A recent article in Waste Advantage Magazine features a detailed and comprehensive operation, the Sussex County, NJ Municipal Utilities Authority (SCMUA). The SCMUA team continuously looks for innovative solutions that will not only make operations more efficient but also help them to ‘be a good neighbor ’and resource to the surrounding communities.
“We are self-sufficient. Right now, we can manage our own solid waste through 2066, depending on a number of factors—recycling rates, population growth and what the regulations are going to be in 20 years, etc.,” says John Hatzelis, SCMUA Administrator.
The SCMUA is headed by a nine-person Board of Commissioners, and employs about 70 people, including wastewater, solid waste and central services staff, and receives support from SCS Engineers.
According to Tom Varro, Executive Director and Chief Engineer, “Everyone who works here knows their job and does it well. With the amount of traffic, 20,000 customers per month, 240,000 per year, that is a lot of potential for complaints. Every once in a while, you get someone that wasn’t happy, but for the most part, we get a lot of positive feedback, like ‘I love this place’, ‘I go here every Saturday’, ‘The guys are helpful’, etc. That is part of what we do as a service to the county and I think we’ve worked hard to get the staff trained and motivated.”
Learn more about this landfill operation’s best practices and outreach program in Waste Advantage.
