Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fees Increased At Regional Landfill

Tipping fees are going up at the Nashville landfill.

This means a higher cost to Nevada County as it is a member of the Upper Southwest Regional Solid Waste District which utilizes the landfill.

However, Nevada County got off easier than other counties, as the fees for class I went from $25 to $26 and tipping fees for class IV fill material jumped from $13 to $22 per ton. Nevada County has a class IV landfill and only takes class I materials to Nashville.

During a meeting of the Upper Southwest board of directors Friday, April 5, Joe Ball, director of the fill, said the situation hadn't changed for the landfill operation in the past two months.

He said the volume of refuse has dropped significantly, which means revenues have also gone down.

"We're taking steps to reduce the cost of operation," he said. "Most (of the reduction) is coming from payroll." Ball said three positions have been eliminated and $10,000 cut from the payroll expense. Some employees will get pay cuts and overtime will be reduced as much as possible.

Ball said by raising the class I fee to $26 and the class IV fees to $22, if the volume continues to come in at the current rate, it should bring the budget in line. However, the cuts will remain in effect as well.

"These are three of the lower volume months," he said of the year's first quarter. "The volume should increase over the rest of the year.

"But we've only been in operation for two years, so it's hard to gage."

Door-to-door collection by counties and the elimination of green box collection is what, Ball said, contributed to the reduced volume of garbage. Additionally, he said the 15-month long drought the area is suffering through has made a difference as well.

"Dry waste weighs less," he said. "It's not as heavy as wet waste."

Ball informed the board there are some expenses which cannot be cut. These include tests required by the state in order to remain in compliance.

However, he said these rate hikes should work if the volume remains the same. Ball said when the landfill raised the tipping fees last year the budget would have been all right if the volume had not dropped. "Our fees are based on tonnage," he said. "This (the rate increase) is the bare minimum (needed)."

Some of the board members raised questions as to why the garbage is not coming in on a scheduled basis. This, they reasoned, would make it easy to cut down on overtime pay.

Ball, however, said this is not possible because of the problems vehicles can have and holidays.

He informed the panel there is no way to schedule the flow of garbage to the landfill because of breakdowns.

Additionally, he said the landfill has to accept the trash when it comes in and get it processed.

"It would create a world of problems if we shut down at 3 p.m.," he said addressing a suggesting to close the gates earlier.

"Trash coming in is not the only problem," Ball continued. "We have to process the waste to remain in compliance. We're trying to provide a service for the counties. We can't regulate when they come in."

He said counties can't be required to make appointments to dump their garbage.

The landfill gets more than 50 trucks per day coming in to dump trash.

"We're working to try and eliminate what we can. We're trying to change the schedule to address the flow, but trucks have breakdowns," he said.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor was short and to the point. "It's a service we provide to the public," he said. "We've got to bite the bullet and pay it (the increased cost of tipping)."

Ball said if there is any way possible to lower the tipping fees in the future, he'll do it. But he reminded the panel the tipping fees are the landfill's main source of revenue.

While recycling generates some income, it's not enough to offset the current deficit the landfill has.

However, the board was told several things could affect whether or not the new tipping fees will cover the cost of operating the landfill.

Ball said people in rural areas can legally bury or burn their garbage and don't have to participate in the door- to-door pickup program. The new rates will go into effect April 16. This will give the counties involved time to notify their customers of the increased tipping fees.

The board also discussed the possibility of selling fuel pellets made of garbage to Georgia Pacific.

Ball said the district may not need to make the refuse into pellets, but may get away with simply pulverizing the trash for burning. This, he said, will save in the cost of operation.

However, GP will need up to 400 tons per day. The district, Ball said, produces about 250 tons of garbage per day. Of this, he said, only about 53 percent could be used for fuel.

Because of this, the volume of trash would have to be increased.

This could be done by joining forces with the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District. This district is comprised of Clark, Garland and Hot Spring counties.

They are interested in joining with the Upper Southwest because their contract with the Saline County landfill expires in about two years. At the end of their contract with Saline County the SWCRSWD will either have to pay considerably more in tipping fees, or find another location for their garbage.

Ball said GP should have a proposal ready in about 30 days on what it would pay. This could be $19 to $25 per ton of fuel. He said it would cost about $9 per ton to pelletize the refuse.

Additionally, GP would pay the district for hauling the fuel to its plant and taking the ash back to the landfill.

Ball said this plan could be in effect in 18 months, should the district's board approve and another source of garbage be found. The equipment for making fuel pellets would be $430,000 per machine, with three machines needed.

"There's a growing demand for this product," he said. "The market should be good. But this is a new industry and there will be some problems."