Bringing the great outdoors indoors

Despite – or, perhaps, because of – its breathtaking natural beauty, there is no shortage of green waste in the South Lake Tahoe region, located in western Nevada, bordering California. Towering, majestic pines of many species, coupled with fir and aspen, cover almost every inch of undeveloped space. In the past, green waste – the result of regular trimming and clearing, area landscaping projects, and the natural deposit of pine needles – was collected, stockpiled and taken off-site by the local solid waste company, South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling. At this point it was processed by another firm.  

Recognizing that doing so was both counterproductive and costly, the company worked to establish markets for processed green waste and, with those in place, recently unveiled a new Resource Recovery Facility (RRF), located in the region. The challenges of doing so were many, but none more daunting than how to discreetly process thousands of tons of green waste per year in surroundings that include both lake front and residential neighbourhoods.

The company ended up enclosing their entire grinding operation and using as its central piece of processing equipment, an electric-powered Model 3800 Wood Hog from Morbark. Today, South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling is achieving recovery goals it had once only dreamed of – and enjoying a peaceful coexistence with its neighbours.

Growing the operation

Established in 1962, South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling was initially focused on handling residential and commercial trash. According to John Marchini, the company’s operations manager, the company grew over the years, and with that growth, expanded the range of materials collected and recycled.

“Today we have a full-scale collection, sorting, baling and recycling facility at which we take in MSW, construction and demolition debris, household hazardous waste, electronic scrap and more. We separate out the recyclables through a picking station, bale everything except the glass and ship it all off to be recycled.”

Marchini says green waste was always part of the overall waste stream. But he adds that they were extremely limited in what they could do with it at the time.

“We tried to divert what we could, but really were not set up to stockpile any significant volumes of green waste, so that was never an option. We would usually just haul the green waste to a private contractor about 15 miles east of [our operation] and they would grind it, charge us a processing fee, and then use it for their own composting efforts. Although this kept this material out of the landfill, we wanted to establish a more beneficial and flexible program for recycling this material. We knew we needed more alternatives.”

It should be noted that, in addition to sending green waste off to be processed, South Tahoe Refuse had tried other approaches. According to Jeanne Lear, the company’s human resources manager, this included everything from hiring contract grinders to doing off-site work themselves.

“Our efforts to do something with green waste date all the way back to the mid-‘90s,” she says. “For example, “we purchased a grinder ourselves and tried to site different wood chipping projects here in our area of South Lake Tahoe, and also contracted with other companies. Neither of these attempts was consistent enough to be successful and sustainable.”

Both Marchini and Lear recognized that to effectively recycle green waste, they would need a dedicated facility with the space to accept, pile and process material. They also knew that, given their location in a mixed residential/light industrial area, the noise and dust issues that generally accompany an operation of this type would have to be dealt with.

“The solution, of course, was to bring the whole green waste and wood waste recovery process indoors,” says Marchini.  “But that raised issues of its own, such as how to run a grinder indoors without subjecting workers to noxious diesel fumes. The answer came from Phil Harless, our salesman from Papé Machinery.”

Simply electric
Because South Tahoe Refuse had purchased its skid steer loader and other equipment from Papé, Harless, who works out of the company’s Sacramento office, was in touch with them as part of his commitment to support.  

“We were talking to Phil about what we wanted to do and he made us aware, not only that there were electric grinders doing work similar to what we were proposing, but also that there was a Morbark electric unit currently working in Sacramento,” says Lear.   “So we were able to go out there and see it, talk to the operator, ask questions and so on – that helped us tremendously. And we were very impressed with what we saw in terms of production; it was just what we needed.” 

“We subsequently learned that there aren’t a lot of companies offering electric grinders, so we felt it was important to go with a manufacturer that has proven expertise in that area: in this case, Morbark.”

Shortly after their visit to Sacramento, South Tahoe Refuse placed its order through Harless and Papé Machinery for an electric Morbark Model 3800 Wood Hog. The unit was installed in the newly constructed Resource Recovery Facility in April this year, and both Marchini and Lear have been extremely satisfied with its performance.

“The operation came together very nicely,” says Marchini. “The design and layout of the structure, and the grinder’s position in it, work to minimize any hint that there is wood waste processing going on inside. I really think that the grinder itself, other than the generators making a high-pitched sound during startup, is quieter than a standard diesel grinder. And there are no fumes whatsoever, and very little vibration from the unit – even when ramping up to grind heavier wood waste. We couldn’t be more pleased with the performance and the benefits it brings to the operation. In every sense, it was the solution we needed.”

Raising the volume
Currently, South Tahoe Refuse and Recycling’s RRF processes wood and green waste pulled from the adjacent MRF, from curbside collection, and from direct drop-offs to the tipping floor. Lear says they are permitted for 30 tons per day at the facility, but haven’t reached those tonnages yet.

“Part of the reason for that is because a lot of our waste stream consists of pine needles which are lighter than other material – especially [in summer] when they are very dry. We will also be expanding our green waste routes next year which we’re certain will bring those numbers up. Even so, last year in May/June we handled 812 tons of green waste; this year, in the same time frame, we pulled in over 2,000 tons. So we’ve more than doubled our volumes and really feel like we’re just hitting our stride.”

A good deal of the material processed though the Model 3800 Wood Hog goes to one of two different composting operations – Full Circle Compost and Bentley Agrowdynamics – in nearby Carson Valley, Nevada.  

“Full Circle is the only certified organic food waste composter in northern Nevada,” says Lear. “And Bentley, in addition to selling it for everything from erosion control to agriculture use, also uses a lot of material on his own development projects. We are really fortunate to have two composters right here in this area eager to take our material.”

In addition to providing Full Circle and Bentley with material, Marchini says they also use their mulched material for local re-vegetation projects and erosion control – a simple, yet important, way to control sediment going back into Lake Tahoe and maintain the lake’s high level of clarity.

“There are so many good things to come out of this new Resource Recovery Facility,” he says. “We have a lot of new plans for next year that will improve both efficiencies and our numbers, and that’s a great thing. We will also able to support fuel reductions projects to reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The bottom line, however, is that we’ve taken what was once a costly, makeshift, effort at green waste and wood waste recovery and made it a successful independent operation."

“We worked hard to blend into our surroundings with the construction of the RRF, we used technology to our benefit with the Morbark electric grinder, we are providing a resource for both local and outside businesses, and we are starting to see some payback for our efforts. We’re all really proud of what we’ve accomplished and there’s still so much more to come. That’s definitely exciting.”

Morbark, Inc.