Municipal

Tennessee county to develop long-term waste management plan

Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), Fairfax, Virginia, has announced that it has contracted with the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and with Rutherford County to prepare a solid waste strategic plan that will identify and evaluate available technologies to expand, create, supplement or replace existing infrastructure to manage the community’s solid waste management needs into the next 20 to 40 years. TriAD Environmental Consultants and Cooley Public Strategies LLC, both headquartered in Tennessee, will work with GBB.

Rutherford County is one of the top-five most populated counties in Tennessee, and its population growth is expected to be the highest in the state, rising from the current 300,000 residents to an expected 420,000 people by 2030. The county, which has no curbside collection of recyclables, provides solid waste disposal and recycling services to its residents through 14 recycling centers, as well as electronic scrap disposal and recycling services through the Rutherford County Recycle Center.

“The most pressing challenges facing the county and the city at present are remarkable population growth and locally available disposal capacity for both municipal solid waste and debris,” Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland says. “GBB’s team clearly understands the challenges Rutherford County faces and has a sound approach to create a long-term vision with an achievable road map for our future solid waste management system.”

As part of this assignment, the GBB team says it will conduct a planning and public decision-making process that will review key factors, such as technology and management options for the future solid waste management system; who the solid waste management system should serve; how the system should be implemented; and how the system will be administered.

The county owns and operates the Rutherford County Landfill, which is expected to reach capacity within four years.

Murfreesboro operates a convenience center and provides curbside garbage and yard waste collection and operates a facility to manage yard waste and brush.

Carrboro, North Carolina, conducts residential solid waste study

Kessler Consulting Inc., Tampa, Florida, has announced it is conducting a comprehensive residential solid waste study for the town of Carrboro, North Carolina.

Carrboro is in north central North Carolina with a population of about 21,000 in a geographic area of approximately 6 square miles. The town is part of the Piedmont region of North Carolina and is adjacent to Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina.

Carrboro is home to a diverse demographic composition, including a sizable undergraduate and graduate student population. As part of the study, Kessler Consulting says it will engage these groups through surveys, public forums or focus groups.

Kessler will conduct waste composition, collection route and residential organics collection feasibility studies that include development of a plan for a source-separated residential pilot program. Organics recovery is the future of sustainability, Kessler Consulting says, and the firm plans to help Carrboro achieve its higher solid waste diversion goals.