncertainty of what the economy holds in store for 2009…”Do I push forward, or pull back?” In subsequent issues, we will deal with each of these concerns, but for now I’d like to address the very last of them.

Collection Fleet O&M Costs
Fuel costs have had an enormous impact on fleet operations, but there are strong signs that while diesel costs may not return to 2007 levels, they are undergoing significant abatement with the possibility of stabilizing to an intermediate range for the next year or two.

Equipment maintenance—particularly of collection vehicles—was a topic of much discussion throughout the event, sparked by concerns over engine emissions systems performance.

Enough people with whom I spoke told of difficulties their vehicles were encountering with Tier III engines to make me wonder whether, here on the eve of Tier IV mandates, there ought to be more discussion on the subject.

As I understand it, collection vehicles are experiencing problems ranging from decreased performance and fuel mileage clear up to engine shutdown resulting from aftertreatment system overload brought about or at least exacerbated by start-stop operations that, unlike highway operations, do not allow proper purging.

When you consider the amount of money and effort the waste industry has expended trying to meet increasingly tougher emissions regulations, coupled with the difficulties in fielding reliable and cost-effective vehicles, it seems to me that it’s fair to question whether we’re on the right track or not.

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Once again I’m going to propose that every dollar carries with it an environmental burden related to the industry underlying its creation, and whether that amount is a tenth or a half of its face value—I tend to think that 20 cents of fuel equivalent is an appropriate estimate—it deserves to be factored into the overall environmental benefit equation.

Just how much money and effort is being expended to field and operate Tier III and Tier IV requirements is an open question, but one that deserves discussion. Does the subject concern you and would you like to see more discussion on it? Please e-mail me at mseditor@forester.net with your thoughts and experience.          

Author's Bio: John Trotti is the Editor of MSW Management magazine.