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W USE of balers has enabled county to establish an efficient in an area that would otherwise be unsuitable. County Operates State-oflthe-Art Balefill

RON WEATHERMAN nessee, Georgia, Florida, and North per acre. “We needed to maximize the use Director of Solid , Carolina . of the lined landfill space,” Mashburn Iredell County, After visiting the various baling opera- said. And baling would allow the county Statesville, North Carolina tions and learning about their successes, to place the most waste per acre as com- a balefill operation became a viable op- pared with other compaction methods. HE Iredell County Solid Waste Facil- tion for the Iredell County Solid Waste Municipal Engineering calculated the ex- T ity in Statesville, North Carolina Facility. The amount of airspace savings pected life of Iredell County’s balefill to (near Charlotte), started as a conventional achieved by baling solid waste was the be between 30 and 40 years. landfill operation in 1979. But the facil- convincing factor for us. The few minor Go-Ahead Given ity began to run out of space and needed problems associated with baling, such as to move to a new site. At the same time, baler downtime, were overshadowed by After Iredell County gave the consul- costly Subtitle D mandates required the the overall benefits of a balefill. Accord- tant the go-ahead to design and oversee county to make more efficient use of the ing to Municipal Engineering, baling the the construction of the new solid waste sparsely available landfill space. solid waste before putting it into the balefill facility, the next step was to find The best choice for a new site was 169 ground achieves, on average, a 45 percent a high-quality, cost-effective solid waste acres of land nestled between Statesville higher compaction rate than conventional baler or, as it turned out, balers. Country Club and the Twin Oaks Golf compaction methods. The Iredell County A local yard, L. Gordon Iron Course; clearly no place for a dump. The team decided that a balefill would be the Works, recommended Harris balers, Iredell County Solid Waste Facility most economical, expandable, efficient, whose reputation we already knew. management team and county officids clean, and environmentally-friendly type Woodie introduced our team to Tom realized that we would have to come up of operation that could be constructed. Fahrland, a Harris distributor with Tri- with both an extremely clean and an ef- However, before the new solid waste State Process Equipment, Inc., of Mat- ficient operation. facility could be developed, county of- thews, North Carolina, who arranged a The concept of baling so!id waste was ficials needed to be convinced of the visit to the Harris manufacturing plant in discussed at Solid Waste Association of benefits of baling. Iredell County Mana- Cordele, Georgia. The plant was impres- North America meetings, and the Iredell ger Joel Mashburn, after meeting with sive and the construction of the balers County Solid Waste Facility management Jim Woodie and looking at various baler appeared to be very solid. After looking team wanted to explore this option fur- operations, was enthusiastic and suppor- at several other makes of balers and ther. We contacted Jim Woodie, owner tive of the balefill concept. “There is a inviting manufacturers to submit bids, of Municipal Engineering Services Com- tremendous problem in locating landfill Harris worked out to be the best option. pany, P.A. (Garner, North Carolina), space,” Mashburn said. “We needed to Municipal Engineering then coordi- which has been involved in the planning, find an option that would allow us to nated efforts with Tom Fahrland to get design, and construction of utilize our designated landfill for as many the proper equipment for the facility and facilities, balefills and for 16 years as possible.” eventually to get the balefill operation up years. Woodie guided our team through Furthermore, a Subtitle D-lined land- and running. Fahrland arranged for some baling operations in Virginia, Ten- fill was going to cost the county $160,000 installation of two HRB@-1052-BD

Reprinted from PUBLIC WORKS MAGAZINE, August 1994 balers [now designated the HRB-1045W contracts with a private recycling firm baler] and made sure that the balers were that picks up and processes the recycla- running smoothly and efficiently. bles. Although the two balers can bale Tri-State continues to handle the main- aluminum, cardboard, and other recycla- tenance of the balers and provides parts bles, at this point it is most cost-effective and field service. for the recyclables to go to another facil- The two balers produce 3000-lb solid- ity to be baled and then sold. Yet the pos- waste bales at 40 to 50 tons per hour and sibility of the county facility handling initially handled more than 300 tpd. Re- both solid waste and recyclable material Providing the full range of cently, the facility has increased its ton- still remains a future goal. engineering services! nage, and the balers are processing as The facility also has a designated area, away from public view, where tires are Water Facilities much as 450 tpd day. “We have been Treatment and distribution design, real pleased with the performance of the neatly stacked before they are ground and construction, and operation balers,” says Mashburn. transported to off-site facilities. Also, Storage facility