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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-07-2011 - 5hORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 7, 2011 Action Agenda Item No. 5 - h SUBJECT: Acceptance of State Grants for Baler and Roll-off Containers to Haul Shin les DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Staff Grant Proposal to NC Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach Letter of Grant Award from NCDEAO INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Management Director, 968-2885 Michael Talbert, Interim Assistant Manager, 245-2153 PURPOSE: To accept a matching grant for $29,968 from the State of North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach (NCDEAO) to purchase a baler ($18,000) to improve recycling efficiency and to purchase three roll-off containers ($11,968) to haul tear-off roofing shingles to a recycling market. BACKGROUND: Orange County Solid Waste Management has applied for and been awarded a grant from NCDAEO for FY 2011-12 that has two distinct components. Part of the grant would finance acquisition of a more efficient, stronger semi-automated baler that will enable staff to more quickly and safely bale rigid plastics, computer plastics and perhaps other materials. This would replace the 37-year-old manual baler that is now leased from SONOCO, the buyer of the County's paper. The current baler is quite time-consuming and slow to operate. It has a relatively weak compressive ram, thus bales are lighter than they could be, requiring more frequent trips to market with lower payloads. Lightweight bales of rigid plastic cannot make the minimum weight required for overseas containers or even for efficient long haul trucking, thus limiting the County to one or perhaps two in-state markets. Funds for a replacement baler and related site improvements are included in the Manager's recommended FY 2011/12 budget. The proposed new baler will have an in-feed conveyer belt to carry material up to the mouth of baler, creating a much safer working environment than the current manually fed system. The new baler would also run automatically, eliminating the need for employees to spend time operating the machine manually. The greater strength makes denser bales more quickly with simpler, safer operation. The proposed new baler also has a shear that creates cleaner bales, eliminating the current problem of the baler jamming with excess material. 2 The estimated cost to purchase and install a new baler is $50,000. The NCDEAO grant is for $18,000 and the County's cost will be $32,000 including the 20% match. Funds are included in the FY 2011/12 recommended budget to replace the leased baler. The grant will reduce the County's costs by $18,000 and eliminate annual lease payments of $3,000 to SONOCO for the baler the County has used for the past twelve years. The estimated cost to purchase three roll-off containers and improve the site is estimated at $17,010. The NCDEAO grant is for $11,968 and the County's cost will be $5,042 including the 20% match. Funds included in the FY 2011/12 recommended budget to replace the leased baler will be available to pay the County match on the three roll-off containers. The grant will reduce the County's costs by $11,968 and enable Orange County to begin recycling tear-off shingles instead of land-filling them. Due to the uncertainty of when or if the shingle end user (a paving contractor) would obtain the required state permits, staff did not include the matching funds in the Department's FY 2011/12 budget request. Staff now understands that within the next two months the paving contractor is poised to obtain the permits and that the shingle recycling project might actually be able to proceed. If the permits are obtained, the Department would work with the County Manager and Financial Services Director to identify the necessary $5,042 in County funds including the required $2,632 in matching funds plus the $2,410 needed internally to make the associated site improvements. Staff estimates that the County now buries approximately 500 tons of shingles annually in the construction waste landfill. Asphalt paving plants can now use roofing shingles effectively in the hot mix asphalt to replace expensive asphalt cement, so there is now a very strong market for tear-off shingles. Staff projects potential diversion of at least half of the 500 tons the County now receives, plus perhaps up to another 1,400 tons of asphalt shingles per year. That estimate of additional tonnage is based on capturing half of the State-estimate of Orange County's pro- rata share of all tear-off shingles in the State. Actual tonnage would depend upon the current roof replacement rates and roofers' response to a proposed fifty percent reduction in the Construction and Demolition (C&D) landfill tipping fee for loads of `clean' shingles ($22/ton versus $44/ton). This diversion should increase the waste reduction rate, add to the region's economy and reduce oil consumed to make asphalt paving. Staff anticipates some loss in C&D revenue due to the recommendation to implement an incentive of a reduced (preferential) tipping fee for clean loads of shingles. Staff anticipates capturing increased shingle volume from roofers who now go elsewhere with their waste. Doubling the current volume could offset the expected lost revenue due to the lower incentive fee. Recent informal phone surveys of roofers have indicated a potential positive response to the prospect of lower fees. The shingles would be delivered to the contractor's paving plant in Chatham County using the new roll-off containers. The State grant provides $11,968 for roll-off containers and signage and the County overall funding for this project would be $5,042. An education and outreach campaign would be established to reach all roofing contractors doing business in Orange County to encourage participation. