2011-2012 annual report - ecomaine...ecomaine 2011-2012 annual report 4 bridgton robert fitzcharles...

ecomaine 2011-2012 Annual Report

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Annual Report 2011-2012


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Mission Statement

provides comprehensive long-term solid

waste solutions in a safe, environmentally

responsible, economically sound manner,

and is a leader in raising public awareness

of sustainable waste management

strategies.

Adopted April 22, 2011


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A Message from

General Manager

Kevin Roche

FFiscal year 2011-2012 will be remembered most for its historic “first”: implementation of the nation’s first metals

mining operation from waste-to-energy ash; and its historic

“last”: the decision to make our last long-term debt

paymentin August 2012. These accomplishments are clearly

the outcome of ecomaine’s commitment to an environmentally and financially

sound operation.

This fiscal year we also continued to vigorously support the State of Maine’s

waste hierarchy through legislative initiatives, legislative testimony, and dialog with

State and Federal officials. ecomaine also joined and actively promoted Catalog

Choice to help our members reduce volumes of unwanted printed materials; we

used DEP consent agreement monies to fund and operate a successful mercury

thermostat collection program; we explored landfill gas usage; our waste-to-energy

plant hit the 100% availability mark for the month of September; we used television

to promote recycling; and – as we do every day- turned trash into electricity.

To cap-off this milestone year, ecomaine served as host to the North American

Waste-To-Energy Conference (NAWTEC) on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

Over 400 attendees from around the world came to Portland in April to discuss the

future role of waste-to-energy. Ecomaine was able to showcase its facilities and its

integrated approach to managing solid waste. We were recognized as a model

system in the industry

With the accomplishments of this year behind us, we look forward to what we

can accomplish for our communities in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.


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Bridgton

Robert Fitzcharles Phone: 207.647.8276 E-mail: [email protected]

Cape Elizabeth

David Sherman Phone: 207.253.0519 E-mail: [email protected]

Michael McGovern Vice Chairman Executive Committee - District 5 Phone: 207.799.5251 E-mail: [email protected]

Casco

David Morton Audit Committee Phone: 207.767.3737 E-mail: [email protected]

Cumberland

Susan McGinty Audit Committee Finance Committee Recycling Committee Phone: 207.829.5122 E-Mail: [email protected]

Falmouth

Bonny Rodden Executive Committee - District 5 Recycling Committee Phone: 207.781.2505 E-Mail: [email protected]

Board of Directors

2011-2012 This report is dedicated to Erving Bickford, with great appreciation for his 26 years of service as an

ecomaine director.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Harrison

Mathew Frank Finance Committee Phone: 207.583.2212 E-Mail:[email protected]

Hollis

Len Van Gaasbeek Audit Committee Finance Committee Recycling Committee Phone: 207.727.5205 E-Mail:[email protected]

Limington

Dennis Doughty Recycling Committee Phone: 207.807.1779 E-Mail: [email protected]

Lyman

Maurice St. Clair Finance Committee Phone: 207.499.7562, Ext 10 E-Mail: [email protected]

Freeport

Rodney Regier Executive Committee - District 4 Finance Committee Phone: 207.865.6687 E-Mail: [email protected]

Gorham

David Cole Executive Committee-District 3 Finance Committee Phone: 207.839.5036 E-Mail: [email protected]

Gray

Gary Foster Secretary Executive Committee-District 1 Audit Committee Chair Phone: 207.657.4754 E-Mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]://www.ecomaine.org/aboutus/aboutus.dwtmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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North Yarmouth

Richard Brobst Recycling Committee Phone: 207.829.3480 E-Mail: [email protected]

Ogunquit

John Miller

Executive Committee - District 2

Finance Committee

Recycling Committee

Phone: 207.646.2679

Portland

John Anton Phone: 207.650.8979 E-Mail: [email protected]

Michael Bobinsky Chairman Executive Committee - Portland Finance Committee Phone: 207.874.8801 E-Mail: [email protected]

