Los andrógenos y su rol biológico en la próstata

Month: 1998, Tons 1999, Tons Percent Increase

January 1.97 7.95 304% February NA NA NA March NA NA NA April 8.74 10.37 19% May 13.80 14.75 7% June 17.46 23.41 34% July 19.84 20.92 5% August 12.74 22.06 73% September 9.70 13.58 40% October 12.37 11.94 -3% November NA 4.75 NA December NA 3.80 NA Annual Amount 96.62 133.53 38%

Note: NA = Not Applicable, yard debris not collected in those months.

annually and the compost is sold fairly quickly during most of the year. There have been a few occasions when the amount of compost produced exceeded the seasonal demand for it, and alternative markets had to be found for it (such as a soil improvement project for a park or discounted sales to commercial customers).

The location and operation of the Compost Facility is the subject of a lease between the County and City. The County has leased the City a parcel of land at the Jefferson County Waste Management Facility for the Compost Facility. The land is part of the site for the closed County landfill, although the Compost Facility is not on an area where solid waste was actually buried. This location is nearly ideal, as it allows co-locating all of the major waste management components (Transfer Station, Recycle Center and the Compost Facility). Co-locating these facilities maximizes ease of administration, leads to efficient transfer of materials between facilities, and allows the common use of the buffer area for the old landfill. This arrangement provides the City with a facility for the cost-effective disposal of their biosolids, and the City receives offsetting revenues from compost sales and from payments for handling biosolids from Kitsap County and septage from private contractors. In return for the use of the land, the City has agreed to be wholly responsible for the operation of the facility and mitigation of any direct impacts it may cause. Altogether, the City composted 2,384 tons of yard debris in 1998. The amount of solid waste collected in that year was 13,862 tons. Based on these numbers, the total composting rate for Jefferson County was 12.2% (see also Table 2.6). As can be seen in Tables 5.1 and 5.2, the amount of yard debris composted in 1999 increased to 2,815 tons.

5.2.2 Needs and Opportunities

There are several needs and opportunities associated with composting in Jefferson County, but in general the current system, with the use of City’s Compost Facility, is working very well.

The amount of yard debris remaining in the County’s waste stream is not precisely known, but it can be assumed that there is more material that could be composted. The available waste

composition data (see Table 2.5) indicates that there is about 1,143 tons of yard debris in the waste stream. This is an area where the waste composition data is especially suspect, however, because it does not address local conditions (i.e., the highly rural nature of much of the County) or existing efforts (the Compost Facility is already diverting a substantial amount of yard debris). The amount of yard debris collected through the curbside program in the City has increased steadily since the program was implemented. The quantities dropped off at the Compost Facility have also increased over the past few years (although the amount in 1997 was larger than in 1998, probably because the 1997 amount included debris from a major storm and from a large development project). These increases indicate that the full potential of composting has possibly not been achieved yet.

One potential opportunity is the increased amount of yard debris that may become available when a burn ban becomes effective January 1, 2001 for the City of Port Townsend. This may actually help address another need, which is that the Compost Facility is chronically short of woody material to serve as a bulking agent. The City could use more of this material to maximize the capacity and productivity of their operation, especially to maximize the facility’s capacity for septage. Additional areas of the County may come under the burn ban if an area achieves a population density of 1,000 people per square mile by January 1, 2001, or if an area achieves this density by the deadline for the next phase of burn bans on January 1, 2007.

Public education can be considered to be an ongoing need, to maintain the current successes as well as increase the amounts of material diverted to composting. Especially as the burn ban is phased in, it will be important to educate people on the preferred handling methods for yard debris. The Olympic Air Pollution Control Authority (OAPCA) anticipates assisting the County, City and appropriate fire departments with this education effort.

The City recently retained a consulting firm to examine the operation of the Compost Facility. This study, the Compost Facility Management and Financial Plan (CH2MH 1996) provides a number of recommendations for improvements and refinements to the facility’s operation. There is currently a proposal by Kitsap County to examine the feasibility of expanding the City’s Compost Facility to handle additional amounts of biosolids from Kitsap County. This proposal is still in the developmental stages (as of 1999), but if it is implemented it would involve an

expansion of the Compost Facility (at Kitsap County’s expense) and greater demand for yard debris or other materials as bulking agents.

In early 1999, the results of routine monitoring detected an elevated level of nitrates in a groundwater monitoring well adjacent to the Compost Facility’s infiltration basins for septage liquid discharge. Changes in the operation of the Compost Facility appear to have resolved this problem as of late 1999, but water quality monitoring will continue.

5.2.3 Alternative Methods

Private individuals are encouraged to separate yard debris, which can be disposed of at no charge through the City’s facility. Individuals who do this could be additionally rewarded with a slip for free or discounted compost, or for credit at the Transfer Station. The County could also set up a drop-off container at the Quilcene Drop Box.

Several issues would first need to be addressed before collecting yard debris at the Quilcene Drop Box. Fire hazards could be a concern and could require special designs or operating requirements. Drop boxes filled with yard debris may not be efficiently hauled due to the bulky nature of some materials (such as brush), and there would also be costs and other factors to consider.

An additional but more drastic method of increasing the level of yard debris diverted from the solid waste stream would be a disposal ban. The disposal ban could take a variety of forms, but one approach would be to require that no yard debris be delivered to the Transfer Station or Quilcene Drop Box. Some means of enforcement would be needed. Bans on placing materials into the municipal solid waste stream appear to be an unpopular option, as demonstrated in several public meetings regarding funding options held in 1997 by the BOCC throughout Jefferson County. Local markets have been proven to be sufficient for the City’s compost product and currently demand for the compost exceeds supply (CH2MH 1996) to the point where consideration must be given to allocating the compost among potential users. There are certain seasons, however, when the demand for compost is lower and alternative end-markets need to be sought out. If the amount of compost increases significantly, then additional market development may be necessary to avoid a surplus of finished product.

The County and City could create demonstration gardens and parks, as per the City park on Water and Adams Streets. A demonstration garden, showing different means of composting, could be designed and implemented at the HJ Carroll Park or other locations.

5.2.4 Recommendations

The following recommendations are made for yard debris composting (see also Recommendations PE5 and R1):

C1) The County should continue to partner with the City of Port Townsend to maintain and expand their biosolids composting operations. If the supply of compost increases above demand, the County and City should utilize the finished product on County and City properties and projects, when applicable.

C2) The County should build demonstration gardens in at least one of its parks, such as the HJ Carroll Park, and other locations to educate residents about the benefits of biosolids, vermiculture and/or yard debris composting. The County should work with local garden clubs or other groups to build and maintain these gardens.

5.2.5 Implementation Schedules and Costs

on an ongoing basis. The cost of this approach could include allocation of additional County land for the biosolids facility, a public relations and information effort, disposal costs for water from the septage and biosolids, and significant construction costs and other capital investments.

Constructing demonstration gardens should be accomplished over the next five years, with two such gardens developed by December 2005. The cost for these gardens is projected to be about $6,000 each for signs, raised beds or other landscaping, compost bins and other improvements (see also Table 5.3). Annual expenses for maintenance and publicity would be minimal due to

assistance provided by local garden clubs, WSU or other groups, but could still reach as high as $1,000 per year.

Recommendation C1 has been given a high priority for implementation, and C2 is medium priority (see also Tables E.1 through E.2).