FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
David L. Manning, Special Principal Associate
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.
Federal Receiver
(615) 830-1200
www.guamsolidwastereceiver.org
Household Hazardous Waste Facility and Harmon Residential Transfer Station to Open
(Guam, January 19, 2015) – Federal Receiver Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) today announced that the Guam Solid Waste Authority’s new Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility and the new Harmon Residential Transfer Station will open January 23 immediately after a brief hearing and ceremony to be conducted by the District Court of Guam. The Court Hearing and Ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. and tours of the new facilities will be conducted after the conclusion of the ceremony. Both of the new facilities are located on Harmon Industrial Park Road behind the Government of Guam’s Department of Public Works complex.
The HHW facility is an essential requirement of the Consent Decree, and the new residential transfer station replaces the one that was closed at the Ordot Dump in 2011. Both facilities will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday and be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and on all Government of Guam holidays.
"The new Household Hazardous Waste facility will provide for the safe disposal of household hazardous waste as required by the Consent Decree. This will divert these materials from the Layon Landfill to more appropriate disposal, thereby better protecting Guam’s environment and preserving needed landfill space,” said David L Manning, Receiver Representative.
Layout of the new transfer station. |
"The new facility is Guam’s first state-of-the-art, residential transfer station. Centrally located, it will provide the same trash disposal and recycling services as Guam’s other residential transfer stations. Customers will benefit from better and safer traffic flow patterns, and find it easier to unload their materials,” added Manning.
Charges for trash disposal at the new facility will be the same as at Guam’s other residential transfer stations ($7.50 up to 3 Cubic Yards and $15.00 from 3 Cubic Yards to 6 Cubic Yards). Recycling and disposal of household hazardous waste is free. Services are open to any Guam household but may not be used by businesses and other private or public organizations. Customers are limited to 15 gallons or 100 pounds of household hazardous waste items per day.
The facility is designed so that traffic flows in one direction, with customers entering through one location and exiting at another, making it safer for customers to drop off material. The facility was also designed to enhance customer safety by keeping large service trucks in a separate lane from the one used by customers. The containers for household trash are enclosed, and trash is compacted for odor control and to maximize material in each container for more efficient hauling. The Facility will accept the following materials:
Recycling:
- Cardboard
- Mixed paper
- Magazines
- Junk mail
- Newspapers
- Plastic #1 & #2 containers
- Glass bottles and jars
- Aluminum and metal cans
Trash:
- Household trash ($7.50 up to 3 Cubic Yards; $15.00 from 3 Cubic Yards to 6 Cubic Yards)
- Bulky material, such as sofas and mattresses ($7.50 per item)
Household Hazardous Waste:
- Electronic waste such as computer monitors; items from your garage such as brake fluid, paint, transmission fluid; items from the kitchen such as cleaners, solvents, disinfectants; other items from the home and garden such as aerosol cans, batteries, pesticides.
- See complete list of household hazardous material accepted.
The Harmon Residential Transfer Station, like the three other GSWA transfer stations at Dededo, Malojloj, and Agat, cannot accept construction debris, metal appliances such as hot water heaters and refrigerators, and organic material such as yard waste.
"This first-of-its-kind facility in the Pacific Territories is a collaborative effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Government of Guam and the Receiver that will benefit the residents of Guam by keeping household hazardous waste out of the landfill and the environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
"These new facilities are a great addition to Guam’s Solid Waste System and will provide important services for all of the residents of Guam,” said Bob Perron, Chairman of the Guam EPA.
About GSWA
The GSWA is a public agency, created by Guam Public Law 31-20. The agency is a totally self-funded operation whose mission is to help its customers dispose of their trash in an environmentally safe and regulated manner. Each week, GSWA employees collect curbside trash from approximately 17,000 customers. The GSWA also receives trash collected by commercial haulers and transported to the Hauler’s Transfer Station. In all, the GSWA handles more than 90,000 tons of material a year. The GSWA also diverts material away from the landfill through services such as the Bulky and Metallic Waste curbside collection, recycling facilities at the Residential Transfer Stations, and prohibition of certain recyclables from being disposed of at the Layon Landfill. For more information on the GSWA, visit www.guamsolidwasteauthority.com.
About Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc., Receiver
In a Court Order dated March 17, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood appointed GBB to be Receiver with full responsibility for bringing the Guam Solid Waste Management Division into compliance with the 2004 Consent Decree for violation of the Clean Water Act. As Receiver, GBB’s objective is to work with Guam’s government, the GSWA, solid waste companies, the people of Guam, and the U.S. military to establish a long-term, financially viable and sustainable waste management system for Guam. For more information on the receivership, visit www.guamsolidwastereceiver.org.
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 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, please visit www.gbbinc.com or call 1-703-573-5800.
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