Similar processing sites could be sited and operated across New York City. Organics comprise 31% of New York City’s waste stream, and a significant portion can be composted locally and returned to the environment to support green spaces. Decentralized community compost operations are part of the solution to recycling food scraps and diverting this material from landfills. Medium-sized community composting sites can exist in dense urban settings because they are neighborhood assets, as education centers, green spaces, and compost sources for community greening projects. With well-designed systems and appropriately-scaled equipment, they can be managed so that no odor or pest issues are created. These sites reduce carting distances and serve as an impetus for changing local land management practices by making high quality compost abundantly available.
A few years ago, the City of Miami discovered the presence of solid waste ash in their City parks. The ash had been generated by old incinerators and disposed around the City during the early to mid-1900s. Faced with unfunded clean-up costs, the City challenged SCS Engineers to assess the sites and develop a cost-effective strategy to remediate the parkland.
SCS developed a plan to perform complete, yet expedited, environmental assessments of all the locations and then designed an Environmental Cleanup Program utilizing engineering controls to meet Florida’s regulatory compliance, site remediation, and permitting requirements. The Cleanup program is designed to protect residents and visitors during the construction phases, and also to establish environmental safety standards at each site.
The Cleanup Program was developed to provide an environmental solution that eliminates the need for offsite disposal of the affected soils, thereby reducing an estimated 670 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. This safety measure ensures that remediation work can be performed safely without harmful impacts on humans, animals, or plant life. Due to the innovative design of the program, SCS calculates that 112,000 cubic yards of landfill airspace will be saved as work progresses. This, along with the other innovations introduced as part of the overall design, will save the City of Miami more than $10 million dollars.
SCS Engineers continues to oversee the Cleanup Program which remains on-schedule and on-budget. The City of Miami has already reopened Merrie Christmas Park and Blanche Park, with Douglas Park and Curtis Park scheduled to be fully opened in 2016.
“Our environmental professionals have always worked well with the City; Miami knows they can count on us to seek the safest solution to any environmental issue,” said Eddy Smith, SCS Vice President, Southeast Region.