inspection, design and “Although there was a significant up- wood waste is separated in the balefill, construction Rate analysis front investment in the balers,” says where a tub grinder creates efficient com- Computerized hydraulic analysis of area Mashburn, “our tipping fees are in line posting. water systems or less than some of the nearby counties So Far, So Good that don’t bale. I would recommend a Wastewater Facilities balefill operation to any county that needs So far, the Iredell County Solid Waste Pretreatment system design, construction, and operation to maximize the use of its lined landfill Facility management as well as the state Design, construction, and operation of space. ’ ’ and county officials and the county collection and treatment facilities Because Iredell County Solid Waste residents are pleased with the operation. Expert assistance in obtaining state Facility prides itself on being meticulously The county is running a true sanitary permits Infiltration and inflow analysis clean, and will not, for example, allow landfill that is clean and accessible to the Land application systems design, waste to clutter the floor of the baler public, as opposed to the conventional construction, and operation building or the grounds, “The operation landfill that the county had previously has been more labor intensive than we been operating. Solid (Subtitle D) had planned,” said Mashburn. “HOW- The $9.3-million solid waste facility Facilities planning, design and ever, the cost of the facility has fallen in exemplifies what many counties are construction, including , recycling, baling, and landfills line with our original predictions.” beginning to learn: space equates to Facility management consultation to aid Iredell County Solid Waste Facility dollars in solid waste management. Of compliance with regulations, minimize incorporates economical operational effi- course, a balefill is not the answer to the costs, and protect the environment total problem of waste management, but Waste stream management ciency with carefully engineered environ- mitigation and recovery mental safety. Upon entering the facility, it is light years ahead of a conventional commercial haulers first must weigh in at landfill. Surveys and Mapping the scale house, which features an energy- Listed below are overall benefits and Aerial photography controls efficient teller window and a computer- our own experience with a balefill opera- Boundary determination ized accounting system to handle the large tion versus a conventional landfill: Construction projects Construction stakeout volume of . The admin- Neater, more compact operation, Site plans istrative support personnel and myself which you can keep level at all times. Topographic mapping have offices in this building. Less wind-blown trash. Hydrographic surveys From the scale house, haulers go Cost of landfilling = approximately directly to the covered tipping area, which $270,00O/acre (to buy land, put waste in, Site Development Roadway design is designed with oversized bays to accom- plant vegetation, etc.). Cost of Iredell Site development modate all large commercial haulers. County Balefill = $160,00O/per acre. Structural design and construction Public and private traffic is separated for Expect to see a 30 to 40 percent sav- Route locations for roads and transmission safety, but access is easily combined at the ing by baling, due to density and compac- lines tipping floor. tion (airspace savings). Before baling, all material goes onto Will leave land in a usable state Environmental Storm water analysis the 136-ft by 145-ft tipping floor where (great benefit to our county). Hydrologic studies the waste is screened and hazardous items Compacting waste can be very dan- Environmental impact studies are removed. Recyclable material is sep- gerous and unsanitary-the operator is Historical and cultural resource studies arated out as it moves along the con- riding on a 70,000-lb compactor that has veyors that feed the balers. From a glass no suspension and is driving over un- Construction Management Observation of construction projects for enclosed control booth that overlooks the screened garbage, some of which could scheduling, specifications, cost estimates baling floor, the operation of the two be volatile. and cost control balers is easily monitored. Bales of solid Before baling, material goes onto the Value engineering oversight waste are then loaded on trucks by a tipping floor where hazardous items are Fast-track scheduling forklift and transported to the on-site, extracted (waste screening). 18-acre balefill. Bales of waste can be stacked safely Alternative Funding Certificates of Participation The area is lined with a 60-mil HDPE and neatly by a forklift. CDBG Grants membrane, placed on a two-ft cohesive Compaction of bales produces less Environmental Funding soil liner with a collection system leachate. also designed by Municipal Engineering. After six months of baling, Iredell Call us today at The Iredell County Solid Waste Facility County’s 1.5-MG leachate collection 1-800-278-6132 is a completely self-sufficient operation. pond is still clean. In addition to baling solid waste, the (If you are interested in touring the facility serves as a “recycling center” Iredell County Solid Waste Facility, where the public can drop off all recy- please call Ron Weatherman at clable material at no charge. The facility 704/878-5430.) 000