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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.25.24 Staff ReportJEFFERSON COUNTY, WA SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE JANUARY 25, 2023 STAFF REPORT Staffing At a workshop with the Board of County Commissioners on December 18, staff recommended closing the transfer station on all Saturdays in January owing to a shortage of equipment operators. An Operator from the Roads division volunteered to work two additional days per week for the month of January at the transfer station and the Operations Coordinator volunteered to revise his schedule to also work on Saturdays to avoid these closures. A newly hired Operator began training on January 2. Two additional newly hired Operators will begin training in early February. This will bring staffing to the necessary level. Solid Waste Education We had a very successful start to our “Sustainability Stars” waste reduction program by supplying businesses with fully compostable to-go containers to try out. We provided materials in Port Townsend (8 restaurants, 1 grocery store, and 4 misc. businesses and events – Boatyard BBQ, Jefferson Land Trust, United Earth Networks, and the Warming Center) and Chimacum (5 restaurants and the Grange). The program will begin in February by encouraging businesses to become a “Sustainability Star” by serving less single-use plastic. Articles in the Leader are planned for each month with Finnriver and the Port Townsend Food Co-op showcased as the first examples of businesses working hard on sustainability practices. A Food Summit will be held in March to bring those with surplus food together with those who serve those in need to create ways to divert edible food from landfill into the mouths of the food insecure. A meeting is in the works with staff from Jefferson County Public Works, City of Sequim, City of Port Angeles, and both Jefferson and Clallam County WSU Extension to discuss a coordinated effort to divert food waste from the landfill and increase food security on the North Olympic Peninsula. We are continuing our successful home composting workshops this spring. Laura will lead a composting class and staff a booth at the Home Show on March 4. Transfer Station Improvements Two new pieces of equipment – an excavator and a telehandler are being considered for purchase through the Equipment Rental and Repair (aka “Fleet”) program. The newly hired ER&R Manager will be helping to develop specifications and purchase this equipment. Transfer Station Replacement Planning Process Staff is currently reviewing the potential sites that made it through the initial siting criteria sieve and additional parcels not considered in the first review. We will be narrowing that list of 26 properties down to the best 3 candidate sites and will then bring these to the Solid Waste Facilities Task Force (SWFTF) for review and discussion. Closed Landfill Monitoring Aspect Consulting completed the last of 8 quarterly monitoring events which will fill any remaining data gaps and is presently working on a final report and recommendation on the monitoring program. We are confident that we can demonstrate landfill stability and that monitoring activities can end after +30 years. The report and recommendation will be submitted to the Jefferson County Department of Health which will then forward with their recommendation to the Department of Ecology.