Shake, rattle, and let s get rolling!

Transcription

1 Shake, rattle, and let s get rolling! Impacts on the solid waste infrastructure following the Christchurch Earthquake GARETH JAMES General Manager, Transpacific Waste Management South Island MARK CHRISTISON Water and Waste Manager, Christchurch City Council 13 th October

2 Content Earthquake damage Waste volumes Effects on solid waste infrastructure - Commercial and residential collections - Transfer stations - Waste transport system - Kate Valley Landfill - Cleanfills Waste Levy Consent issues Civil defence issues People issues Learnings 2

3 Earthquake Damage - Only minor damage to key waste infrastructure components - No damage to Kate Valley Landfill - 2 of the City s 6 transfer stations weighbridges off their foundations - remedied with 48 hours - Access to 1 public transfer station detoured for several days - Access to the Northern Motorway for trucks en route to the landfill detoured for 3 weeks due to loss of the motorway on-ramp - City MRF able to operate - Living Earth Compost facility superficial damage, but fully operational - Streets in affected areas covered in silt and water from liquefaction - Some streets impassable for collection trucks - Central city cordoned off 3

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5 Earthquake Damage Road surface and base damage Liquefaction silt and flooding 5

6 Waste Volumes - Increased rapidly from the day after quake - Volumes to landfill increased by 2.5 times for first 2 weeks - Mostly perishable food waste from distribution centres, breweries, etc, - Damaged or contaminated by liquids from broken bottles - 20,000 tonne perishable food waste mountain cleaned out in 2 weeks - 12,000 tonnes of contaminated silt cleared to Burwood in first 2 weeks - 4,000 tonnes of bricks recycled via 3 CCC transfer stations in Sept 6 Wrightson s warehouse

7 Waste Volumes - To help waste disposal system cope, strategy developed to keep frozen food waste in freezers - Frozens disposed of in weeks 3 to 5 - Little demolition waste for disposal to transfer stations in first 2 weeks - Volumes of contaminated demolition waste will grow as assessors complete inspections & insurance companies approve demolitions - Most demolition waste to cleanfill 7 Frucor warehouse

8 8 2 / / / / / / / / / / /1 0 0 / / / / / / / / / /1 0 1 / / / / / / / / / /1 0 2 / / /1 0 / /1 0 / /1 0 /1 0/ tonnes Waste Volumes Waste to Kate Valley Landfill Post-Earthquake 2500 Earthquake 1500 Pre-quake peak 870 tonnes per day Pre-quake daily average 565 tonnes Peak system capacity 2200 tonnes per day 2000 Daily average 1307 tonnes Daily average 1510 tonnes times 2.7 times times Daily average 785 tonnes 1.7 times 500 Daily average 65 tonnes 0

9 Waste Volumes

10 Commercial Waste Collection - Huge demand for skips and hook bins from Saturday afternoon - All commercial collectors very busy - Normal waste collections from non-food premises subdued - central City lockdown - low level of business activity - Inability to clear hotel waste from Central City cordon zone - Demolition contractors engaged by major commercial enterprises (eg supermarket chains) affected by damage by Saturday afternoon - Fleets of dump trucks (around 100 engaged) commenced food clearing operations on Sunday for next 12 days - Quiet period expected between initial cleanup and re-build startup 10

11 Residential Waste Collection - Transpacific operates the City Council s 3 bin kerbside collection system - Transpacific and CCC staff liaison commenced Sunday to assess road accessibility - Collections operated as per normal from Monday - Ongoing safety issues with voids in roads 11

12 Residential Waste Collection - On affected streets, Transpacific staff assisted residents with wheelie bins - CCC advised residents not to place masonry and other heavy material in bins - Continuation of this basic service uninterrupted - CCC established separate silt collection - CCC transfer stations provided discounted disposal of clean bricks 12

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14 Transfer Stations - 6 transfer stations in Christchurch - 3 private (Transpacific, ERP, Sydenham Recycling) - 3 public (Council owned company CCC2) - No direct access to landfill available at Kate Valley - all waste must go through transfer stations - Size of food waste mountain became apparent by late Monday - Cooperation between transfer station operators Transpacific & CCC2 - Transpacific & CCC2 coordinated waste contractors for CCC & CD - Liaison established with demolition contractors managing the clean out of distribution centres to manage waste flow to transfer stations and to stop any inappropriate stockpiling - Security increased at transfer stations to stop pilfering of alcohol and other potentially salvageable food waste 14

15 Transfer Stations - Transpacific Parkhouse Road commercial waste transfer station - handled 45% of all Christchurch waste in the 2 weeks post-quake - Double shifted from Tuesday - Staff drafted in from other areas to enable 20 hour per day operation for 2 weeks - Second loader hired - Received 1,161 tonnes in 1 day, more than 3 times its record - Averaged 868 tonnes per day in the first week, 5 times normal 15

16 Transfer Stations - CCC2 s 3 public transfer stations handled 43% of all Christchurch waste in the 2 weeks post-quake - increased operating hours - added staff and plant - The other 2 private commercial waste transfer stations handled 12% of all Christchurch waste in the 2 weeks post-quake - received very little food waste, but increased volumes from customers 16

17 Waste Transport System - Transport of waste from transfer stations to landfill is managed by the landfill operator CWS - 12 truck & trailer units in the CWS fleet, with 140 containers - The CWS fleet can carry higher than 44 tonne payloads - CCC granted exemption from the Road Transport Regulations on Tuesday 7th to allow 23 tonne payloads (47 tonne all up), the maximum allowable on the route due to a limit on a bridge on SH1 Pre-quake Post-quake Weekday trips Weekend trips Ave Payload