Portland continued

Nick Mavodones Phone: 207.774.0257 E-Mail: [email protected]

Troy Moon Executive Committee - Portland Recycling Committee Chairman Phone: 207.874.8467 E-Mail: [email protected]

Mark Rees Phone: 207.874.8685 E-Mail: [email protected]

Pownal

Justin Poirer Phone: 207.688.4431 E-Mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Scarborough

Ron Ahlquist Phone: 207.939.5635 E-Mail: [email protected]

Michael Shaw Executive Committee - Scarborough Phone: 207.730.4031 E-Mail: [email protected]

South Portland

Linda Boudreau Executive Committee – South Portland Finance Committee Phone: 207.774.5252 E-Mail: [email protected]

Maxine Beecher Phone: 207.799.8888 E-Mail: [email protected]

South Portland continued

James Gailey Treasurer Executive Committee – South Portland Phone: 207.767.7606 E-Mail: [email protected]

Waterboro

Dennis Abbott Phone: 207.247.5959 E-Mail: [email protected]

Windham

Anthony Plante Immediate Past Chairman Finance Committee Phone: 207.892.2511 E-Mail: [email protected]

Yarmouth

Erving Bickford Phone: 207.846.4882 E-Mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ecomaine.org/images/board/D'Andrea.jpgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Finance &

Administration

TThe finance department establishes a sound

foundation to enable all segments of ecomaine to

operate effectively and with accountability. It ensures

an accurate picture of the organization’s financial health and its plans are made to absorb fluctuations in both the

short and long term.

On April 21, 2012 the Board approved an early pay-off of all long-term bonds; this is scheduled

to occur in early FY 2013 (on August 1, 2012).

ecomaine upgraded its billing system to enable the use of electronic invoices.

A new safety program (Points to Safety) was initiated, which rewards employees for safety

awareness, safety education, and involvement.

FY 2011 Actual FY 2012 Budget FY 2012 Projected

Operating $27,844,804 $24,442,290 $25,135,391

Revenue

Operating $18,752,670 $19,017,488 $19,297,070

Expenses

Net Operating $9,092,134 $5,424,802 $5,838,321

Income

Debt Service ($13,209,000) ($6,836,000) ($6,746,000)

(debt & capital

lease payment)


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ecomaine has 72 full-time positions (though two are currently vacant).

Efforts towards achieving OHSAS 18001 certification are on track for an internal audit review in

September. Once the review has been satisfied, ecomaine will make a decision whether to

continue onto full program certification by an independent authorized auditing agency.

We are actively seeking renewal of our Maine Department of Labor (SHAPE) award status.

Safety Training continues throughout the year:

o Forklift Operators (3 year certification) Loader Operator training- all facilities

o Annual OSHA required training

Regular meetings of the Safety Committee involve management and employees in incident

reviews and safety program oversight.

An outside assessment of the human resources department goals and operation was conducted

and implementation of the resulting recommendations is underway – including training, updated job descriptions, documentation, and a non-union employee handbook.

The FY 2011 financial audit by Runyon Kersteen & Ouellette was completed in October and

resulted in no adjusted entries.

$0

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

$16,000,000

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY2008 FY 2009 FY2010 FY 2011 FY 2012

(projected)

Municipal assessments $4,747,379 $4,456,921 $4,611,193 $4,678,701 $4,678,654 $4,678,654 $4,442,105

All tipping fees $14,522,000 $14,300,000 $13,399,000 $13,105,488 $13,662,000 $13,124,000 $13,328,000

Electric generation $5,358,168 $5,288,450 $4,745,063 $6,250,476 $6,942,000 $5,788,360 $3,588,612

Sales of recycled goods $1,984,262 $2,139,000 $3,112,437 $2,034,325 $2,784,000 $3,920,000 $3,535,000

Operating Revenues FY 2006-2012 (projected)

Municipal assessments All tipping fees Electric generation Sales of recycled goods


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eecomaine accepts a wide range of recyclable material

for the purpose of reducing the waste stream from

both municipal and commercial sources. It separates

materials into nine types and markets them for re-use

in the manufacturing of new products. Revenue from

recycling reduces the cost of operating ecomaine facilities; it seeks to increase

revenues each year through the addition of new municipalities and increased

recycling percentages in the communities we serve.

