Frequently Asked Questions

Site Identification and Selection Process | Facility Questions | Transportation Questions | Operations Questions |
Compost Questions | Other

Site Identification and Selection Process

• Who is conducting the site selection process?
  Sacramento GreenCycle is a Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority (SWA) project. The project team conducted more than 20 stakeholder interviews and received feedback and site suggestions. From this list of stakeholders, a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) was formed. Project team members and the PAC developed siting criteria and evaluated potential sites against these criteria to develop a short list of locations for the new facility.

• How many sites did you consider during your initial screening?
  The PAC initially considered a county-wide list of 151 potential sites. Through an evaluation process developed with the PAC, a short list of 14 potential sites was developed. The PAC is evaluating the site short list and plans to bring a siting alternative recommendation to the SWA Board for its June meeting.

• What were the initial site considerations?
  The initial considerations were buffer distance from existing and potential future urban residential development, the size of the site, whether sites were already publicly owned, proximity to roadways, existing land use along the likely access road to the site, the presence of existing immobile populations along the likely access, whether the facility could be co-located at an existing potentially compatible public-sector infrastructure facility, the proximity of the site to the urbanized area where the majority of the garden refuse would be generated, and whether there were any known natural resource impacts from site development.

• What are the future steps in identifying a preferred site?
  When the SWA Board moves forward with a recommended siting alternative(s), the project will enter environmental review. The environmental review process established by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is expected to take at least one year. After the CEQA process is complete, it is expected that the SWA Board will select one site for the facility.

• What happens after a preferred site is found?
  Once a preferred site(s) is identified, the project will move into environmental review phase. Public outreach efforts will continue, as will discussions with property owner(s).

• Will there be an Environmental Review process?
  If the SWA Board decides to move forward with the process full Environmental Review will be done for the project as required by CEQA. The County Department of Environmental Review and Assessment is the agency that will likely prepare the CEQA document.

• Who will make a final decision regarding a preferred site?
  The SWA Board will ultimately approve a preferred site.

Facility Questions

• How much room do you need for the facility?
  The Project Advisory Committee preferred a minimum site size of 100 acres be sought, although actual processing operations are expected to use about 45 acres. Having extra acreage would provide an increased buffer from surrounding development, and could allow for potential facility expansion.

• Who would build and operate the facility?
  It is envisioned that the project would be a public-private partnership in which the public sector through the Solid Waste Authority would own the site and hold the facility operating permits, and a private-sector contractor would build and operate the facility and market the compost product.

• What are the expected costs to develop and operate this facility?
  In 2003, the planning level capital cost estimate for facility development was roughly $5.5 million.  The cost per ton to operate the facility was estimated at between $22 and $26 per ton depending on its location.  These cost estimates are based on a number of assumptions, among which was the use of windrow composting method of processing.

• Would this facility handle all the County's garden refuse?
  It is envisioned that the facility would process approximately half of the SWA region's garden refuse. The other half would continue to be managed by the individual SWA member agencies.

Transportation Questions

• How many tons per day could be trucked in to the facility?
  It is envisioned that the facility would handle roughly 100,000 tons per year.  Garden refuse is collected from residential generators five days a week (260 days per year) by the SWA member agencies. Thus, an average of 385 tons would be trucked to the facility daily.
  

• How will garden refuse arrive to the facility?
  Garden refuse could arrive either directly via residential collection routes located near the facility; or by larger transfer trucks delivering garden refuse collected at a transfer facility.

• How many trucks per day would come and go from the facility?
  On average, there would be roughly 15 to 20 trucks delivering garden refuse to the facility each day.  This estimate assumes that the facility is somewhat remote such that all the material is delivered to the facility via transfer trucks, each carrying roughly 25 ton loads.  If the facility is closer to the urbanized area, then some garden refuse collection trucks might deliver material to the facility directly from the collection route.  The typical per-truck load delivered directly from the collection route would be only 6 to 8 tons, so the average number of trucks delivering material to the facility would increase correspondingly. Three to four collection trucks would be needed to carry the same amount of tonnage as one transfer vehicle load. These estimates also assume that the facility is only used to handle SWA member agency residential garden refuse and that the facility is not open to other generators of garden refuse such as landscape contractors.

The facility operator may wish to blend compost produced from garden refuse with other materials such as sand, soil, bark, gypsum, etc. in order to produce specialty products for marketing.  In that case, there would be additional traffic as these blending materials are bought into the site. In addition, there would be traffic leaving the site with finished compost and compost blended products for marketing.

