MONTREAL (RecyclingMonster): Philadelphia is preparing a new municipal waste-disposal strategy that would continue using both landfill and waste-to-energy capacity while reducing the share of city trash sent for incineration.

The immediate contract decision is unfolding alongside a separate City Council proposal that would require Philadelphia to develop a longer-term system aimed at diverting substantially more material from both landfills and incinerators.

Philadelphia Proposes Contracts With Reworld, WM and Republic

The city's Department of Sanitation plans to award new municipal solid-waste processing and disposal contracts to Reworld, WM and Republic Services.

The agreements would carry initial four-year terms, with the city retaining options for three additional one-year extensions. City Council approval is required before the multiyear contracts can take effect.

Philadelphia's previous disposal contracts with WM and Reworld expired June 30 and were extended for six months while the city completed its procurement and negotiations.

The city's sanitation system collects roughly 600,000 tons of municipal solid waste each year. Philadelphia also handles approximately 85,000 tons of single-stream recyclables annually through a separate recycling-processing contract.

Proposed Contract Would Reduce City's Reliance on Incineration

One of the central issues in the contract debate is how much Philadelphia waste would continue to be sent to Reworld's Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility in Chester, Pennsylvania.

City officials have recently estimated that roughly 38% to 40% of Philadelphia's municipal trash is currently sent for incineration. Officials say the proposed contract structure would reduce that share, although the exact tonnage and percentage assigned to Reworld under the new agreements have not been publicly disclosed.

The balance of the city's waste would be handled through landfill capacity provided under the WM and Republic Services agreements.

According to procurement information reported by the city, WM plans to provide disposal capacity at Fairless Landfill, while Republic Services would provide capacity at Conestoga Landfill.

Environmental Factors Added to Waste Contract Evaluation

Philadelphia incorporated environmental considerations into the municipal waste procurement process alongside more traditional factors such as cost, disposal capacity and operational capability.

During the bidding process, city officials said cost accounted for 30% of the evaluation, transportation impacts for 20% and environmental impacts for 10%.

The environmental review examined landfill and waste-to-energy alternatives, including emissions and transportation considerations.

Zero Waste Circular Economy Act Targets 60% Diversion

City Councilmember Mark Squilla introduced the Zero Waste Circular Economy Act on September 17 as Philadelphia considers how its disposal system should evolve beyond the pending four-year contracts.

The legislation would direct the city to develop a long-term Zero Waste Circular Economy plan within approximately three years and establish a goal of diverting 60% of the city's waste from landfills and incineration.

The proposal does not itself establish a specific deadline for achieving the 60% target. Squilla has said the goal could be reached during a future long-term contracting period.

Future System Could Include Composting and Anaerobic Digestion

The proposed circular-economy framework would require Philadelphia to evaluate alternatives that could reduce the amount of material requiring conventional disposal.

Options discussed by city officials and supporters of the legislation include expanded composting, anaerobic digestion of organic waste, rail transportation, reuse of construction materials and infrastructure capable of manufacturing new products from recovered materials.

City officials have said Philadelphia Gas Works is studying the feasibility of anaerobic digestion, while the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives has received funding to examine food-waste diversion.

The legislation also contemplates longer-term waste and recycling contracts that could give service providers more time to finance major processing infrastructure.

City Projects First-Year Contract Savings

Philadelphia Sanitation Commissioner Crystal Jacobs Shipman has estimated that the proposed municipal waste-disposal contracts could save approximately $7 million during their first year.

The city estimates an additional roughly $2 million in first-year savings from its separate recycling-processing contract.

Those figures are city projections and will depend on the final contracts and actual waste and recycling volumes.

Council Debate Includes Competing Approaches to Incineration

The proposed Reworld agreement remains the most contested component of the city's disposal strategy.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and several other Council members oppose renewing the agreement and support a separate proposal that would prohibit the city from entering into new contracts that involve incinerating municipal waste or recyclables. They have cited public-health and environmental-justice concerns associated with sending Philadelphia's trash to Chester.

The Parker administration has opposed an immediate prohibition on incineration, arguing that restricting disposal options could reduce operational flexibility and increase costs.

Reworld has said its Chester facility operates below applicable federal emissions limits and argues that comparisons between incineration and landfilling should also account for methane emissions, transportation impacts and groundwater-management issues associated with landfills.

The competing proposals therefore differ primarily over timing and disposal strategy: Squilla's legislation focuses on building a longer-term system that reduces dependence on both incineration and landfilling, while Gauthier's proposal seeks to end new city incineration contracts sooner.

City Council Approval Is the Next Contract Milestone

The waste-disposal agreements require approval from nine of Philadelphia City Council's 17 members before they can take effect.

The Council decision on the contracts is separate from consideration of the Zero Waste Circular Economy Act, meaning Philadelphia's immediate disposal arrangements and its longer-term waste-diversion strategy will move through distinct legislative processes.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com