In House Labor Saves County on Scale House Construction and other projects

(Madison County – Nov. 16, 2009) Madison County realized considerable savings by using in-house labor to construct a new scale-house that also includes a recycling education room and additional office space at the Buyea Road landfill site in the Town of Lincoln.

Additional items completed by using in-house labor included site work, underground utilities along with fencing and paving, explained Landfill Operations Manager Andy Wolff.

James Zecca, solid waste director, praised the talents of operations manager Wolff and the landfill employees in regard to the coordination and construction of the new scale house complex.

“Andy and I would like to reiterate that if it were not for the many talents of our blue collar staff the in-house construction and completion of the new scale house complex would not have been possible,” Zecca said. “The cost savings we experienced are due to the combined efforts of our blue collar employees: Mike Haitain; Ernie Barringer; Doug Holdridge; Pat Barker; Walt Lukacz; George Winchell; Rich Marris; Jeff Thorp; Pete Fanning, Barb Carrier, Pet Kampf, Bill Looft, Mike March and Doug Wrisley for their work and input. Additionally thanks go to the Department of Social Services Mobile Work Crew.”

Zecca explained that the county is also experiencing savings through the use of excess heat produced by the generator that is processing the methane gas. The new scale house, the ARC Recycling Center and the ARC break room building will be heated with excess heat produced by the landfill gas utilization project which turns methane gas, produced naturally at the landfill site when the buried garbage decomposes, into electricity. The excess heat is used to heat a glycol mix to 200-degrees. This mixture is then piped from the gas utilization building to the three other buildings in a continual loop.

The county will see additional savings through a New York State Landfill Gas Management project grant that will cover 50 percent of eligible costs for the system that conveys the excess heat from the gas to energy facility to the three buildings located south of the site.

Other improvements taking place at the Buyea Road Landfill site include a new longer and wider hydraulic scale, installed in 2008, replacing the 20-year-old electronic unit. The new hydraulic technology is not susceptible to lighting strikes.

“We had a number of incidents though out the years with lighting strikes that resulted in the scale being out of service,” said Zecca.

The old scale house building was moved, in tact, across the road and will be used (recycled) as the new transfer station attendant’s operation building.

“Waste not, want not,” said Zecca. “The old scale house is a perfectly good building and because we are reconfiguring the Buyea Road transfer station and removing the old trailer formerly used by the transfer station attendant, this building is perfect for that application.”

The reconfigured Buyea Road transfer station will feature a compaction unit similar to those found in the county’s three other transfer station. A new bunker system for recycled materials was added at this site last year. Removal of the old trailer that served as the transfer station attendant’s office will open up the area making disposal of trash and recyclables much easier for residents. Removal of the old trailer and the former trash disposal pit will create a more efficient configuration and improve the traffic flow.

It should also be noted that the new education room and office space for the recycling coordinator made it possible to remove another old and deteriorating house trailer from the site, which will improve the appearance of the site.

The new education room is bigger and more conducive to teaching and learning, explained Recycling Coordinator Sharon A. Driscoll who recently hosted 70 plus students and teachers from the Willard Prior Elementary School in the City of Oneida.

In House Labor Saves County on Scale House Construction and other projects

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