The Yolo County Central Landfill (landfill) is the regional waste disposal and recycling site for the Cities of Woodland, Winters, West Sacramento, Davis and unincorporated Yolo County. The landfill currently provides comprehensive solid waste and recycling services which help each of our jurisdictions meet the AB939 requirement of 50% diversion. Green waste recycling has been an integral part of landfill operations since 1989, and construction and demolition (C&D) recycling since 2007. Under AB341, new regulations have set a goal of 75% diversion by the year 2020. Under this new policy goal set by the State of California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) the landfill’s existing diversion programs must be expanded and augmented by additional programs in order for each jurisdiction to reach this new diversion goal. Continued operation of the green waste and construction and demolition facilities at the landfill will help the county and cities to meet this new 75% diversion goal.
In 2008, the Board of Supervisors approved a business plan for the landfill, which included, among other things, pursuit of additional public/private partnerships and increased material deliveries to the landfill. The overriding theme of the business plan was that for the landfill to operate efficiently and economically, it needed to operate as a business and increase its incoming material flow. Since this time the county has established disposal agreements with all the cities and UC Davis, franchise collection for the unincorporated county, several out-of-county disposal agreements, and a septic and liquid waste disposal program. With the continued emphasis on recycling and diversion, it is critical that the landfill offer a diversified range of services to remain cost competitive. Continued operation of a green waste processing facility and Construction and Demolition sorting facility is a key component of these diverse services.
Since 2010, the county has been working with several private companies, as well as preparing an in-house option to develop an expanded organics recycling facility that would process green waste as well as food waste. Initially, discussions were with Waste Management Recycle America (WMRA), the facility operator at that time, and centered on developing an on-site composting facility. Unfortunately, in March of 2012, WMRA decided it was no longer interested in developing a composting facility at the landfill, terminated the negotiations, and in December 2013 provided a 120-day notice to the county, that for economic reasons, WMRA wished to terminate the operating agreement altogether.
Following the breakdown of negotiations with WMRA, county staff developed an an in-house option for an anaerobic digestion facility. The Renewable BioGreen Digester Facility was designed to generate methane and convert food waste and green waste to compost. However, to be successful this facility required significant capital (approximately $14 million), which required long-term contracts with local cities to secure the needed financing. Neither the financing nor the contracts proved feasible.
Negotiations were then commenced with Northern Recycling (Northern), which operates the Zamora composting facility. The goal was to develop a composting at the landfill and relocate the Zamora operation to this facility. Due to the termination of WMRA’s agreement, a short term agreement with Northern to continue current operations was approved by the Board on March 11, 2014, while long term negotiations continued. On August 21, 2014, Northern withdrew from the negotiations due to a disagreement within the partnership, requiring the county to quickly secure an alternative contractor.
In December 2014, the county issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure an alternate contractor to run the landfill’s green waste and C&D programs and potentially expand the green waste program to include food waste. Initial response to the RFP was promising with eight firms attending the pre-proposal meeting. When proposals were due, only Zanker Road Resource Management Ltd. (Zanker) submitted a proposal. Fortunately, Zanker submitted a quality proposal which includes transferring green waste to a composting facility, development of an on-site C&D sorting operation and options to include a food waste diversion program in the future. The fees proposed by Zanker for both C&D and green waste are higher than the fees paid to the current contractor (Northern). As part of the fiscal year 2015/2016 budget process division staff is evaluating these fees as part of the overall landfill budget and associated fee schedule. Final evaluation is still pending, but it is likely a nominal increase in C&D rates of $1 to $2 per ton and green waste rates of $2 to $4 per ton will be required as part of the next master fee resolution.
As a company, Zanker operates three C&D recycling operations, three green waste processing facilities, one composting facility and is a partner in an anaerobic digestion facility. Most of their facilities are located in the bay area however they also operate a C&D and green waste facility in Sacramento. Zanker is proposing to utilize Harvest Power’s composting facility in Lathrop as an end destination for the green waste received at the landfill. Division staff visited both Zanker’s Sacramento facility as well as Harvest Power’s Lathrop facility. Both facilities appeared to be clean and well run.
As only one proposal was received, several of the potential proposers were contacted to inquire as to why they did not propose. Several explanations were provided, including cost competitiveness, ability to complete the required scope of work and differing views of company owners on whether to submit a proposal.
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