Transfer Station Project (2010 LGAA)

Village of Phelps (Winner)
County: Ontario County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (315) 548-3861

The transfer station project was a complete renovation, including a new building, to update the Village's trash collection process from a volume-based system to a weight-based system. This change made charges fair to end users and eliminated operator discretion while building accountability into the system by allowing supervisors to verify amount being paid for, to amount being disposed of. A proprietary "debit" card system utilizing existing Trash Flow Software was also developed. The project was developed specifically to reduce or eliminate the cost overrun of $20,000 annually.

An existing system could not be found for tracking waste disposal of an appropriate size that addressed identified needs: cost effective, efficient for traffic flow, accountable, networkable and didn't require cash or credit cards onsite, but allowed for pre-payments. Systems existed for curbside pickup and large landfills or recycling centers, but not for a small municipal operation. Complicating factors were that residents needed to prepay on their accounts at the clerk's office, which is a mile from the transfer station since the transfer station operators are not allowed to handle cash. The Village collaborated with WesLor Enterprises, Inc. & Trash Flow Software to develop an enclosed and integrated hopper/scale mechanism that would provide for the safety of the users.

The concept is easily adaptable to other municipalities depending upon area/site available and materials being monitored. Weight monitoring can be useful for many different materials including garbage, recyclables or metals. Residents are being charged fairly for what they are disposing of because it is now based on weight. Additionally, those residents who do not use the transfer station are no longer subsidizing it with tax dollars. The project has also reduced the volume of trash entering the waste stream because it encourages recycling. Recycling volume has nearly doubled, while waste disposal reduced by almost half. Since users see what they are paying for in disposal fees immediately, this deters them from disposing of something that could be recycled.

The transfer station project has improved services to the Village and Town residents in that they are now paying for what they are disposing of. This has been of particular benefit to elderly constituents as they often bring in small amounts of garbage and are charged at $.09 /lb., when previously each "punch" or bag was charged at $1.73. With the design of the traffic flow system, it is more time efficient and cost consistent for users. This project has resulted in fuel savings by decreasing the number of trips to the county facility, and by decreasing the number of payroll hours devoted to the same. In addition, the Village is able to extend the life of the "roll off" truck used for transport. The cost of the operations, including disposal fees and maintenance, has decreased by over 30% since the implementation of this project.