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for the County's 20% match is included in the recommended FY 2011/12 Annual Budget. The total for the County share of both projects is less than the amount budgeted for only replacing the baler, allowing for the unbudgeted shingle recycling grant match to be funded either from the remaining baler budget allocation or the old baler rental savings. A summary of the project cost breakdown is shown below: Project County Match Other County SUBTOTAL State Total Project for Grant funds required County Grant Cost for Project Funds Baler $3,600 $28,400 $32,000 $18,000 $50,000 Shingle $2,632 $2,410 $5,042 $11,968 $17,010 Rec clin Totals $6,232 $30,810 $37,042 $29,968 $67,010 RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board accept a grant for $29,968 from State of North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach (NCDEAO) to purchase a baler ($18,000) and to purchase three roll-off containers ($11,968). The County's share for these two purchases is included in Manager's FY 2011/12 Recommended Budget. The Manager further recommends that the Board establish a reduced tipping fee for loads of cleari tear-off asphalt shingles at 50% of the prevailing tipping fee for C&D to provide an incentive for more shingle recycling. Community Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant Prouosal Roofing Shingle Recycling Program and New Recycling Baler in Orange County NC Submitted by: Blair L. Pollock For: Orange County Solid Waste Management Department P.O. Box 17177 Chapel Hill NC 27516 (919) 968-2788 (919) 968-2900 bpollock(a,co.oran e.nc.us Submittal Date: March 18, 2011 The first step towards awarding grant funds is for your grant application to be slightly revised so that it contains a Project Time Line and Project Budget that aze formatted to match the requirements of our contracting system. I have taken the liberty of revising your proposal and updating these items. A copy of your revised proposal is attached to this email. The changes that I have made aze to the proposal that you initially submitted aze to adjust the budgets for Project A, Project B, and the Combined Budget in order to simplify and remove unnecessazy items, and to create a simplified Combined Project Timeline and insert this on page 4. Please review the revised proposal and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 5 Detailed Description of Proposed Grant Proiect There are two independent parts to this proposal labeled as project A for the shingle recycling rolloffs and project B for the horizontal .baler with in-feed conveyor. If funds are available for both, the County can provide matching funds, if its solid waste management budget is passed as submitted for FY 11-12. If funds are limited, our preference is to fund the shingle recycling rolloffs first as those would divert new materials. If the baler can be partially funded in addition to the shingle rolloff funding, the County would endeavor to provide all additional matching funds to enable us to purchase the baler as well as the rolloffs. If all funds can be provided for both projects requested, the County would match the request if its budget is passed as submitted. Proiect A. This Proiect is for collectin roofm shingles at the Orange County landfill for recyclm~ into paving material rather than landfillin~ them as is currentl done. The program will include using a set of 20 cubic yard roll-off containers to transport the segregated tear off shingles to those paving contractors that have been permitted by NC DENR to include tear off shingles in their hot mix. We will get the requisite landfill permit modifications. Roofers and builders will be offered a significantly reduced tipping fee of estimated between $20.00 to $30.00 per ton (final figure not yet determined) to deliver segregated roofing shingles, free ofnon-shingle material to the Orange County Landfill. Those shingles will be dumped by haulers and inspected and managed by landfill staff at the existing area of the landfill already used for source-separated construction materials that are prohibited from landfilling by County ordinance. Once shingles are loaded into the roll-off containers, they would be delivered by County truck to the nearest permitted roofing shingle recycling facility for a negotiated price. ST Wooten and Orange County are discussing possible arrangements, assuming ST Wooten receives their permits for facilities in both Chatham and Alamance Counties. They have stated they are pursuing those. Another potential market is the Greencycle facility in Durham if it is permitted. Wooten has agreed to pay hauling costs for clean material to their facilities. While roofing shingles will not be made a prohibited material under Orange County's Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance, the County believes that the lowered tipping fee will be an inducement to roofers to bring segregated shingles. This belief has been tentatively confirmed through several telephone interviews with area roofers who reacted positively to the ideas of a lowered tipping fee and recycling the shingles. One roofer contacted said that he would use the fact that shingles were to be recycled as a marketing tool specifically in this region. We project that the program may divert between 375 and 1,900 tons of shingles a year when fully implemented. This is based on two potential estimates of roofing shingles available: If 10% of current C&D landfill totals: are shingles then that is 750 tons out of 7,500 tons annually landfilled and we may capture one half of those at 375 tons and a high end estimate of 1,900 tons based on capturing about '/z of the state's estimate of prorated share of shingles generated in Orange County of 3,800 tons. That lowered tipping fee on the incoming shingles would result in a loss of revenue to the landfill, so we will also be marketing this lowered fee to other roofers who do not now use the Orange County landfill. The new tons would make the program fiscally sustainable. 