1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,960 We provide affordable services for all garbage collection recycling in our 2 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,760 department. We have seven divisions of our 58 staff. The majority of those go 3 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,960 out on the residential accounts with over 29,000 separate accounts that's 4 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,820 collected weekly. Our last division is our household hazardous waste division 5 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:33,100 which collects materials from residents and residents in the city and residents 6 00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:36,100 of Cass County that we want to keep out of the landfill. So those would be 7 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:41,020 hazardous materials such as sprays, paints, and electronics. The bulk of that 8 00:00:41,020 --> 00:00:44,740 material is recycled properly. What can't be recycled is disposed of at a 9 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:50,620 proper location. The landfill brings in 220,000 tons per year. So that's 10 00:00:50,620 --> 00:00:54,060 equivalent to about between six and seven hundred tons a day. So there's 11 00:00:54,060 --> 00:00:57,020 multiple projects that go on at the landfill each year. Someone has to do a 12 00:00:57,020 --> 00:01:01,060 cell construction which a cell is where all the garbage is placed. There are some 13 00:01:01,060 --> 00:01:05,180 closure projects that we have to keep up on as well and a formal closure entails 14 00:01:05,180 --> 00:01:10,260 thousands of yards of dirt to be moved, compacted, placed, and tested. So we've 15 00:01:10,260 --> 00:01:13,700 been able to perform those projects as well and within the last year we've 16 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:17,220 completed two of those projects encompassing about ten total acres and 17 00:01:17,220 --> 00:01:20,620 it saved the city about seven hundred thousand dollars. There's a lot of 18 00:01:20,620 --> 00:01:24,460 environmental concerns that we follow every year. We're regulated by the EPA as 19 00:01:24,460 --> 00:01:28,980 well as the state of North Dakota to be sure that we're being good neighbors to 20 00:01:28,980 --> 00:01:32,100 everyone around us. We're keeping water clean. We're keeping our site clean and 21 00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:36,940 managed well. We have our renewable energies program which is methane 22 00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:40,660 capture. We pull the methane that's generated from the in-place garbage and 23 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:45,980 serves two purposes. We send the bulk of that to a partner that we have locally 24 00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:49,620 who uses that for a fuel heat in their boiler system and we have an on-site 25 00:01:49,620 --> 00:01:53,820 generator that uses the methane to generate electricity which we put back 26 00:01:53,820 --> 00:01:57,660 on the grid. To date in that program we have captured and destroyed the 27 00:01:57,660 --> 00:02:03,020 equivalent of over two million metric tons of CO2. Our park in cleanup week it 28 00:02:03,020 --> 00:02:07,260 works hand-in-hand with our Public Works Department and some other contractors in 29 00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:11,400 town that help us haul material. We've set aside a handful of staff who are 30 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,940 taken off of their daily duties and they're just 100% cleanup week and what 31 00:02:15,940 --> 00:02:19,140 we do at the landfill with that material that comes in was make sure that of the 32 00:02:19,140 --> 00:02:23,500 300 trucks that we do get in per day on a typical day at the landfill, the added 33 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:27,060 cleanup week trucks get to go to a different spot and be able to find an 34 00:02:27,060 --> 00:02:31,700 easier time in and out easier path so we're managing essentially two disposal 35 00:02:31,700 --> 00:02:36,140 sites during those two weeks. One of the helps that we've had here is in 2021 we 36 00:02:36,140 --> 00:02:40,940 opened the residential transfer station. The transfer station was created I guess 37 00:02:40,940 --> 00:02:46,380 in 2021 as another option for residents that might have extra household garbage 38 00:02:46,380 --> 00:02:50,100 to get rid of so they don't have to hold on to that mattress or old couch until 39 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:56,460 cleanup week. We really are on a push to keep recycling out of our landfill 40 00:02:56,460 --> 00:03:01,900 specifically scrap metal, cardboard are the two main focuses but in this 41 00:03:01,900 --> 00:03:06,460 facility we have containers for all of those items I just mentioned. There's no 42 00:03:06,460 --> 00:03:11,020 reason to bury that in the landfill it's not going to go anywhere. We can save 43 00:03:11,020 --> 00:03:15,540 that room for a municipal solid waste which is what the landfill is meant for. 44 00:03:16,260 --> 00:03:23,940 I actually am retired and this is a part-time job for me. I enjoy it I'm not 45 00:03:23,940 --> 00:03:28,260 here for the money I'm here because I like the people that work here they're 46 00:03:28,260 --> 00:03:34,140 great. I myself I'll help people unload I don't have to but I do most of the time 47 00:03:34,140 --> 00:03:40,500 it's not really like work it's I enjoy it. We touch base with the public quite 48 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:43,700 frequently our drivers do get used to having their route you'll see there's 49 00:03:43,700 --> 00:03:47,980 some drivers that know families now there's some children in the city that 50 00:03:47,980 --> 00:03:52,380 recognize their driver and that's always cool to see and it's good to be able to 51 00:03:52,380 --> 00:03:55,260 know that you're helping out a lot of people every single day.