New Post has been published on Citizensjournal.us
New Post has been published on http://citizensjournal.us/1-year-anniversasy-of-oxnard-recycling-facility-takeover/
1 year anniversasy of Oxnard recycling facility takeover- Successes cited
By George Miller
Oxnard Material Recycling Facility (MRF) Manager Todd Housely reported significant successes at the 1 yr anniversary of the City takeover of the facility. 92% of promised improvements were made- calculated at $2 million in annual savings (in spite of a BIG drop in commodity prices) in costs to city + doubling of diversion rate (amount NOT sent to landfills) to 30+%. The MRF reduced landfill truckloads from 8/day to 6.5. All this was done while a number of employees switched to significantly higher City compensation plans. READ HIS REPORT: Annual Report on City Operation of Del Norte (pdf 8,828 KB)
Much of the success of the MRF project is attributable to Todd Housely, shown giving his report at the 3-24 Council meeting. Rob Roshanian, Dan Rydberg and consultant Dr. Seng also figured prominently.. (Photo: CitizensJournal.us)
Credit for success was also given to Rob Roshanian, Dan Rydberg and Dr,. Seng Consultant, but many figure in this success. According to Housely, there is now significantly better and more remunerative recycling of pallets, mattresses, metals.
We’ll never know how a new contract with a new operator would have fared. Mayor Flynn acknowledged that it might have been a bad contract with Republic, the former operator. Significantly, when Dr. Seng was asked how we did compared to other cities taking over privately operated MRF’s, he said there were very few and we were the ONLY successful such action he knew of.
Some of the winning MRF team members at City Hall- 3-24-15. (Photo: Dan Pinedo)
An Estimated $10-15MM in capital requirements may be needed, although this is not a rigorous analysis. Housely foresees powering the plant with waste methane gases, composting some materials and further processing others, to move closer to 100% diversion- 50% may be required in a few years. This will not only be accomplished by the MRF, but by citizen education./cooperation on best goods purchases toreduce waste and proper recycling procedures.
Some major new equipment has already been ordered, with some installed. The entire fleet of transport trucks needs replacement at great cost. Accountant and 2014 mayoral candidate Larry Stein told CitizensJournal.us, that the city has not reserved money via a sinking fund to have it available when needed, therefore financing will be a struggle, especially when an an eight digit deficit may occur this year.
Gerard Kapuscik suggested a MRF metrics dashboard:
The City has still not met its goal of making all facility employees City employees, but vowed to do so.
Oxnard MRF
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George Miller is Publisher of Citizensjournal.us and a “retired” operations management consultant, active in civic affairs, living in Oxnard.
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