Greenland, NH became a recycling customer in January 2012, bringing ecomaine’s total number of affiliated communities to 44.

North Haven, a waste customer, also became a recycling customer in May 2012.

Annual recycling tonnage:

FY 2011 Budgeted FY 2012 Projected 2012

Tons: 35,614 37,414 35,073

Annual income from sale of recycling materials:

FY 2011 Budgeted FY 2012 Projected 2012

Sale of Recyclables: $3,920,244 $3,000,229 $3,535,784

The Cumberland County Jail added a single-sort recycling program in May 2012.

4,500 cubic yards of ecomaine’s recycled glass was used in a stabilization project (see Landfill section for details).

An additional catwalk was added at the recycling facility to allow for better access in hard-to-

reach areas requiring maintenance; a camera system was also installed to provide a view of all

areas of the facility from the operator’s station.

For reference by municipal officials and the general public, individualized, monthly recycling statistics for each community were posted on ecomaine’s website.

Recycling


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Residue from recycling is predicted to be 6.94%, which is lower than FY 2011.

A silver bullet painting competition (“Recycling is a Work of Art”) was held for the second year and six winners were selected. This program brings attention to recycling and the end product

becomes a permanent advertisement for the benefits of recycling.

During this fiscal year, more than 1,000 people toured the recycling facility (this number does

not include those who toured during the annual open house). In addition, 15 presentations were

given to groups at outside venues and ecomaine participated in two trade shows to promote

recycling services.

7.65 4.36 4.63 4.73 7.79 6.94

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12*

Percent

Fiscal Year

Recycling: Percent Residue

*8 months of fiscal year


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eecomaine’s waste-to-energy (WTE) plant exists to

provide our owner-municipalities with a practical and

ecologically sensitive disposal system for their waste.

Revenue from the sale of electricity, along with the

collection of tipping fees, contributes to underwriting

the cost of its operation. We welcome additional communities

and commercial operators to use our WTE facility in order to keep the plant

running efficiently, at capacity.

Operating Revenue

FY 2011 Budgeted FY 2012 Forecasted FY 2012

Municipal Assessments $4,678,653 $4.442,105 $4,442.105

Owner Tipping Fees $4,296,472 $4,241,327 $4,270,421

Member Tipping Feed $989,552 $922,674 $1,069,753

Commercial Tipping Fees $5,745,492 $5,734,443 $5,776,784

Spot Market Tipping Fees $2,065,138 $2,039,016 $2,174,952

Sale of Electricity * $5,788,360 $3,853,136 $3,588,612

Operating Expense

$8,825,145 $8,902,643 $8,814,659

In January, 2012, ecomaine’s contract for the sale of its electricity expired with Macquarie and a new one-year contract was signed with Constellation; *due to

continuing low prices for natural gas, the value of our generated electricity dropped

from $0.0495 to $0.038 per KWH.

Boiler availability was 100% in September – an incredible feat. For the June-April ten month average (most recent available), boiler availability averaged 91%, as compared

to 94% during the same period in FY 2011.

Waste-to-Energy


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The cooling tower structure maintenance included select timber replacements and fan

maintenance.

The Waste to Energy facility has replaced its entire fire alarm system with new state of the art equipment. The old system was designed and installed back in 1987. The new system is more

reliable and will keep ecomaine in compliance well into the future.

Both A and B boilers benefitted from the replacement of division wall tubes with

Inconel overlay ($853,000).

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

9,000,000

Kilowatt Hours Produced

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

$0

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

$700,000

$800,000

Monthly Revenue from

Kilowatt Production

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012


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During the annual maintenance shutdown period

(March/April), a new low voltage switchgear panel

was installed (photo at right); the old unit will be

used for spare parts on a second switchgear panel.

