|
SSRC MSW Manager Breakfast Forum Minutes 3/9/2005, 9:00 am, Hanover Town Hall accepted 5/11/05 Present: Abington: Michelle Roberts*; Cohasset: Merle Brown*; Hanover: Victor Diniak*, Steve Herrmann*; Norwell: Joanne Dirk*, Pattie Hainer; Rockland: Rudy Childs*; Rosemary Nolan, MA DEP; Sidi Mateo, Onyx Environmental; Steve Schneider, Letourneau Products; Michael Bleakie, Lion’s Head Organics; Claire Sullivan, SSRC Executive Director *appointed Board members Chairman Merle Brown called the meeting to order at 9:22. Steve Schneider of Letourneau Products introduced himself and his company to the Board. Letourneau is the newly awarded contractor for medium and high volume grinding services. It is a family owned business that has provided grinding services since 1994. They have a tub grinder on tracks for medium volume grinding, and a horizontal grinder on wheels for high volume. Their loader is an excavator with a thumb and 2.5 CY bucket, so it can pick up more than the 2.5 CY stated on the bid form. The equipment operators have been with the company for ten years. Having manageable brush piles free from rocks and steel saves time and money. He provided photos of the equipment, and said they have 100 CY trailers available. Michael Bleakie of Lion’s Head Organics introduced himself and his company, which is the newly awarded compost screening contractor. In business since 1991, he recommended annual screening, and that compost piles be turned 3-4 times/ year for the best product. New material should be kept separate from more mature compost to maximize the output of finished compost in the screening process. Residuals should also be kept in a separate pile for later screening. Chairman Brown indicated that Cohasset had a good relationship with lion’s Head, and recommended that landscapers be permitted to put grass in the piles to improve production and quality of compost. Ms. Sullivan distributed a corrected first page of the screening contract, which had an error in the original. Minutes: Chairman Brown noted that suggestion to define acronyms was his, and should be included in a legend. Mr. Herrmann moved that the 2/9/05 minutes be accepted as amended, Ms. Roberts seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Treasurer’s Report: Ms. Dirk reported that the balance as of 2/15/05 was a healthy $47,125.87 New Board Representatives: Ms. Dirk introduced Pattie Hainer of the Norwell Recycling Committee, Norwell’s second Board representative to the SSRC. E-Waste Processing RFP: The Exec. Dir. distributed and 8 page RFP for electronic waste collection and asked the Board to review and get back to her with comments by next week. She also sent drafts to two vendors for comment. Mr. Brown recommended that she also ask Town Counsel Paul DeRensis to check it. Mr. Herrmann thought it looked good. Legislative Breakfast – Environmental Hero?: The Exec. Dir. provided some information about our local legislators’ committee positions and support of bills and budget items of concern to us. After discussion, Ms. Roberts moved that the SSRC award Rep. Teahan the Environmental Hero award at our 4/22 Legislative Breakfast. Mr. Herrmann seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Board asked the Exec. Dir. to invite DEP officials to the event. Executive Director’s Report: Mercury Trainings – SEMASS has scheduled two mercury trainings by HAZMATEAM, one for Tuesday, March 29 at the Rockland Town Hall, the other at the Cohasset Recycling Transfer Station. Both will run from 10-noon. Dan Peters will send out letters. All staff who handle mercury products should attend. These events are a benefit of the Material Separation Plan (MSP). Bourne, SEMASS proposals – Rockland and Marshfield are exploring disposal options, as their contracts expire this June. Bourne and SEMASS both submitted proposals to Rockland, SEMASS for $83.75/ton, Bourne for $80. Competition is good. Marshfield is doing an RFP. It was pointed out that BFI operates a landfill in Taunton. If it is available for MSW, the Exec. Dir. was unaware of it. Revenue sharing in recycling contracts – Paper, cardboard and some source separated bottles and cans have sufficient value to warrant profit sharing. Exec. Dir. distributed contract language she got at MassRecycle’s contracting workshop that requires revenue sharing when baled pricing exceeds $30/ton. Towns negotiating or bidding curbside contracts should consider including it. Ms. Nolan is working on a curbside RFP for Marshfield. Norwell is also bidding, but did not request assistance. The Exec. Dir. noted that Marshfield is hiring a half time recycling coordinator, and encouraged other towns to consider the same. The Marshfield Coordinator may be looking for more hours. She will be invited to the May meeting. Media Blitz grant scope– submitting a contract scope to DEP for ads on 3 topics: waste bans, hazardous product management, and composting. Rosemary Nolan will be helping with cable broadcasts and other supporting programs. Board debated relative merits of doing 3 paid ads in all the weekly local papers vs. doing a colored insert in the two regional papers (Enterprise and Ledger). Ms. Roberts moved that we do three separate ads in the local weeklies as proposed, Mr. Childs seconded, passed unanimously. Exec. Dir. will request funding for inserts through the MSP in the fall. Exec. Dir. requested donations of compost bins for prizes to offer on live radio shows; Cohasset, Norwell, Abington and Marshfield offered bins. New Business: Whitman’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee voted to present a PAYT recommendation that includes one barrel a week in the base fee to the BOS at a public meeting on March 29. Abington’s PAYT proposal will not be considered this year. Next mtgs: April 22, brief meeting during / after Legislative breakfast, Cameron’s on the Green; May 11, Norwell Town Hall; June 8, Cohasset Town Hall. Meeting adjourned at 11:06. Respectfully submitted,
Claire L. Sullivan, Executive Director Legend: CY = cubic yard E-Waste = electronic waste RFP = request for proposals MSP = Material Separation Plan MSW = municipal solid waste BOS = Board of Selectmen PAYT = Pay as you throw
|