Draft Cobb County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan Prepared for the Cobb County Board of Commissioners Completed in Year 2007 for a 10-year Planning Period (2009-2019) Prepared by: . COBB COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Samuel S. Olens, Chairman Helen Goreham Tim Lee Joe L. Thompson Annette Kesting COUNTY MANAGER David Hankerson TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms and Abbreviations __________________________________________ TC-10 Executive Summary __________________________________________________ ES-1 Introduction _______________________________________________________ ES-1 Overall Approach __________________________________________________ ES-1 Assesment of Existing Waste Reduction Programs ________________________ ES-2 Long-Range Planning _______________________________________________ ES-3 Implementation Strategy Overview _____________________________________ ES-4 Section 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Cobb County Solid Waste Division _________________________________ 1-1 1.2 History ________________________________________________________ 1-2 1.3 Cobb County Solid Waste Ordinance _______________________________ 1-3 1.4 The SWMP Planning Area ________________________________________ 1-4 1.5 Planning Period _________________________________________________ 1-5 1.6 Base Line ______________________________________________________ 1-5 1.7 Population and Households _______________________________________ 1-6 1.8 Unique Features of Cobb County __________________________________ 1-9 1.9 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan Organization ___________ 1-9 1.10 Contact Information ____________________________________________ 1-10 Section 2 WASTE DISPOSAL STREAM ANALYSIS 2.1 Planning Element – Waste Disposal Stream Analysis __________________ 2-1 2.2 Waste Stream Composition _______________________________________ 2-1 2.2.1 Waste Stream Study _________________________________________ 2-1 2.2.2 ARC Waste Composition _____________________________________ 2-2 2.3 Cobb County Waste Disposal Stream Analysis _______________________ 2-5 2.3.1 Base Line Data _____________________________________________ 2-5 2.3.2 Waste Disposal Stream Analysis Computer Modeling ______________ 2-7 2.3.3 Limitations of Cobb SWMP Computer Analysis Model _____________ 2-8 2.4 Waste Stream Generation Projections _____________________________ 2-10 2.4.1 Unincorporated Cobb County Solid Waste Disposal Rate __________ 2-10 2.4.2 Georgia Solid Waste Disposal Rate ____________________________ 2-12 Page TC-1 y TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Section 3 WASTE REDUCTION ELEMENT 3.1 Core Planning Element 1 – Waste Reduction _________________________ 3-1 3.2 Waste Reduction ________________________________________________ 3-1 3.3 Cobb County’s Success in Reducing Waste __________________________ 3-3 3.4 Inventory and Assessment of Waste Reduction _______________________ 3-4 3.4.1 Georgia P2AD Program ______________________________________ 3-4 3.4.2 Cobb County Composting Facility _____________________________ 3-4 3.4.3 Cobb County Vegetative Waste Recovery Center __________________ 3-7 3.4.4 Residential Curbside Recycling Service ________________________ 3-10 3.4.5 Electronics Recycling Day ___________________________________ 3-10 3.4.6 Electronics Recycling Station ________________________________ 3-11 3.4.7 Bring One for the Chipper ___________________________________ 3-11 3.4.8 Teacher Supply Storehouse __________________________________ 3-12 3.4.9 Cobb Transfer Station Recycling ______________________________ 3-12 3.4.10 Cobb County Metal Recycling ________________________________ 3-15 3.5 Waste Reduction Needs and Goals_________________________________ 3-15 3.5.1 Expanded Transfer Station Recycling (Enhancement) _____________ 3-16 3.5.2 Expanded Vegetative Waste Recovery Center (Enhancement) _______ 3-16 3.5.3 Customer Convenience Centers (New) _________________________ 3-17 3.5.4 Bio-Diesel (New) __________________________________________ 3-17 Section 4 WASTE COLLECTION ELEMENT 4.1 Core Planning Element 2 – Waste Collection _________________________ 4-1 4.2 Cobb County Solid Waste Ordinance _______________________________ 4-1 4.3 Inventory and Assessment of Existing Waste Collection ________________ 4-5 4.3.1 Residential Curbside Waste Collection __________________________ 4-5 4.3.2 Commercial Waste Collection _________________________________ 4-7 4.3.3 Residential Curbside Recycling Collection _______________________ 4-8 4.3.4 Curbside Collection of Vegetative Waste ________________________ 4-8 4.4 Needs and Goals in Waste Collection _______________________________ 4-9 4.4.1 Negotiated Community Waste Collection ________________________ 4-9 Page TC-2 y TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Section 5 WASTE DISPOSAL ELEMENT 5.1 Core