Download
1 / 24
240 likes | 389 Views
Gate Fee Training Module. Welcome to the Gate Services Assistants (GSA’s) Training on the Disposal Reporting System (DRS). 05/2006. Overview of Disposal Reporting System (DRS). In the past, most trash was collected and hauled to landfills for disposal.
E N D
Gate Fee Training Module Welcome to the Gate Services Assistants (GSA’s) Training on the Disposal Reporting System (DRS). 05/2006
Overview of Disposal Reporting System (DRS) In the past, most trash was collected and hauled to landfills for disposal. As landfills began to fill up quickly and as land became more scarce and expensive, California found itself in the middle of a landfill crisis. As a result, the California State Legislature passed the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (aka AB 939). The goal was to reduce the amount of trash disposed to save landfill space.
The Law • AB 939 and other solid waste laws were passed to reduce the amount of waste landfilled • Legislation required each city and county to reduce the amount of waste it disposes by 50% by 2000 and annually thereafter • A city or county may be fined up to $10,000 a day for non-compliance
What Must Cities and Counties Do To Meet the Law? • The law requires each city and county to implement programs to focus first on reducing waste from its residents and businesses through reuse, recycling and composting, and then to plan for safe disposal of waste that cannot be recycled or composted. • Report to the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) on amount of waste reduced because of these programs.
What Must Cities and Counties Do To Meet the Law? continued As a result of disposal reduction legislation, California counties and its cities currently operate a combined total of over 4,500 recycling and composting programs and have established more than 2,500 waste prevention programs. These programs cover a wide range of activities, from drop-off recycling centers, such as the one shown here, to food waste and backyard composting, to providing incentives for businesses to purchase products with less packaging or products made with recycled content material. We are striving to maintain a 50% reduction in landfill disposal, which means half of generated waste is diverted away from being disposed at landfills through recycling, composting, reuse or some other waste diversion method.
We can also reduce our waste by recycling more bottles, cans, newspapers, cardboard and by composting our lawn and tree trimmings. All of these activities are called diversion because they divert things that normally would go to a landfill or transfer station to be disposed. If a city or county fails to do this, it may face a fine of up to $10,000 a day.
What Must Cities and Counties Do To Meet the Law? continued Riverside County currently has approximately 40 programs geared toward diverting waste from landfills (some examples below). To insure that diversion targets are met, each city must report annually to the CIWMB on their recycling and composting activities, and on how much they were able to divert from landfills. Used Oil Recycling Program Tire Amnesty Day RURAL HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION EVENTS
The Disposal Reporting System: Other Uses Disposal information in the DRS can also be used to help a city or county better understand how the waste from its community changes throughout the year, either with the season or other events that may occur. For instance, grass clippings and tree trimmings are higher during the spring and summer season, whereas, the holiday season results in higher amounts of paper, cardboard, and Christmas trees. This information can assist city and county officials in their planning efforts for recycling and composting programs. Disposal information can also show how waste travels into and out of a county’s boundaries. This allows county officials to better plan for the waste disposal needs of the community.
How Do We Know How Much Waste Is Diverted? To find out how much waste a city or county has diverted it must find out two things. 1. How much waste the city’s or county’s residents and businesses generate. 2. How much waste is disposed by its residents and businesses.
How Do We Know How Much Waste Is Diverted?continued AB 939 required cities and counties to conduct a waste generation study which provided detailed information on how much waste its residents, businesses, and industries produce. Scales at landfills, transfer stations, and waste-to-energy plants weigh and measure the waste coming in for disposal. Knowing these two things, a city or county can determine how much waste is diverted through its waste prevention and reuse, recycling, and composting activities, and thus report that information to the CIWMB to show their progress in meeting the law.
Scale Requirements Scales are required for landfills that: • 1. Take in more than 200 tons of trash a day AND • 2. Operate more than 52 days a year.
Waste Flow in California • Waste flow is complex and ever changing • Waste flows across county and state borders • Many cities and counties have been interested to learn how waste travels within and outside of its own boundaries. • When the Disposal Reporting System began, no one realized how complex and changing the flow of waste is in California.
This module focuses on Gate Service Assistants (GSA's) and their responsibilities according to the regulations for Disposal Reporting Systems (DRS).
Our Focus in the Gate Fee Program • Well-trained employees need to know not only what their jobs require them to do, but why. • This will enable employees and managers to work more efficiently and to be more effective in their DRS tasks. • This guide is used to aid in meeting the required training responsibilities.
Who is a Gate Services Assistant (GSA)? A gate services assistant is someone who accepts waste from residents and/or businesses to be disposed into a Riverside County solid waste landfill permitted by the CIWMB .
There are over 150 permitted solid waste landfills in California. As a GSA, you are responsible for meeting all the requirements for the Disposal Reporting System at all Riverside County facility sites. It is extremely important that Riverside County facilities record accurate origin information on where the waste is from (via the driver or directly from hauling company offices) because the entire Disposal Reporting System is based on that information.
How Do We Know How Much Waste Is Disposed? GSA's collect information from drivers. Waste loads are weighed and the GSA ask the driver for the name of the city or county the waste came from. All hauling companies for Riverside County may send information to the main office for every waste loads by electronic mail or some other method, rather than getting it from the driver. The information is reported to the DRS by Riverside County. Cities and counties use the disposal numbers reported in the DRS to calculate their recycling rates which is reported to the CIWMB. Based on this information, the CIWMB then decides whether a city or county is successful in meeting the law.
Waste Origin Waste origin is the most important element of the DRSfor cities and counties. It is used to show if they have met the 50 percent diversion rate. A waste origin survey is a method used to obtain information on where the waste came from. • Accurate origin information is vital. The GSA's, together with haulers, play a key role in obtaining the most accurate information possible. • the weight of each load using scales or by estimating the weight based on volume conversion factors.
Accurate Origin Information • The GSA's are responsible for asking where the waste is from. Making sure the most accurate origin information for each waste load is recorded. • Origin of the waste is where the waste came from and not where the driver is from zip codes cross city and county lines therefore they are not to be used when assigning where the waste came from. • Maps issued to GSA's may be helpful in determining which incorporated city or unincorporated county the waste is coming from. • GSA's must distinguish between city and county when referring to cities and counties that have the same name. • GSA's must verify that the city or county listed on the jurisdiction code on the receipt is correct.
Accurate Origin Information“continued” • Some cities and counties have the same name. It is important for GSA's to ask follow-up questions to insure that the recorded information is accurate. • For example,if the GSA asks where is the waste from and the driver says Moreno Valley, the GSA needs to follow-up by asking whether the waste is from the city of Moreno Valley or the unincorporated area.
Recording correct information on where the waste is from is critical. • Transfer station operators tally the information and use it to prepare a report to send to each facility waste has been sent to. These reports specify how much of the waste sent to each facility is from each city or county. • A summary report is prepared and sent to these facilities’ host counties. • Our main office staff receives the data and then tallies information from transfer stations and from loads delivered directly to the facility and uses it to prepare disposal reports. • The disposal reports include the amount of waste from each city or county unincorporated area, and is sent to the county each quarter. • The County, in turn, sends the disposal information to each city or county and to the CIWMB who adds it to the DRS database. This information is collected for all four quarters in the calendar year and made available to cities and counties to use in their annual report to the CIWMB to determine their diversion rate.
Disposal Reporting System (DRS) Requirements for Flat Rates • Conversion factors are needed for all: • Vehicle types, • Trailer types, and • Load types • Conversion factors must be based on average weights obtained during a minimum 7-day period conducted at least every 5 years. “The State minimum requirements”.