The original elevator will be replaced in

June/July 2012.

Heat, ventilation and air conditioning controls were upgraded.

Lime slurry controls were upgraded.

ecomaine’s waste-to-energy plant was the host facility for the 20th North American Waste-to-Energy Conference in April.

Left: ten-panel cut on the third pass (A boiler) to access and replace

a wall of boiler tubes during the annual maintenance shutdown.

Right: Plant Operator Mike Verrill inspects the new fire control system panel.


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TThe landfill/ashfill is necessary to the operation of the

waste-to-energy plant for containment of its resulting

ash in an environmentally sound method. Baled

municipal waste buried at the landfill in an earlier time

(prior to the existence of the WTE plant) is contained

in closed cells. Multiple aspects of both the ashfill and

the balefill are continuously monitored.

Total Cash Operating Expenses

FY 11 Budgeted FY12 Projected FY 12

$1,532,806 $1,585,898 $1,602,140

In October, 2011, a division of Reserve

Management Group (RMG-EM) began bringing

in equipment for the purpose of recovering

metal from our buried ash – the first such operation in the nation. The first load of

recovered metal was shipped off-site on

December, 2011, and work continued through

the winter months with only one day lost to

weather conditions. By the end of FY 12,

ecomaine projections are for a total of 46,000

tons of ash processed and 4,600 tons of ferrous

metal recovered.

Eight thousand feet of eight-inch force main

was cleaned and repaired during the summer months of 2011. This important line

conveys leachate from ecomaine to the Portland sewer system. Information gained and

technology improvements since its last cleaning in 2008 made the process more

efficient, less expensive and more thorough.

Landfill/Ashfill


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Construction plans, specifications and permitting have been completed for the five-acre

Phase 2 West landfill expansion within ecomaine’s existing property. All applications for permits have been made and most approvals have been obtained. The anticipated start

date is mid-July 2012 and the estimated cost for construction is $2 million.

Over the winter months, Phase 1 landfill improvements were made to stabilize ground

movement that was discovered by ecomaine’s geotechnical monitoring devices. The project filled an existing space with 4,500 cubic yards of glass (from ecomaine’s recycling facility), 1,000 cubic yards of sand, and 4,500 cubic yards of clay. The stabilization project

was successful and, also, made 12,000 cubic yards of space available for ashfill use.

The Landfill Gas Utilization project is nearing completion. In August and September,

2011, 178,000 gallons of leachate were injected into a closed balefill to stimulate

production of methane gas from waste; however, no substantial increase occurred. It

appears that the waste is too old to provide adequate gas production for an

economically feasible energy recovery project.

The 7,310 tons of solid waste stored at the landfill in the summer of 2009 and the spring

of 2011 were excavated this winter and hauled to the waste-to-energy plant for fuel.

In FY 2012, 43,362 tons of ash were taken to the ashfill (1,144 fewer tons than in

FY 2011


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Ashfill/Landfill


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TThe environmental department guides ecomaine in

fulfillment of its mission to be environmentally

responsible. Its efforts involve measurements and

calculations, solutions and preventative actions, and

regulatory licenses and reports for the waste-to-energy

and recycling facilities.

Staff of the environmental department presented a paper at the North American

Waste-To-Energy Conference entitled “Waste-To-Energy Biogenic Carbon Dioxide Reductions and USEPA’s Greenhouse Grass Reporting Mandate – What Does the Future Hold?”

The International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 certification for excellence in

environmental management has been renewed at all three facilities. The ISO,

headquartered in Switzerland, requires on-going semi-annual audits by an accredited

registrar; ecomaine’s WTE and recycling center have earned continuous certification since 2002 and the landfill/ashfill since 2007. ecomaine is the largest publically owned

and operated integrated waste management service in the U.S. to hold these

certifications at all three facilities.

ecomaine began implementing a thermostat recycling program in August 2011 using a

supplemental environmental project (SEP) to fund the program. After ten months, a

total of 1,805 thermostats had been collected containing, approximately, 18 pounds of

mercury. This program will continue through February 2013.

ecomaine provided valuable information at several Maine Department of

Environmental protection hearings regarding environmental rule changes and,

similarly, contributed to the Greater Portland Council of Governments’ Energy Working Group to develop Cumberland County’s Climate & Energy Plan.

