Bristol Recycling Committee

27 August 2007 – Meeting Notes

The committee met at the transfer station at 6:00 p.m.  Present were Erica McConologue, Mark Bucklin, Bob Paradis Sr., Sara Shattuck, Francine Swan and Andrew Hemmingway.  Kim Ryan came by to say that she would not be able to stay for this meeting but would be available for Monday evening meetings after 27 August.  Absent were Kim Ryan, David Hill* and Paul Dubrule. 

Mark Bucklin handed out copies of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) Activity Detail Report for Bristol for the 2007, which the committee reviewed.  Review gave the committee and idea of what is being moved through the transfer station and in what amounts as well as which materials make money and which just reduce what has to be shipped to the incinerator.  Mark Bucklin showed the committees around the area available for expansion of the transfer station/recycling and the committee discussed traffic flow through the proposed site along with general layout possibilities.  It was suggested that the layout that was presented at the first meeting be put on the website so that committee members could review it. 

The committee discussed possible materials that could be recycled:

Aluminum, (these are currently be collected at the transfer station and sold by a local organization), Steel, copper and scrap metals, Paper and Cardboard, Glass, clean construction materials and yard waste/debris.

The committee discussed the end of the current incineration contract in 2012 and the anticipated increase in the cost to dispose of waste there.  We are currently paying 42.50 a ton to ship waste to the incinerator in Boscawen and it is likely the cost will increase and perhaps double by the end of the contract period.  The hope is that the recycling activities can reduce or offset expected increases in disposal costs.

The committee discussed various ideas centered around getting community “buy-in” for this initiative, including the emphasizing economics/savings that will result as well as appealing to the desire of parents and grand parents to recycle for their children and grandchildren.  There was discussion about the need to educate the local citizens to the importance of this initiative. 

The committee discussed trying to get an idea of the actual cost of reconfiguring the transfer station for recycling.  Andrew said that his father might be able to come out and look at the site and give a general idea.  There was also discussion of trying to find existing plans on the internet.  Mark said that the cost would vary based on whether the project were done solely by a contractor or if it were done by a contractor with the town highway Dept employees doing those things that they were able to.  Mark Bucklin commented that the tradeoff would like be the time that it took to complete since the work could only be done by his employees when they did not have other pressing work that had to be done. 

The committee discussed getting local businesses involved especially with paper and cardboard which have the greatest potential for actually making money. 

Mark got suggestions from RCCA on small towns in the state that have note worthy recycling programs and the committee decided to try to visit New London, Tuftenboro, Weare, New Boston and Dunbarton on Friday 7 September.  Mark was going to contact the managers of these facilities and see if Friday was a good day for them.  The next meeting will be on Friday 7 September for the tour.  Details will be forthcoming once Mark has a chance to contact the site managers.  Final details will be coordinated by email and telephone. 

Action Items:

            Have the “Z” configuration plan the committee looked at during the first meeting included on the website. (Elizabeth/Krystal)

            Get current rates from the incinerator in Boscawen to use as baseline to estimate cost savings from recycling efforts. (Mark)

            Try to locate existing transfer station/ recycling plans that might be of use to the committee.  (Francine)

            Try to get plan/estimate of costs for reconfiguring of current location. (Andrew/Mark)

Respectfully submitted,

Francine Swan

* Mr. Hill will not be able to make Monday evening meetings.