• What type of trucks will transport materials in to and out of the facility?
  Collection trucks for garden refuse look much like the collection trucks you might see in your neighborhood each week collecting garbage and mixed recyclables. Transfer trucks are much like the large 18-wheeled, semi-truck vehicles you might see on the freeway every day delivering goods throughout the community.

• Would the facility receive self-haul materials?
  It has not been determined if the facility would accept garden refuse from self-haul generators such as the general public, landscape contractors, etc.

Operations Questions

• How long would this greencycle facility operation last?
  As long as the SWA jurisdictions collect garden refuse in their residential curbside collection programs, a GreenCycle facility could operate and process the material collected.

• What are the advantages to a public/private partnership of the facility?
  As a public entity, the SWA will make certain the facility is a good neighbor while providing the cost-effective garden refuse recycling service that the community needs. A private contractor would be selected who has expertise in facility operation and marketing of compost. Under this structure, both partners are able to focus on the activities that they are best able to perform.

• Would the SWA monitor the vendor's activity at the facility?
  Yes, the SWA would hold all facility permits. The local enforcement agency - the County Environmental Management Department - would monitor the facility and ensure that it is operating in compliance with permit conditions. If the facility became a nuisance, or did not meet established performance criteria, the SWA Board would have the authority to modify or close the vendor's operation.

• What noise levels are associated with this type of facility?
  Noise associated with this type of facility would originate mostly from truck traffic and on-site equipment such as windrow turning equipment used to aerate compost piles, trommel screens used to separate incoming materials and finished products into fractions of varying particle size, and grinders or hammermills used to break down incoming garden refuse into smaller pieces to speed up decomposition. Specific noise impacts will be examined during the CEQA review process.

• What odor levels are associated with this type of facility?
  Odors can be associated with this type of facility as a result of the decomposition process of garden refuse material and equipment emissions. However, odors can be controlled and minimized using various operational methods implemented by the facility operators. It is expected that a site-specific odor impact assessment will be developed during the environmental review process.

• Would the vendor be allowed to accept green waste from other jurisdictions?
  At this point, it is envisioned that the facility will accept material only from SWA member agencies.  However, it is possible that other local governments, their collection contractors or other garden refuse generators (such as landscape contractors) may wish to also use the facility.  The SWA Board would have to approve the use of the facility by those other than SWA member agencies as well as establish the fees that would be charged these other users.

• Are these types of facilities profitable or self-sustaining?
  In general, the market value of the compost product sold is not high enough to cover the cost of the garden refuse processing required to make the finished products. Thus, these types of facilities rely on a fee charged for accepting the garden refuse. Such fees are sometimes called "tipping fees" by the waste management industry. Tipping fees are similar in nature to the fees charged to generators to dispose of their solid waste at landfills. Tipping fees at garden refuse composting facilities vary considerably in California but in general are running somewhere between $25 and $35 per ton depending on the nature of the materials handled and the facility location.

• Would this facility offer Christmas tree recycling? What about wood waste?
  Christmas trees collected through the SWA member agency's normal collection programs would go to the SWA facility.  Wood waste may go to the SWA facility, but there are current processing alternatives for wood waste that are likely to remain more cost-effective than composting.

Compost Questions

• What are the uses for compost?
  Compost is useful for both residential and commercial landscape uses, and in agricultural settings. Using compost can:
  • suppress plant diseases and pests, reducing the need for pesticides;
  • reduce the need for water, chemical fertilizers and artificial soil amendments;
  • promote higher yields of agricultural crops;
  • facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.

• Would compost be available for the public to purchase? At what cost?
  It is expected that the operator of the facility will wish to market a considerable portion of the compost products locally to reduce transportation costs. It is not known whether such local sales will be at the wholesale or retail level or whether the operator will be willing to sell directly to the public at the facility.  It is expected that the vendor will sell product at market prices since sales revenues will be needed to offset the cost of processing and to minimize the fees paid by the SWA member agencies for the operator to compost their garden refuse.

Other

• What is the Solid Waste Authority?
  The Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority (SWA) is a joint powers authority of the City of Citrus Heights, the City of Sacramento and the unincorporated area of Sacramento County. The SWA Board members are elected officials from each jurisdiction.

• How is the SWA member agencies' garden refuse currently handled?
  Currently, the SWA agencies collect garden refuse from their residential customers through either curbside collection in a designated green waste cart; or in parts of the City of Sacramento garden refuse is placed on the street for collection. The area's garden refuse ends up either at local landfills to be used as alternative daily cover; or is trucked to out-of-county green waste processing facilities.

• What is the timeframe for this project?
  It is expected that it will be at least three years before the facility is operational.

Questions? Email jennifer@mmcpr.com or call (916) 567-6309 or (800) 200-7904.