| ORGANIZATION: Solid Waste Services (SWS) is composed of two separate utilities. The Refuse Collections Utility provides refuse collection service to residential and commercial customers in the City of Anchorage Service Area. The Solid Waste Disposal Utility operates multiple transfer stations and a regional landfill providing affordable and environmentally responsible services for the entire Municipality. SWS is divided into four organizations. The organizations include Refuse Collections and Solid Waste Disposal, which are separate operating utilities, and Vehicle Maintenance and Administration, which are support organizations that fully charge out to Refuse Collections and Disposal Utilities.
The profile for both Refuse Collections Utility and Solid Waste Disposal are shown separately below:
REFUSE COLLECTIONS UTILITY
HISTORY: Refuse Collections Utility was originally owned by the former City of Anchorage. When the City and Borough merged in 1975 the Municipality of Anchorage became the new owner. Since at least 1952 there has been mandatory service for all residents who live in the Refuse Collections Utility service area.
SERVICE: Refuse Collections Utility serves the service area of the former City of Anchorage, which is approximately 20% of the population of the Municipality of Anchorage. The Refuse Collections Utility has three main types of collection vehicles. They are frontload, rearload, and sideload. The frontload vehicles are used to empty dumpsters and normally handle commercial or multifamily residential. Rearload vehicles service mainly can/bag residential and a few two-yard dumpsters. Sideload vehicles service residential can/bag only. Refuse Collections Utility services approximately 4,880 dumpsters per week, and 12,140 can/bag pickups per week. Refuse Collection Utility operates six dumpster routes per day M-F and two routes on Saturday, six sideload routes per day M-F, one rearload route per day M-F, and one-half rearload route on Saturday.
REGULATION: Refuse Collections Utility is regulated by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska as having the right to collect solid waste, but is not economically regulated.
Refuse Collections Utility, as a part of Solid Waste Services also has a seven member advisory commission. The members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the assembly. The commission normally meets monthly and when necessary holds special meetings. The advisory commission advises and makes recommendations to the administration and assembly on matters pertaining to the operating budget, capital budget, rules, regulations, and administrative guidelines for the Refuse Collections Utility.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANDATES: Although there are no specific state or federally mandated regulations for Refuse Collections there are a number of federal and state mandated regulations that the Refuse Collections Utility must comply with. These regulations include but are not limited to the Federal Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act and OSHA. These regulations have and will continue to have an economic and operational impact on Refuse Collections Utility.
PHYSICAL PLANT:
Specialized truck fleet
* 8 frontload trucks for dumpster collection
* 2 rearload trucks for curbside pickup and small dumpsters
* 8 sideload trucks for curbside pickup only
The Refuse Collections Utility owns a 27,000 square foot warm storage building that houses vehicle maintenance and Solid Waste Services's Administrative offices.
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
HISTORY: The Municipal landfill at Merrill Field was closed during 1987 following approximately 50 years of usage. This brings the total of closed, official landfill sites within the Municipality of Anchorage to five. The Anchorage Regional Landfill (ARL), an award winning "state-of-the-art" fully lined modern landfill, was built in 1987 and is the only operating landfill in MOA.
SERVICE: The ARL services the entire MOA. These services include the disposal of solid waste and collection of household hazardous waste. Normal solid waste is received at any of the four transfer stations located within MOA. The waste is then transported by the Disposal Utility to ARL for final disposal.
ARL has a total land area of approximately 275 acres and is being developed in phases called cells. Currently 6 out of a total of 12 base cells have been constructed. ARL is projected to have a total capacity in excess of 42.3 million cubic yards. It is estimated that ARL will reach full capacity in the year 2043. In 1999, 341,017 tons were deposited in ARL.
Solid Waste Disposal Utility also operates four transfer stations. They are located at Girdwood, Midtown Anchorage (CTS), next to Fort Richardson, and ARL. They allow Solid Waste Disposal Utility to restrict access to the face of the landfill. CTS, by far, receives the largest amount of solid waste, having received over 235,993 tons in 1999. CTS has a total capacity of 1,600 tons per day. The Solid Waste Disposal Utility operates a fleet of 20 transfer tractor and trailers that transport the solid waste from CTS. The trailers have a capacity of 120 cubic yards each.
Household hazardous waste can be dropped off at CTS or the Hazardous Waste Facility located at ARL. The hazardous waste is then handled by a contractor who puts the hazardous waste in proper containers and safely ships the containers out of state to federally approved hazardous waste disposal sites. In March 1999 a new program that allows citizens to take good, usable hazardous materials from the facility at no cost, was successfully implemented.
Solid Waste Disposal Utility had a 6,000 square foot household hazardous waste collection facility built in 1989. The facility located at ARL is operated by a private contractor. In 1990 the facility collected the same amount of hazardous waste as the city of San Francisco, which has approximately three times the population. In 1992 the facility was the only Hazardous Waste facility in North America to receive Solid Waste Association of North America's "System Excellence" award. Through 1999 the facility has collected a total of 10.147 million pounds of hazardous waste that otherwise may have been improperly disposed of in the landfill, storm drain system or people's backyards.
REGULATION: The Solid Waste Disposal Utility is not economically regulated by any non-municipal agencies. However the Disposal Utility operates under numerous permits and many EPA regulations. ARL is operated under a permit issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. This permit must be renewed every five years. The Disposal Utility operates under two permits from AWWU for industrial water discharge. ARL has permits from the US Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for bird predation. ARL construction and certain operations must comply with the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) subtitle D.
The Disposal Utility, as a part of Solid Waste Services, also has a seven member advisory commission. The members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the assembly. The commission normally meets monthly and when necessary holds special meetings. The advisory commission advises and makes recommendations to the administration and assembly on matters pertaining to the operating budget, capital budget, rules, regulations, and administrative guidelines for the Disposal Utility.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANDATES: The Disposal Utility must operate under and comply with numerous environmental mandates. These mandates have a significant economic impact on the cost of operations and construction for the Disposal Utility. The main environmental mandates that have a significant impact on the Disposal Utility are RCRA subtitle D, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, SARA Title 3, NESAP (asbestos), and NPDES (storm water discharge). It is projected that in the future the environmental mandates regarding operating and constructing a landfill will become even more stringent.
PHYSICAL PLANT:
Anchorage Regional Landfill
* 275 acres, estimated to last until the year 2043
* 43 million cubic yard capacity
* Phased construction of cells lasting four to five years each
* Currently have constructed six of the twelve base cells
* Located on municipal land
* Scalehouse and 22,000 square foot shop and storage facility
* Heavy equipment fleet: dozers, loaders, dump trucks, boom truck, water truck, leachate
truck, tankers, lube trucks, grader and compactors
* Two leachate storage, treatment lagoons with a 2.9 million gallon capacity
Four transfer stations provide intermediate disposal, easy access for public
* Girdwood, Central, Ft. Richardson and ARL
* 20 transfer tractor and trailers haul from stations to landfill
Hazardous waste management
* 6000 sq. ft collection facility for household hazardous waste
* Opened in 1989, operated by private contractor
* Received the only "System Excellence Award" in North America from the Solid Waste
Association of North America in 1992.
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