Winning Bidder for Huge 100m Tonne Landfill Contract in Arizona
Supervisors at the 100 million plus tonne landfill site in La Paz County, Arizona have voted unanimously to select Cleveland Tennessee based landfill management specialist, Santek Waste Services to enter into negotiations to become the County owned sites' new operator. According to the Board of Supervisors, the selection was approved after staff and consultants made the recommendation following a review of proposals from four solid waste management firms during a Request For Proposals (RFP) process which began back in the fall of 2012. The fully permitted, Subtitle D landfill has no daily tonnage limitations and can operate 24/7 if demand warrants. For the past 20 years, the Board said that the site has been safely and professionally operated under a Regional Solid Waste Facilities Operation Contract with Browning Ferris Industries, (BFI), now known as Allied Waste Services/Republic Services. The contract with Allied expires on November 30, 2013, which the Board said would provide both operators with ample time to transition. Goals The Supervisors explained that the goal of the RFP process was to identify the best fit for a private partner as the future operator at the landfill. The Board added that La Paz County wants to more fully promote the use of the Landfill by municipalities and industries seeking a willing host community with competitive disposal rates to create revenues and the potential for spin-off economic development and job creation opportunities. “Our vision for the landfill is to leverage the natural and engineered environmental control attributes with its cost effective operation to provide long-term, disposal options for municipalities who want to work with a cooperative governmental entity under a long-term relationship to benefit both entities,” commented the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, DL Wilson. Desert location with rail access The remote, desert landfill is located near Blythe, California and bordered by thousands of acres of federal and state property. The 640 acres site enjoys both rail and highway access to compete for the volumes of special waste and MSW generated from the California market. With a rail right-of-way to the site and service provided by BNSF and Rail America, the Board said that the landfill will accept unit trains and is expected to become a destination for waste from many parts of the country. Capitalising on rail access, the Supervisors said that La Paz County also plans to solicit waste conversion or renewable energy projects to attract additional waste streams for processing including tires, metals, liquids, mining waste and biofuel producers. Property for waste conversion projects is available at the landfill or sites at an industrial park located on the main rail line, four miles north of the landfill. The Board of Supervisors also voted to give staff and consultants approval to create teaming relationships with certain transport and logistics companies to support bringing waste to the site by rail, as well as to plan for the construction of a rail trans-load location that supports the operation with competitive, long-term transportation and disposal contracts. Read More VIDEO: CCAP Methane Reduction Program at Columbian Landfills The Center for Clean Air Policy and the Government of Canada have debuted a video showcasing a program to reduce methane emissions for landfill in Colombia, South America. Synthetic Grass EPDM Geomembrane Landfill Capping System Austin, Texas based LiteEarth has developed a synthetic grass EPDM geomembrane for use as an alternative landfill capping system. Landfill Cell Lined and Ready for Waste in Hertfordshire WALO UK, a specialist in hydraulic asphalt engineering, has completed the tenth cell at Biffa's Westmill Landfill site using dense asphaltic concrete.