Planning Element 3 – Waste Disposal Element ___________________ 5-1 5.2 Solid Waste Disposal Practices _____________________________________ 5-1 5.3 Inventory of Solid Waste Disposal Practices __________________________ 5-3 5.3.1 Cobb County Landfills _______________________________________ 5-3 5.3.2 Solid Waste Transfer Station __________________________________ 5-5 5.3.3 Thermal Treatment Technologies ______________________________ 5-6 5.4 Disposal Fees ___________________________________________________ 5-6 5.5 Assurance of 10-Year Disposal Capacity _____________________________ 5-7 5.6 Waste Disposal Contingency Strategy _______________________________ 5-8 5.7 Needs and Goals in Waste Disposal _________________________________ 5-8 5.7.1 Cobb County Transfer Station Renovation and Improvements ________ 5-8 Section 6 LAND LIMITATION ELEMENT 6.1 Core Planning Element 4 – Land Limitation _________________________ 6-1 6.2 Siting Limitations for Solid Waste Handling Facilities _________________ 6-1 6.3 Natural Environmental Limitations On Siting ________________________ 6-2 6.3.1 Water Supply Watersheds ____________________________________ 6-2 6.3.2 Groundwater Recharge Areas _________________________________ 6-4 6.3.3 Wetlands _________________________________________________ 6-7 6.3.4 River Corridors ___________________________________________ 6-10 6.3.5 Protected Mountains _______________________________________ 6-12 6.3.6 Flood Plains ______________________________________________ 6-13 6.3.7 Fault Areas _______________________________________________ 6-16 6.3.8 Seimic Impact Zones _______________________________________ 6-17 6.3.9 Unstable Areas ____________________________________________ 6-18 6.4 Land Use Limitations On Siting ___________________________________ 6-19 6.4.1 Zoning __________________________________________________ 6-19 6.4.2 Airport Safety_____________________________________________ 6-23 6.4.3 National Historic Sites ______________________________________ 6-25 6.4.4 Archeological Sites ________________________________________ 6-26 6.4.5 Parks and Recreation _______________________________________ 6-27 6.4.6 Other Regulatory Siting Requirements _________________________ 6-29 Page TC-3 y TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 6.5 Required Applicant Actions Relating to Siting _______________________ 6-30 6.6 Consistency With SWMP ________________________________________ 6-30 6.7 Needs and Goals in Land Limitations ______________________________ 6-33 Section 7 EDUCATION AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ELEMENT 7.1 Core Planning Element 5 – Education and Public Involvement __________ 7-1 7.2 Cobb County’s Keep Cobb Beautiful _______________________________ 7-1 7.2.1 Keep Cobb Beautiful Board ___________________________________ 7-2 7.3 Inventory and Assessment of Existing Education and Public Involvement ______________________________________________ 7-3 7.4 Recycling and Waste Reduction Programs ___________________________ 7-4 7.4.1 Electronics Recycling Day ____________________________________ 7-4 7.4.2 Electronics Recycling Station _________________________________ 7-6 7.4.3 Cobb County Transfer Station Recycling ________________________ 7-6 7.4.4 Cobb County Composting Facility _____________________________ 7-7 7.4.5 Bring One for the Chipper ____________________________________ 7-7 7.4.6 Teacher Supply Storehouse ___________________________________ 7-7 7.5 Litter Prevention, Beautification and Community Improvement Programs ________________________________________________ 7-8 7.5.1 Adopt-a-Mile ______________________________________________ 7-8 7.5.2 Coming Clean in Cobb _______________________________________ 7-9 7.5.3 The Litter Line ____________________________________________ 7-10 7.5.4 Rivers Alive Program ______________________________________ 7-11 7.5.5 KCB Education Video ______________________________________ 7-11 7.5.6 Earth Fair ________________________________________________ 7-11 7.5.7 America Recycles Day ______________________________________ 7-12 7.5.8 Cobb Trees _______________________________________________ 7-12 7.5.9 Earth Day Programs ________________________________________ 7-13 7.6 Community Involvement and Leveraging Resources _________________ 7-13 7.7 Media/Public Awareness _________________________________________ 7-14 7.8 Recognition Programs ___________________________________________ 7-15 Page TC-4 y TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 7.9 Needs and Goals in Education and Public Involvement _______________ 7-15 7.9.1 Schools (Enhancement) _____________________________________ 7-16 7.9.2 Adopt-a-Mile (Enhancement) ________________________________ 7-16 7.9.3 Recycling (Enhancement) ___________________________________ 7-16 7.9.4 Environemental Court (New) _________________________________ 7-16 7.9.5 Customer Convenience Centers (New)