Automated trash collection picking up steam
It seems that not a day goes by that a local government isn’t announcing a pilot program or full-blown shift to automated trash pickup. According to industry experts, thousands of cities nationwide have turned to automation.
Sometime in July 2009, for instance, the city of Burlington, Mass., may start automated trash pickup, with each household receiving a 64-gallon container as part of the conversion process. City trash trucks will be equipped with an automated arm that will pick up the barrels and dump their contents into the truck. The conversion plan hinges on approval by the city’s Board of Selectmen.
In Anchorage, Alaska, the city’s Solid Waste Services (SWS) department is in its fourth week of automated refuse collections, according to Brian Vanderwood, SWS general foreman.
“We have experienced challenges that are typical with the implementation of automated service,” Vanderwood told GovPro.com. “However, we firmly believe the benefits of greater efficiency, reduced worker injuries, improved neighborhood aesthetics and volume-based rate structures (PAYT) will overshadow any short-term issues that are consistent with change. The move to automated collections has allowed our department to incorporate curbside recycling and maintain rates that are reasonable.”
Regarding volume-based rate structures, the PAYT acronym stands for “pay as you throw.” In this arrangement, the amount customers pay is proportionate to their level of trash service. Most customers have chosen either a 48-gallon weekly service ($17.70/month) or 64-gallon weekly service ($24.65/month).
Jenny Evans, communications director in the Anchorage mayor’s office, sees relatively smooth sailing with the shift to an automated setup.
“We have had a few small kinks in the system as users change their habits and become accustomed to the new system,” Evans said. “The response from the public has been very positive.”
Anchorage city officials staged a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new automated collection services as well as demonstrations of the new automated trash and recycling trucks.
More than just buying new equipment
John Culbertson, vice president of Orlando, Fla.-based MidAtlantic Solid Waste (MSW) Consultants, told GovPro.com that communities should realize that automating trash collection is much more than just acquiring new vehicles.
“Buying automated trucks is just one of the steps of having a well-planned strategy to convert to an automated system,” Culbertson said. “As soon as you convert to automated collection, you are touching every customer and every resident in your city or county. Going automated is more than just buying new equipment – it is planning for a whole new way of doing business.”
Jurisdictions that are considering an automated trash collection system should do their homework “on how that system should be optimized, and what the implications are for how you do business with your customers,” Culbertson said.
Public purchasers may want to obtain some expert advice on the best equipment to use in their automated setup, beyond the specifications and input they get from their fleet and solid-waste administrators, Culbertson added.
“Automated trucks are a little bit different beasts than probably the traditional garbage trucks that they may have been used to purchasing for the past 20 years,” Culbertson told GovPro.com. “They are a little bit more complicated, and are more expensive, and because they are new technology, in my mind, it’s a lot to ask a procurement person to get too involved in that purchase without some help from somebody who knows a thing or two about trucks.
“Even experienced solid-waste fleet management personnel may not have been through the process of writing specifications, adapting preventive maintenance programs and verifying appropriate capital replacement plans for automated vehicles.”
Customer outreach is an important part of the conversion process, Culbertson noted.
“It’s absolutely critical, because automation changes the interaction between the city and its customer base,” he explained. “As soon as customers have to start dealing with capacities up to 96 gallons, that’s a big change in their expectations, so the outreach is really to inform and lay the groundwork and set some expectations of, ‘Hey, even though we are changing the way you are going to experience solid waste collection in your city, it’s going to be for the better.’”
Resources
Waste Age magazine (a Penton Media publication) recently conducted a survey of more than 200 public sanitation departments and private waste firms on the subject of automation. Increased route productivity and decreased workers’ compensation claims were cited as the most notable benefits of using automated collection technology for residential pickup. The biggest challenges included vehicle/tipper maintenance for users of semi-automated collection equipment, and accommodating bulk waste for users of full automation.
For more details on the Waste Age survey, click here.
Public administrators may want to consider joining the Solid Waste Association of North America’s (SWANA) Collection & Transfer Division. It’s one of eight technical divisions in SWANA. The division tackles issues such as route design, innovative technologies, health and safety, and contracting. Members can interact with other division members via a discussion forum. Go here for details.
MSW Consultants helps public- and private-sector solid-waste organizations intelligently evolve with the industry, meet administrative and financial needs, improve efficiency, establish effective contracts and apply best practices to their solid waste management systems. The firm has assisted cities and counties across the country to plan, pilot test, implement and optimize automated collection programs.
I wonder what people wil do
I wonder what people wil do with their Christmas trees?