18 Waste Transport System - 10 of the CWS fleet double shifted for the 2 weeks, operating 22 hours per day - Transpacific drafted drivers from elsewhere in NZ, & had Australian drivers on standby - The CWS fleet was supplemented by 6 subcontractor trucks - On its most productive day, the fleet did 7 trips, 2.5 times the normal level - The ability of the waste transport system to supply empty containers to the 4 key transfer stations was the limiting factor - The Christchurch waste disposal system was not designed for an event of this size - Closed Burwood Landfill was opened to help with the food waste surge 18

19 Waste Transport System 1

20 Kate Valley Landfill - Owned by Transwaste Canterbury, a joint venture between Transpacific and 5 Canterbury Councils - Operated by CWS - Landfill can t be accessed by normal road trucks due to terrain - Containers taken to tipping face by all terrain vehicles - Double shifted, with two 8 hour shifts using the existing experienced staff - All construction, cover mining and covering activity ceased 20

21 Kate Valley Landfill - Emergency RMA powers used by Hurunui District to waive consent conditions on truck movements, access hours, operating hours, and daily cover - Backed up by Civil Defence (no emergency declared in Hurunui) - Temporary approval from Waimakariri District to dispose of leachate into Woodend sewer ocean outfall system - Halved normal leachate haul distance, and freed up 1 CWS truck unit to haul waste 21

22 Kate Valley Landfill - Biggest issue was nature of the food waste, being very wet and sloppy - Potential for bulk laying to cause a layer of instability in the landfill - Mixing food waste with the general waste in transfer stations solved problem, & provided binding strength for the waste to be safely placed and compacted 22

23 Cleanfills - Christchurch City suspended its Cleanfill Bylaw temporarily to allow stockpiling of demolition waste only at cleanfills - Ecan also waived consent conditions for discharges for the emergency period - Ongoing consideration of what will be necessary at cleanfills to cope with the expected large volumes from demolition work - Many unsafe buildings needing to be demolished and sites cleared quickly - One building alone has over 2 million bricks 23

24 Waste Levy - Levy waived on earthquake waste for 3 months - MFE rationale - Extreme difficulty in defining earthquake waste, and its original owners - After consulting MFE & CCC, Transwaste decided to donate the levy paid on all earthquake waste to the Canterbury Mayoral Relief Fund - Funds will thereby go to those in most need, rather than public/private operating companies 24

25 Consent Issues - Quick emergency decisions to waive consent conditions were made - Strong liaison & common aims between Councils, CD, Ecan and waste companies - Necessary consent waivers were granted very quickly - Approval granted to stockpile perishable food waste at temporary facilities, if it was removed to transfer stations asap - CCC monitored removal daily 25

26 Consent Issues - Temporary Burwood cell ensured food waste could be moved from temporary stockpiles fast - Exemptions from the Transport Regulations were granted to allow heavier loads - Reduced necessary truck trips by 15% - Some tidy up issues still to be concluded 26

27 Consent Issues - Orders in Council are being passed under the new Earthquake legislation, to hasten the recovery - Consent issues for cleanfills being assessed, as some demolition material (eg treated timber, asbestos) should be taken to landfill - Aim is to get deconstruction & recovery of materials moving, but ensure residual waste goes to landfill 27

28 Civil Defence Issues - Proper disposal of perishable food waste, to avoid public health issues - Ensuring kerbside residential collection continued as normal - Monitoring of the waste system to ensure peak capacity was utilised - Liaison between CD, Councils, and major waste operators was established and maintained throughout 28

29 Civil Defence Issues - A small cell at Burwood Landfill in Christchurch was opened on Monday 13th September by the CCC, to take the surge above the system capacity, to ensure food waste could be cleared - The cell for food waste received 2,000 tonnes of waste over 4 days - This waste was only the excess above what could be handled by the waste disposal system on a daily basis - The cell will be used to clear emergency demolition waste from buildings already down 2

30 People Issues - Health & safety of staff involved in the cleanup was a major concern People working long hours on disrupted sleep from aftershocks Many staff had personal property damage including lost houses Exhaustion was a real issue in the first week One Transpacific staff member collapsed due to exhaustion Only 1 significant injury occurred when a manager operating a truck hit his head whilst opening a container door 30

31 People Issues - Need for rest met by Sunday shutdowns of entire system - Co-opted staff from outside the region underwent much shorter inductions that normal to get them into action - Some co-opted staff were unable to reach the necessary level of skill and safe performance required and were unable to be used - Some co-opted staff unable to handle the pressure and pulled out - Double shifting allowed working hours to be controlled at reasonable levels whilst still maximising plant operation 31

32 Learnings - Road network to landfill is a major lifeline - Fast disposal of food waste required to speed recovery of food suppliers and to safeguard public health - Need a mechanism for mixing food waste with other stable material to avoid stability issues in landfills - Coordination between transfer stations & waste transport delivery to disposal point essential to avoid traffic & stability issues - Coordination/cooperation between public/private sector facility operators - Fast and clear liaison with Civil Defence - Ability to waive bylaws, consents, and regulations - Trained backup staff - Emergency resources plan to identify staff, plant and equipment resources - Stockpile locations for demolition waste, allowing fast removal & sorting 32

33 Thank you for your time GARETH JAMES MARK CHRISTISON 33