Demolition of Old Nashville Thermal Waste-to-Energy Plant Completed
Overall Cost of Demolition Reduced by Used Equipment Auction Netting Metro Over $983,000

Fairfax, Virginia (January 11, 2005) - The 9-acre site of the former Nashville Thermal Transfer Corporation facility, situated along the downtown riverfront, is now available for new development after a successful innovative cost-effective demolition process managed by Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) of Fairfax, Virginia. The Thermal facility, which served as a waste-to-energy plant from 1974 through the Spring of 2002, has been replaced by a new fossil-fuel fired district energy generating plant (www.nashville.gov/des/), while the solid waste remaining after Metro Nashville’s new recycling programs is now transferred to out-of-County landfills.

One of the unique aspects of the “dismantling of Thermal” was an auction process of Thermal’s fixed and mobile equipment and parts stockpile. Over 150 auction transactions for the resale and reuse of used equipment brought over $983,000 to the Metro Nashville government, owner of the Thermal assets, reducing the overall net cost to demolish Thermal.

In GBB’s initial planning of December 2000, it was estimated that the total demolition cost would be $2.5 million, exclusive of contingencies and consultant costs. However, as of December 2004 and accounting for the five different contractor’s that were ultimately selected to be involved in the total process, the overall gross costs for dismantling the entire facility was approximately $1.1 million producing a total net cost of only $120,000 after accounting for the $983,000 proceeds from auctioning off equipment.

“Metro Nashville decided to approach the demolition project as an opportunity, not a means to an end,” noted GBB’s Senior Vice President Robert Brickner, “An opportunity to save money through the well-thought out integration of reuse, recycling and organized demolition techniques coordinated through demolition services procured through GBB, an experienced consulting firm familiar with the demolition industry. Too many cities have their local architects and engineering firms, who are experts in designing new buildings, also act as their demolition consultants. Nashville recognized that their project was not a cookie-cutter one, reached out for construction & demolition waste (C&D) expertise that sees the big picture, and Metro reaped the financial benefits.”

The entire project included the use of five different contractors managed by GBB. After the auction events, and contracting separately for asbestos abatement and underground storage tank removal, on April 19, 2004, the Nashville Thermal Transfer Corporation formally turned over what remained of the 30-year-old Thermal Waste-to-Energy plant to Anderson Excavating Company of Omaha, Nebraska, for complete dismantlement. The Anderson work included the late-July implosion of the large 200 feet concrete two-flue stack.

Considering all site-related work, GBB has calculated that 98.5%, by weight, of all the materials within the old waste-to-energy plant site were either salvaged for reuse, or processed for recycling including materials such as crushed concrete aggregate, crushed asphalt, metals, railroad ties and used equipment. New Metro Nashville public works construction projects were the strategic recipients of many of these recycled materials, saving the costs of buying virgin materials.

GBB is a national solid waste management consulting firm founded in 1980 that works on solid waste collection, processing, recycling and disposal issues, including construction waste and demolition debris projects at the local, state, and national levels for both the public and private sectors. GBB is a national leader in providing C&D waste management consulting, assisting clients in developing sound and cost-effective approaches to improve the handling, processing, recycling, and/or disposal of C&D waste materials. For more information on the firm and its products and services, visit www.gbbinc.com or call 1-800-573-5801.