SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS IN SAN JUAN COUNTY

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WMI contract to be discussed today

posted 03/11/02
The Board of County Commissioners has moved its 1:30 p.m. March 12 worksession on the Waste Management Inc. contract to the Mullis Center. The contract will save the county money according to Solid Waste Manager Jon Shannon and will give the county flexibility in the management of solid waste. Opponents argue local jobs and the county's award-winning recycling program will be lost.

Proposed WMI contract
lacks exit clause

By Sharon Kivisto

posted 03/11/02
This article has been updated since first posted.
The 33-page proposed contract between the county and Waste Management Inc. contains a guarantee of tonnage per container, lacks an exit clause and does not mention a MRF. The 10-year 8½ month contract requires the county to enact an ordinance requiring all municipal solid waste (MSW) originating in the unincorporated areas of the county to be delivered to the transfer stations.

The BOCC will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 in the Mullis Center on Nash Street in Friday Harbor to decide whether to approve the contract. WMI staff and Steve DiJulio of Foster, Pepper and Shefelman, the Seattle lawyer hired by the county to negotiate the contract, will be present at the meeting. Public Works Director Tom Huse will not be in attendance. Huse has recommended the county switch to a materials recovery facility (MRF) to process recycling as a way to reduce cost.

The county will pay for a guaranteed tonnage of 19 tons per container for recycled materials and 22 tons per container for MSW under the terms of the proposed contract. The contract would supercede the existing contract the county has with WMI as part of an inter-local agreement with Island County. The current contract does include a guaranteed tonnage of 23 tons per container. The requirement has not been enforced by WMI. The MSW tonnage has averaged 23.5 tons per container from Orcas Island and 21.34 tons per container from San Juan Island.

BACKGROUND

Under the current system county residents separate recyclables and the county ships the materials to Lopez Island to be baled. The baled materials are sold if a market can be found or taken to a recycling facility.

Under a MRF proposal, residents would deposit all their recyclable material except glass into one container. (Glass is crushed and used in the county.) A company would be paid to haul the material to a MRF facility where the material would be sorted. The MRF sells the materials. The cost to the county of hauling is not reduced in relation to the price the MRF receives for the materials sold and the county does not receive any revenue from the sale of the materials. The market for recyclables is currently very low according to county staff.

Another option under consideration last year involved placing balers on Orcas and San Juan Islands. Doing so would cut costs by reducing the amount of material hauled between islands. In July 2001, Solid Waste Manager Jon Shannon estimated balers would cost $60,000 each. At the end of 2001, the cost estimate for the purchase and installation of two balers increased to $900,000.

List of stories about solid waste operations in San Juan County

Section 8.6 states:

Container weight: if the county fails to satisfy the annual average container weight guarantee as set forth in Section 7.4, the County shall pay to the Contractor before March 1 of the succeeding year, one payment for the difference ("DIF") between the amount the County would have paid if it had satisfied the annual average Container weight guarantee and the amount actually paid by the County, calculated as follows:

DIF =( (ACWG-ACWA) - 1) ) x T, where:

ACWG=Actual Average Container weight guarantee

ACWA = Actual annual average container weight calculated in accordance with Section 7.4

T = The total payments to the Contractor during the year

The initial tipping fee is set at $62.50 per ton for MSW and $27.45 per ton for RM. The county will pay all of the ferry and barge fees. The tipping fees will be adjusted annually by an amount equal to 75 percent of the annual consumer price index.

A list of acceptable reasons for additional increases in tipping fee charges includes the cost of barging if ferry service cannot be delivered in a timely manner, changes in taxes, uncontrollable circumstances and additional work.

During discussions of a MRF proposal, Solid Waste Advisory Committee members asked how the county would guarantee the RM was actually recycled. In a February press release to answer questions about the potential contract, Solid Waste Manager Jon Shannon wrote: The contract requires that all recyclable materials collected from San Juan County are actually recycled. Several Counties, including Snohomish and King, routinely monitor the recycling activities of Waste Management of Washington.

The contract does not mention a materials recovery facility per se. References to how the material will be disposed of show up in Article 1 - Recitals. The contract states:

1.1 The County desires environmentally sound solid waste transportation and disposal of solid waste. The County further desires environmentally sound and efficient transportation and processing of recyclable materials ("RM").

1.2 The County, following a competitive process, has selected the Contractor to provide tranportation and final disposal of solid waste, from the County's designated transfer stations to a landfill meeting state and federal standards for disposal; and, transportation and processing of RM, from the County's designated collection centers to markets for recycling.

The contract defines recycle as: transforming or remanufacturing of waste materials into usable or marketable materials for use other than landfill disposal or incineration.

During discussion of a possible switch to a MRF, county staff have said the change would be easily reversible if the county wanted to change back. The contract expires in Dec. 31, 2012. The county can terminate the contract only if:

1. Contractor breaches any of its representaions and warranties;



2. COntractor fails to comply with any Applicable Law pertaining to Transportation, Disposal or Processing services performed under this Contract; or



3. Contractor defaults in performance of any other material obligation of this Contract and fails to cure such default, or commence good faith efforts to cure such default, within thirty (30) days after receiving written notice thereof from the County.

Shannon said, "Because the County does not guarantee any minimum annual amount of MSW or RM under this contract any changes made to the operation of the system are in fact easily reversible. This contract gives San Juan County considerable flexibility in the management of these materials."

List of stories about solid waste operations in San Juan County