FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
David L. Manning, Special Principal Associate
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.
Guam Office: 671-473-9149
703-573-5800
www.gbbinc.com
Receiver Announces Materials Ban at Transfer Facilities and Ordot Dump
Ban Will Improve Recycling and Increase Capacity at Ordot Dump Until New Landfill Opens
(Fairfax, VA – June 27, 2008) — Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) announced today that effective July 17, 2008, the following materials will be added to the list of materials banned from disposal at the Ordot Dump and the three transfer facilities operated by the Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) at Agat, Dededo and Malojloj:
- Corrugated cardboard and cardboard boxes
- Vegetative, yard and organic wastes, such as leaves, grass clippings, tree prunings, large cut waste timber and stumps
- Untreated wood, including construction and demolition lumber or pallets
- Inert material, including concrete, concrete blocks, bricks, rocks and other bulky material
- Mixed loads containing one or more of the above material
The decision to adopt the new policy was taken after extensive consultation with Guam’s Mayors and the businesses affected by the decision.
Customers to Whom the Ban Applies
The ban applies to all customers who deliver waste to all of the SWMD’s
Transfer Facilities and Ordot Dump. This includes:
- All commercial haulers
- All loads generated by the Mayors’ offices
- All loads generated by the Government of Guam’s Departments
- All residential self-haulers
While the ban will not immediately apply to residential customers whose waste is collected by the Solid Waste Management Division, it is anticipated that the ban will be extended to them at a later date.
Each of the banned materials can be recycled in Guam. (The Receiver has published a list of businesses that accept them on www.GuamSolidWasteReceiver.org. This list also appears on page 2 of this release.) Diverting these materials from the Ordot Dump is necessary to extend the life of the disposal facility until the new landfill is completed at Layon.
According to David L. Manning, GBB’s Receiver Representative, "Worldwide, more than 70 percent of cardboard is currently recycled, and both untreated wood and vegetative matter such as yard waste can be ground into mulch, composted and reused. A portion of the inert waste can be ground into substitute gravel for road base. Recycling these materials makes good environmental and economic sense for Guam. This materials ban is an important step in creating a more sustainable waste management system in Guam. We look forward to the support and cooperation of Guam’s localities, businesses and residents as we implement this new policy.”
Businesses where the banned materials can be recycled are:
Vegetative and green/yard waste
construction and demolition
debris:
Northern Hardfill (Operated by Primo’s Heavy Equipment)
Location:
Yigo (Rt. 15 – Backroad to AAFB)
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. – noon, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., Weekdays and Saturday;
closed Sunday
Charges disposal fee. Green waste and wood waste are ground into mulch.
Paper products:
Guam Transport and Warehouse (GT&W)
Location:
Harmon Industrial Park
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday;
8 a.m. – noon Saturday
Accepts cardboard. No fee. Also offers paper shredding, trucking and
warehousing for fee.
Corrugated Cardboard:
Mr. Rubbishman (Guahan Waste Recycling)
Location:
Harmon Industrial Park
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Weekdays
The Receiver has established procedures for enforcing the policy and penalties for violating the ban:
- All loads entering facilities are subject to visual inspection by SWMD employees at the gate. If a load is found to contain banned material, the SWMD employee will inform the customer of the transport vehicle of the finding, advise the customer of the rules, inform the customer that the load cannot be dumped at the SWMD’s facilities, and provide information as to what the customer can do with the load. This is not considered an infraction to the banning policy;
- If a load with banned material is not detected at the gate and a SWMD employee finds banned material at the disposal point, the employee will alert the customer who dumped the banned material of the issue. The SWMD employee shall request that the customer get out of the vehicle, acknowledge the banned material, and answer questions regarding the identity of the customer. The SWMD employee will obtain the customer’s name and company (if applicable), the license plate number of the vehicle, and customer contact information. The customer will be requested to take back the banned material as long as it is safe to do so. No money will be returned to the customer for the material removed from the facility. This will be considered an infraction of the banning policy. The SWMD employee will then do the following:
- Upon a first and second time infraction, the customer committing the infraction will be warned and informed that upon a third infraction involving the same vehicle, that vehicle will be banned for a period of one (1) week from disposal at any and all of the SWMD facilities.
- Every additional infraction involving each specific vehicle will result in an additional week being added to that vehicle’s exclusion from access to any and all SWMD facilities.
- After a one (1) month period during which a customer’s vehicle, which had previously been cited as being used in the delivery of banned material resulting in an infraction, has had no such infraction, the customer for that vehicle shall be considered in good standing with that vehicle and be provided the privilege of starting the process from the beginning for deliveries with that vehicle, with the next infraction, if any, involving that vehicle being considered as the first, resulting in only a warning.
More information about the materials ban is posted on www.GuamSolidWasteReceiver.org.
About Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.
GBB is a national solid waste management consulting firm, headquartered
in the Washington, D.C. area, that works on solid waste collection, processing,
recycling and disposal issues, and assists in planning, procuring, and
implementing sound, cost-effective facilities and services at the local,
state, and national levels for both the public and private sectors.
Since 1980, GBB has assisted hundreds of communities, earning a reputation for working hard and treating its clients’ challenges as its own. GBB has planned and developed a wide range of integrated waste management programs that use the latest technologies to improve efficiency, save money, enhance customer service, and protect the environment. For more information on the firm and its products and services, visit www.gbbinc.com or call 1-703-573-5800.
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