SWDC meeting minutes
*DRAFT* SWDC Meeting Minutes - 05/23/2022
1) Meeting called to order at 5:40 pm.
2) Present - Jeff Burns, Dave Swanay, Jen Holt,
Shauna Goutier (Transfer Station manager)
Absent- Andy Sanborn
3) SWDC/BOS Updates - Jen reported that she went before the BOS to request that Andy attend the NRRA conference, and it was approved. The BOS has asked SWDC to increase their education budget line item to cover the costs for next year's NRRA conference. The committee discussed the amount the line item should be increased to and agreed on $300.00, to allow the flexibility of sending 2 members to attend the conference. Andy sent Jen a copy of an email that he sent to the NRRA event organizer requesting a refund to the town of Sanbornton for his admission. Andy was unable to access the source separation workshop as it was not made available on live stream.
4) NRRA Conference report - Shauna was able to network with other transfer station managers which was helpful. Fairbanks Scale will be coming to the T.S. on 5/24/2022 to provide an estimate of the cost for a scale for C&D. This estimate will be for the scale only, and not include sitework or electrical costs. Shauna stated some of the challenges regarding the scale are; finding the ideal location at the T.S, the high price tag ($80,000-$100,000.00) and the need to have a trained operator to run the scale. SWDC suggested that the decision to purchase a scale for C&D could go to the taxpayers on a warrant article. Residents have been asking for a transparent, streamline way to charge for C&D, the scale would provide that.
Shauna will be visiting the following Transfer Stations to see how they operate their Source Separation; Gilford, Rumney, and Hollis.
The number one problem for all operators is their swap shops. There are little to no volunteers to run the swap shops. Shauna has found a possible solution to this problem.With BOS approval, she will create a schedule of 1 hour block time slots for every Friday and Saturday. For 1 hour of volunteering, the resident is allowed to throw away 1 free bag of trash. Instructions for running the Swap Shop are currently posted. The committee felt this was a wonderful idea!
Gilford’s Transfer Station source separation policy is that residents who recycle get to throw out their MSW for free.
5) Transfer Station update - Shauna reported that she is currently using the 70 yard dumpster for demo. The waste is primarily construction and bulky items. The back hoe is fixed. During the recent storms which had heavy winds there was a power surge and it fried the MSW compactor’s new variable frequency drive. Fortunately, Shauna was able to get a used VFD for $3,500.00 and the MSW compactor is fixed.
Shauna spoke with NRRA’s Source Separation coordinator, Bonnie, who is responsible for helping T.S. find vendors to sell their Source Separation products to.
The breakdown of Sanbornton’s S.S. by Weight is;
Aluminum Cans- 1%
Cardboard and Mixed Paper- 66 ½%
Plastics- 6.2%
Steel Cans- 3%
Glass- 23.3%
Dave stated that the town currently spends between $25,000-$30,000.00 per year to send trash via S.S.
Shauna stated Mr. Fox, a food composting company, will be returning to New Hampshire. NH DES has recently reworked regulations for composting. Food waste makes up 30-50% of MSW.
6) Dave made a motion to accept the draft meeting minutes of 4/11/22 as written. Second by Jen. No discussion. Vote - Yes - 2, Abstain - 1, No - 0.
The meeting minutes of 4/11/22 pass as written.
7) Next Regular meeting 6/20/22 at 5:30pm in the Town office conference room.
8) Meeting adjourned at 7:00pm
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Holt Chair-Recorder
5/30/2022