GBB Presents: Client Facility Longevity Awards

In 2010, GBB celebrated 30 years in business. Since August 1980, GBB has provided consulting assistance to clients across the U.S. and internationally. As part of the celebration, we have selected a few locations where GBB has provided consulting services to its clients that have led, in part, to the sustainable operations of these systems for more than 20 years:

Springfield Resource Recovery Facility
Town of Agawam, MA

By the 1980s, the City of Springfield, MA, had to take action on its insufficient landfill capacity, and with GBB's assistance in helping to plan and procure a solution, in 1988 the Springfield modular combustion facility became a reality. Initially designed to process 360 tons of solid waste per day, the facility, with Enercon mass burning technology similar to that in Pittsfield, supplies reliable electricity to Western Massachusetts Electric Company. The facility currently processes approximately 408 tons of solid waste per day, producing about 9.4 MW of electricity. It receives solid waste from 16 communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut, processing between 123,000 and 131,400 tons of solid waste per year. The electricity production from solid waste offsets the purchase of approximately 10 million gallons of oil per year. Enercon's mass-burn, modular combustion technology has proven efficient and reliable.

View case study with an overview of the needs at the time implemented, the selected solution, current status of the facility, and GBB's specific role.

Pittsfield Resource Recovery Facility
Pittsfield, MA

As the first of its kind in 1979, this facility in Massachusetts addressed one of the most challenging issues faced by the City of Pittsfield at the time. With insufficient landfill capacity for the increasing need for solid waste disposal, the City decided that the best long-term solution should ultimately rely on Enercon Systems' mass burning technology. The system consisted of a modular waste-to-energy (WTE) plant designed to produce steam for sale to a nearby private business. With a capacity of processing 240 tons of solid waste per day, the facility started operating in 1981, and is currently owned and operated by Covanta Energy. After almost 30 years, it still operates 24/7, producing 68,000 pounds of steam per hour. The steam is sold to Crane & Co., Inc., which manufactures the paper on which U.S. currency is printed. The Pittsfield facility experienced community skepticism at first, but has proven that the Enercon technology is reliable and can meet environmental regulations. Moreover, this facility has helped to shape the WTE concept, opening the door to innovative and reliable technologies in the waste management field.

View case study with an overview of the needs at the time implemented, the selected solution, current status of the facility, and GBB's specific role.

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Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority Allocates $117.9M to Solid Waste Management Plan and Moves Forward with New Transfer Station/Baling Operation
GBB Assisted with Procurement of Construction, Operating Services, and Related Equipment

On February 18, 2011, the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (VIWMA) Board of Directors approved the 2011-2015 Capital Improvement Program, which allocates $117.9 million to implementing the Solid Waste Management Plan. A few months earlier, the VIWMA had issued a notice to proceed to Sanitas Partners V.I. for the contract to design, build, and operate a solid waste transfer station with baling system on St. Croix adjacent to the existing Anguilla Landfill. This will bring the Anguilla Landfill one step closer to closure after the new transfer station is fully operational.

GBB, as a subcontractor to the Maguire Group, Inc., assisted the VIWMA in the fast-tracked procurement that led to the contract. GBB's services included exploration of disposal options and costs during the three-year interim period before the new waste-to-energy project proposed to serve St. Croix is operational; scoping the transfer station needs and concept layout; researching selected development issues; preparing a questionnaire for potential contractors; briefing the Authority Board on the proposed project; drafting the request for proposals (RFP) to solicit potential proposers who could offer the needed services; conducting a pre-proposal conference; evaluating proposals and assisting with contract negotiations; and advising VIWMA throughout the process.

GBB also assisted with the related procurement of a portable shredder to be installed at the new transfer station.

"The shredder procurement was on a near-parallel track with the transfer station procurement, as the shredder system with ancillary equipment will be supplied and tested in the new transfer station by a separate contractor," noted Bob Brickner, GBB Executive Vice President, "This will require close coordination with Sanitas Partners V.I., which was charged with building and operating the transfer station and also providing and operating the baling and bale-wrapping equipment supplied through this procurement."

The portable shredding system will be used to process oversized bulky waste, certain construction waste and demolition debris, brush, and yard waste at the new transfer station. It will also be used at certain off-site locations.

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Speaker's Corner

"Future Business, Energy and Environmental Case for Recycling"

By Harvey Gershman

In November 2010, GBB President Harvey Gershman made a presentation entitled "Future Business, Energy and Environmental Case for Recycling" during the Association of Ohio Recyclers Conference held in Dublin, OH.

>> PDF of presentation

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