Tag: material recycling facility

HCSWA Taking Charleston Recyclables

The HCSWA board voted unanimously to begin taking recyclable materials from Charleston County next week.
This approval is contingent on Charleston County agreeing to the terms of a Recyclables Processing Intergovernmental Agreement approved unanimously by the HCSWA board.

Charleston County had been sent a copy of the revised agreement four hours before the HCSWA board meeting with no comment in the interim. Sentiment among HCSWA staff members was that Charleston County would agree to the terms and recyclables from Charleston County would begin to be processed at the HCSWA material recycling facility (MRF) next week.

There were some changes from the first draft proposal the HCSWA board voted to move forward with last week.

Key changes include a two year contract with up to three additional six month terms upon the agreement of both parties.

Charleston County must guarantee Horry County a minimum of 2,500 tons per month with a maximum limit of 3,000 tons per month.

A base market value (BMV) for sales of the recyclables is set at $150 per ton. There is a 10% leeway on the BMV in each direction. If the revenue from sale of the recyclables falls to below $135 per ton, Charleston County will make up the difference to the Horry County minimum guarantee of $135 per ton. The HCSWA currently is selling recyclables processed at the MRF for $134 per month.

Horry County will share profits from the sale of the recyclables with Charleston County above a market value of $165 per ton.

A 60 day termination clause upon notice of either party is now being offered. However, the way in which it was arrived at is problematic.

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Committee Disappoints on HCSWA Contract

The Horry County Administration Committee’s requests Thursday regarding a potential contract between the HCSWA and Charleston County were disappointing.

The Horry County Solid Waste Authority has been in negotiations with Charleston County to take its recyclables while a new material recycling facility is constructed in Charleston County.

One reason Charleston County approached Horry County is they stepped up to help the HCSWA when the old HCSWA MRF on Hwy 701 North burned some years ago.

But, the Administration Committee seemed to forget that when discussing potential contract terms with HCSWA officials at its meeting Thursday.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus was reasonable in his initial comments, “I don’t want residuals to go in our landfill. I don’t have any problem doing it (taking Charleston County recyclables.) We need to be very careful in the final document that we don’t lose any money and it is not at the detriment of our landfill or at the detriment of the flow control ordinance.”

However, after an executive session regarding contract terms, Lazarus made a motion that “this body tell the HCSWA to move forward under the conditions that provisions stricken (from the original contract proposal) by Charleston County be put back in plus the contract have a 30 day opt out clause.”

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HCSWA Board Gives Go to Contract Talks

The HCSWA board gave solid waste authority staff approval yesterday afternoon to negotiate a recycling contract with Charleston County.

HCSWA board members heard a short presentation on the proposed contract from authority staff, then, asked questions about the proposal for over an hour before voting 7-0 to move forward.

Contract negotiations between HCSWA staff and Charleston County staff will go forward based on the projections presented during the presentation with key items requested by HCSWA board members included.

The contract will only be for recyclable materials generated in Charleston County, basically from its curbside pickup operations.

Key elements that board members requested to be included in the contract were a 90 day notice termination clause by either party for any reason, arrangements with Charleston County for removal of any residual waste from recycling operations so residual waste will not be buried in the HCSWA landfill and do everything possible to make sure the HCSWA will not lose money on the deal.

According to the staff presentation, a base market value per ton will be negotiated for the sale of the recycled material. If the revenue falls more than 10% below the BMV, Charleston County will make up the difference to get back to the 10% margin. If the revenue exceeds the BMV by more than 10%, revenue above that threshold will be shared according to a negotiated percentage between Horry and Charleston counties.

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HCSWA Board to Hear Recycling Proposal

The HCSWA (Horry County Solid Waste Authority) board will hear a proposal to take recyclable materials from Charleston County today.

Charleston County recycling took a big hit when Sonoco, the contractor that ran the Romney Street recycling facility for Charleston County, notified the county it would cease operating the facility July 31, 2015.

Charleston County reportedly is looking at several options but the option to truck the waste to Horry County seems most viable at this point. The HCSWA material recycling facility (MRF) has operated under capacity since it opened for operations in March 2008.

Other options for Charleston County include the county operating the Romney Street facility or hiring another contractor to operate the MRF. However, according to sources familiar with the Charleston County MRF, the Romney Street facility is reportedly old and not in good condition.

Charleston County decided last year to build a new, single stream recycling facility, but it became bogged down with a proposal from RePower South to include new and untested technology for producing fuel pellets as part of the operation.

The situation with Charleston County is compounded by the fact that Dorchester County has been taking its recyclables to the Romney Street facility and apparently must be included in the new planning. Berkeley County also shipped some recyclables to Romney Street, but it also has a contract with Sonoco with another year to run and will bring its recyclables to the North Charleston facility run by Sonoco.

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