Conferences

In July 2007, a new collection contract will kick in for the City of Allentown, PA, providing improved services, incentives for increased recycling, and a substantially lower rate increase than in surrounding municipalities. GBB assisted the City with strategic planning and the preparation of the Invitation for Bids (IFB), resulting in three competitive bids for the services. A five-year contract, with options to extend, was ultimately awarded to incumbent Waste Management of Kutztown. In addition to promoting increased recycling, the challenge for the City was to limit the impact on resident rates of rising collection prices due to the high cost of fuel, the increases in truck costs due in part to the new, low-emission engines and the increased federal regulation of truck drivers, and rising labor and insurance costs. Those have added to haulers' expenses in the years since Allentown and area municipalities last signed trash contracts.

The final result is a rate increase 50% to 70% lower than in surrounding municipalities that recently had contract renewals. Based on the budget approved by the City Council, residents of Allentown will see their annual solid waste bill increase 26%, from $228 to $287, while Easton, (16 miles to the northeast), and Bangor (30 miles to the northeast) saw increases of 60% and 100%, respectively.

''I'm pleased — it could have been a lot higher,'' said Betsy Levin, the City's Director of Community Development. “Frank Bernheisel of GBB was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in the City of Allentown’s collection contract bid revision process which resulted in a substantially lower increase than expected. He was also able to meet some very tight deadlines in our process. I highly recommend GBB.”

In order to minimize the cost increase but make other desired improvements, the City and GBB introduced changes to the current collection system as specified in the IFB, the most substantive being:

• Twice-a-week trash collection reduced to once-a-week with a limit on the size of the set-out;

• Promoting recycling by transitioning from a dual-stream paper and newspaper recycling collection to a single mixed-paper collection and by adding cardboard and paperboard;

• Initiating semi-automated cart collection of the expanded mixed paper;

• Residents restricted to 5 bags of trash per collection to reverse a three-year trend of rising trash volumes and reduce solid waste collection time and disposal costs;

• New vehicles, except for yard waste collection, required at start of contract to provide residents with state-of-the-art collection equipment;

• Delivery of recyclables to a City facility rather than directly to a remote Materials Recovery Facility, to reduce travel and waiting time; and

• Fee for collection of Freon-containing appliances.

Allentown, 60 miles north of Philadelphia, encompasses approximately 17 square miles and is Pennsylvania’s 3rd most populous City with an estimated 2005 population of 106,992, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As part of the 5-year agreement, the contractor will provide collection of municipal solid waste, recyclables, appliances and bulky scrap metal, and yard waste from approximately 36,600 households and 470 business/commercial establishments, and disposal of waste collected by the City. Disposal of the approximately 45,000 tons of MSW collected per year will also be the responsibility of the contractor.

Now that the City has successfully completed the collection procurement process, the next challenge will be to closely monitor its recycling rate and take appropriate proactive measures, as required, to ensure the reversal of the trend of rising trash volume.

Related Web Links:
>> City of Allentown - Bureau of Recycling and Solid Waste Website

Related Web Links:
>> Pictures of the Event and Duck Soup Rules

GBB assists many communities in procuring facilities and services that yield increased efficiency, reduce and stabilize costs and/or provide revenue enhancement, and substantially elevate waste diversion to reuse and recycling. Below are RFPs currently active by GBB clients:

City of Santa Monica, CA

• Solid Waste Transfer Design/Build and/or Services for recycling and disposal of residential, multi-family, and commercial materials
• Collection of Municipal and Commercial Solid Waste

>> Click here to view the RFPs

Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, CT

• Design, Upgrade, Retrofit, and Operation/Maintenance Services for the Stratford Intermediate Processing Center

>> Click here to view the RFP

In late 2006, GBB made public a study entitled “Orleans Parish Disaster Debris Demolition Plan” that was prepared for the Citizens Coalition, an ad hoc group that opposed the reopening of the Chef Menteur Landfill in New Orleans, LA. One of the study’s findings is that there is more than enough space at existing Metro New Orleans landfills to handle debris from Hurricane Katrina, rebutting previous arguments by supporters of the controversial disaster debris landfill operated by Waste Management of Louisiana.

The study, primarily authored by GBB, concludes that the remaining debris from Hurricane Katrina could easily be accommodated at two landfills on the west bank of the Mississippi River in nearby Jefferson Parish. The GBB report also says that state officials’ claims drastically underestimated available space at those locations. In addition to proving that new landfill capacity is not needed, GBB’s report highlights that the delays in moving debris out of New Orleans can be reduced by more rapidly processing the City-related permits that will be needed for the thousands of building demolitions expected over the next 18 months to two years.

The GBB study, as a proactive measure, lays out an alternative plan to speed up debris collection by creating interim transfer areas in nine of the City's 13 planning districts that contain the most damaged buildings. Smaller trucks would move debris from demolition sites to these interim transfer areas, which could be on concrete parking lots in abandoned strip malls. Much larger trucks would then move the material to landfills, possibly at night when traffic is reduced, resulting in fewer accidents and lower costs. 

Related Web Links:
>> GBB Experience - Construction Waste and Demolition Debris Recycling

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