2 6 Bulleted list showing project milestones and detailed implementation plan dates for Project A: o July 2011: Prepare and issue bid for roll-off containers. o August 2011: Award bid for containers and prepare area at landfill to receive shingles. Finalize arrangement with paving companies or others to accept shingles. o September 2011: Begin education, outreach and marketing with select roofers for pilot project. o October 2011: Receive roll off containers, begin accepting shingles from pilot project roofers. o November 2011: Continue pilot and conduct demonstration and/or training as necessary for area roofers to enable delivery of clean materials. o December 2011: Mass marketing program for all area roofers. o January 2012: Begin accepting tear off shingles from any roofer or repair company. o February 2012: Evaluate project and fine-tune. o March 2012: Continue project and present results at SWANA and/or CRA if appropriate. o June 30: 2012: Prepare and submit final report to state. • Grant Budeet for Proiect A State Grant Orange County Item Award Cash Match Project Total Three each 20 cubic yard Roll-Off containers for roofing shingles $ 11,968 $ 2,632 $14,600 Total $ 11,968 $2,632 $14,600 Project B: This proiect is to expand and improve efficienc in recyclable baling o eration Detailed Description of Project Orange County currently bales mixed paper and rigid [non- bottle) plastics, separately, at the recycling operations area at the Orange County landfill. To do this we use an Orange County-owned vertical baler and a leased horizontal baler. Neither of these machines is ideal for the materials we are handling. Considerable manual labor is required when baling, and the resultant bales, particularly the rigid plastics bales, are light and this limits the county's ability to market this material. To improve operational efficiency and safety, and to increase the options for marketing rigid plastics, Orange County proposes to purchase a horizontal baler and in-feed conveyor. This machine will be installed in the location currently occupied by the leased horizontal baler and the county-owned vertical baler. The horizontal baler will be returned to its owner, saving Orange County $3,000 each year, and the vertical baler will be modified and installed in our electronics recycling facility for baling computer plastics. 3 7 A new baler will create a safer work environment for employees. It will have an in-feed conveyor as opposed to the current process in which employees manually feed material down the mouth of the baler and then have to manually make and tie each bale, threading wire through the bales. Orange County anticipates that this new baler will save considerable money on labor, and may be able to market the rigid plastics for greater revenue due to heavier bale weight or at least make fewer trips to market, saving fuel. Bulleted list showing project milestones and general implementation dates (note: project must be complete in one year). o November 30, 2011 -Complete purchase, acquisition and installation of horizontal baler and associated facility improvements. Begin operations using new baler. NOTE: We plan not to have to bid this baler, as Alamance County recently purchased the same piece of equipment for about the same cost. o June 30, 2012 -Prepare and submit final report to State. Grant Budeet for Proiect B State Orange Co Grant Orange Co. Other Item Award Cash Match Contributions Project Total Horizontal Baler and in-feed conveyor $ 18,000 $ 3,600 $ 18,400 $ 40,000 Combined Proiect Timeline October 31, 2011- Purchase roll-offs and initiate asphalt shingle recycling program November 30, 2011- Purchase, install, and initiate processing using new horizontal baler June 30, 2012 -Prepare and submit grant final report to state Combined Grant Budeet for Proiect A and Proiect B Orange Orange Co. State Grant County Cash other Item Award Match contributions Project Total Three each 20 cubic yard Roll-Off containers for roofing shingles $ 11,968 $ 2,632 -- $14,600 Horizontal Baler and in-feed conveyor $18,000 $3,600 $18,400 $40,000 Total $ 29,968 $6,232 $18,400 $54,600 4 ~~ 8 NCDENR North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor Mr. Blair Pollock Orange County Solid Waste Management PO Box 17177 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Dear Mr. Pollock, Edythe McKinney Dee Freeman Director Secretary May 16, 2011 We are pleased to announce that the Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach has decided to award your Community Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant proposal for $29,968. If you are able to complete the project by June 30, 2012, then we will begin working soon to establish a grant contract between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Orange County, with a target start date 'of July 1, 2011 and an end-date of June 30, 2012. Please remember that we cannot reimburse any grant expenditure that is incurred before the grant contract start date. Please also note that grantees must make every attempt to finish their grant projects within the one year grant contract period. Contract time extensions are possible, but will only be allowed under extraordinary circumstances. Grantees who do not finish their projects by the original contract deadline risk forfeiting grant funds. If you have any questions about the grant award, please do not hesitate to contact me at 919-715-6528 or by rob.taylor(~ncdenr.gov. Congratulations on your successful grant proposal. Sincerely, Rob Taylor Local Government Assistance Team leader Community and Business Assistance Section Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach 1640 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1640 Toll Free Number: 877-623-6748 \ FAX: 919-715-74681 fnteme#: www.envhelp.org An Equa': ~ppcrtunity 1 AHitmaLwe Action Employer NorthCarolina ~i~tlll"~~~1~