Waste Management Winston Salem

The City of Asheboro was spending $750, 000 – $1, 000, 000 on an annual basis to collect, haul, and dispose of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). In an effort to manage the continued escalation of this cost, and hopefully achieve some cost reduction, the City of Asheboro commissioned Cavanaugh & Associates, P.A. to evaluate alternatives and opportunities for solid waste management. This report describes the recommendations derived upon completion of the evaluation of the City’s current practices to reduce costs and increase revenues associated with solid waste management.

Located in the heart of North Carolina, Asheboro is home to rich economic, natural and cultural resources. Our “come as you are” attitude invites you to jump in and become part of the community – whether you’re here for an afternoon or a lifetime. With a population of approximately 25, 000, Asheboro is the largest city in Randolph County and is part of the Piedmont Triad, an area that includes Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem.

The City of Asheboro was spending $750, 000 – $1, 000, 000 on an annual basis to collect, haul, and dispose of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). This expense represents a large portion of the Town’s operations, and with the threat of rising fuel costs and tipping fees, the City desired a plan to more cost-effectively manage its solid waste through innovative approaches. Alternately, the City would be forced to pass along increased costs to its citizens for solid waste management, and potentially reduce the extent of service offered.

The City of Asheboro commissioned Cavanaugh to evaluate alternatives and opportunities for solid waste management, and present its findings and recommendations to the City as a Feasibility Study report. Cavanaugh’s efforts provided strategies to help the City of Asheboro more cost-effectively manage its solid waste, and provided recommendations for implementing alternate revenue enhancements that derive value from a portion of the wastes they manage. After review of the existing practices for collection municipal solid waste (MSW), recycling, and solid waste disposal, the following conclusions were surmised:

• The Department of Sanitation has implemented strategies to increase revenue by selling the recyclables and reducing costs through reduced tipping fees (tonnage reduction) by the same. The City is selling the separate recycle streams obtained from its Drop Sites to various materials handlers at market rates. The City recently purchased a former contract hauler’s equipment, thus reducing the hauling costs through elimination of the transportation taxes on the fuel used by the contract hauler. The City also now maintains the truck fleet in-house, which allows the City to avoid paying the higher fees associated with commercial repair shops.
• An opportunity exists for the City of Asheboro to upgrade its current Anaerobic Digesters at the WWTP to produce more biogas. This biogas can be used to make energy consumed at the WWTP, reducing electrical costs for the City. This could be accomplished by using additional equipment for shredding and size reduction of the organic portion of the MSW, then feeding these organics into the existing Anaerobic Digesters at the WWTP, which are operating at less than 50% capacity. These biodegradable organic solid wastes would include food waste from restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, and public schools. A potential also exists to expand the City’s existing curbside recycling program to include an additional container for waste organics.
• A Composting Facility for disposal of yard wastes and anaerobically digested sludge from the wastewater treatment plant will result in reduced cost of disposal of both. The cost of landfilling the yard wastes and the organic waste will be significantly reduced, and the increased Biogas produced can be used to generate even more electricity at the WWTP.

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