Allied Waste Outlines $42 Million Savings, Fast-Track Timeline For Single-Stream Recycling in San Mateo County.

State-of-the-art equipment with full operation by 2010 saves ratepayers millions, adding to savings from Allied's lowest-cost collection bid, Alternative Proposal

SAN CARLOS, Calif. -- Allied Waste today provided details of a plan that would allow the 12 Member communities of the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA) to switch to single-stream recycling in less than a year, without the need for the $53 million new facility proposed by the SBWMA.

In a letter to officials of the 12 communities, Allied gave specifics of the plan under which state-of-the-art equipment would be installed in the existing Shoreway Recycling and Disposal Center facility in San Carlos at a cost of $7.6 million.

The Allied plan also calls for a simple 10,000-square-foot extension of the existing 50,000 square foot Shoreway facility. We estimate construction to cost about $2 million and we allow another $1.4 million for any additional site work, permits, environmental enhancements, learning center improvements, etc. Thus, the total overall project cost would be approximately $11 million.

"In March, the SBWMA estimated that switching to single-stream recycling would cost approximately $20 million," said Evan Boyd, General Manager of Allied Waste of San Mateo County. "We didn't submit our own plan at the time because that seemed fairly reasonable. But when their estimate grew to $41.5 million in April and finally to $53.9 million in June, we became concerned. We knew the job could be done for far less, and we developed this $11 million plan."

The 25-tons-per-hour system, manufactured by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) of Eugene, Ore., would be capable of handling the projected 80,000 tons of recyclable waste per year. This would be more than enough to meet all the projected demands of the SBWMA. The BHS equipment produces high quality commodities for resale that will fetch high prices for the SBWMA and its members, helping to offset future rate increases.

In addition, the new equipment could allow the SBWMA to offer single-stream recycling to commercial customers, dramatically increasing the recycling levels in San Mateo County. The new processing equipment could be fully operational in nine months from the time it is ordered. Even with the extension of the existing structure, the County could begin single-stream recycling as early as 2010, ahead of the SBWMA schedule.

Allied's cost-saving plan for Shoreway is one of several proposals from the company that would save ratepayers tens of millions of dollars and support San Mateo County's goal of becoming the greenest county in the state.

Allied, which has served San Mateo County's waste disposal needs for 35 years, submitted the lowest-cost bid for collection of waste starting in 2011. Allied's bid was passed over by the SBWMA, despite being $1.3 million per year below the recommended bidder, while meeting, if not exceeding all the service demands in the RFP. It was the only plan that included direct recycling incentives for single-family households and the only plan to include CNG-fueled vehicles in its fleet as well as biodiesel.

In addition, Allied put forth an Alternative Proposal that would save ratepayers another $12 million. Although such alternatives were specifically encouraged in section 3.16 of the SBWMA RFP, Allied's proposal was not considered.

"We don't understand why our Alternative Proposal wasn't considered, given that it will save ratepayers millions of dollars," said Jeff Andrews, Senior Vice President, Western Operations for Allied Waste Services. "At the same time, our organization has serious concerns regarding the rapidly escalating costs of the proposed construction to the Shoreway facility, particularly given the current economic climate. With millions on the line for ratepayers, it's important that these decisions are made in the best interest of the residents and businesses of San Mateo County."