The employee Environmental Management System (EMS) workgroup continues to

meet monthly and addresses ecomaine’s stewardship of its surrounding environment.

Environment


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ecomaine participated in and was a host-site for two US Drug Enforcement Agency

(DEA) Drug Take-Back days (October and April).

Environmental training programs are conducted annually that reach every employee; all

contractors are required to view an ecomaine environmental training presentation

before entering the facility to work.

Annually, ecomaine’s environmental department conducts 55 water and air tests and files 84 reports; it also maintains 54 licenses and permits.

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Calendar Years

Pounds of Mercury Emitted

Pounds emitted Pounds allowed

Boilers

combined

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Cadmium (ug) Lead (ug) Particulate

Matter (mg)

Stack Test Results

Amount emitted - Boiler A

Amount emitted - Boiler B

Amount allowed

November 2011 Most recent data


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ecomaine removed the following from the waste-to-energy tipping hall floor:

o 71 refrigerators

o 73 air conditioners removed 97.6 pounds of refrigerants

o 15 dehumidifiers

o 117 fluorescent lights

o 9 lbs. of cell phones

o 2,753 lbs. of batteries

o 26,414 lbs. of electronic waste


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TThe intention of communications department is to

engage and educate the public about what ecomaine

is - its mission, public ownership, and relationship to

their daily lives. As it strives to raise public awareness

of the sustainable waste management strategies

employed by ecomaine, it also builds credibility

for its expertise in waste-related issues.

ecomaine created a 12-month advertising campaign for raising recycling awareness in

all its owner and affiliated communities; the paid advertising focused on television, but

also included web advertising.

For ecomaine’s website and for use with visiting groups, a video was created showing all three facilities.

Implemented and publicized Catalog Choice program (photo above) for all 44 owner

and affiliated communities to reduce the generation of unwanted advertising mail. In

less than eight months, the people of ecomaine’s communities have stopped (annually) the production of 83,526 lbs. of CO2, 29,626 lbs. of waste, and 201,133 gallons of water.

ecomaine was cited twice by the national Catalog Choice organization in its “best practices” advisory.

Two monthly newsletters are produced, primarily for employees (“This is ecomaine”) and for board members (“eco-Briefings”).

The annual public Open House was held Saturday,

September 24th and included new participation by

12 recycling/reuse organizations.

eco-Excellence Awards were presented on

March 7 to 18 winners from 17 communities.

(Photo at right: Yarmouth award winner)

Communications


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A digital screen was added to the ground floor lobby to welcome visitors, explain the

purpose of ecomaine, and provide other relevant information.

Website tracking reveals viewership of ecomaine’s site to be in an upward trend (see chart below: linear); content is updated at least twice per week; visits spiked by 47% in

September 2011 due to the Open House, start of school year, start of TV recycling

commercials, and the announcement of Catalog Choice.

Outreach to communities includes several tours per month of ecomaine facilities, off-

site presentations, and participation in special events requested by schools and civic

organizations.

The ground floor conference room was renovated to become the Community Room to

accommodate the growing numbers of visiting groups and special events.

Three banners were designed by ecomaine as a new marketing and educational

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

* O

ct

* N

ov

De

c

Jan

Feb

Ma

r

Ap

r

Ma

y

Jun

Jul

Au

g

Sep

Oct

No

v

De

c

Jan

Feb

Ma

r

Ap

r

Ma

y

Total Visits

Unique Visits (# persons)

New Visitors

Returning Visitors

In-State Visitors

Referrals (via links)

Direct Connection

Linear (Total Visits )

Website Activity

10/10-5/12

2011-2012 annual report - ecomaine...ecomaine 2011-2012 annual report 4 bridgton robert fitzcharles...

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