The City of Ames may be changing the way it collects and disposes of the town’s solid waste, citing inefficiencies and cost-cutting initiatives.

The Ames City Council discussed switching the city’s Resource Recovery Plant to a transfer station model and perhaps partnering with a new waste management company during their Tuesday, June 11 meeting.

The city’s current solid waste collection program, an organized model, relies on private haulers to collect and dispose of residential trash. The council hopes to limit trucks from hauling solid waste out of town, instead zeroing in on ways to deposit the trash locally while also trimming the overall cost.

Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips said continuing to operate the Resource Recovery Plant, which converts much of the city’s waste into energy and disposes of rest, would cost the city “a considerable” amount of money. However, addressing the plant’s operating cost, he said, would limit future options, which include other forms of energy.

“We do have a very innovative and unique facility; it has been a model for other facilities in other communities not only across the country but across the world,” Phillips said. “But we’re at a crossroads where we’re going to have to invest a considerable amount of money to continue what we do there, and we’re not certain whether that will work the way we think it will.”

City staff recommends that the Ames’ Resource Recovery System, including the almost 50-year-old Arnold O. Chantland Resource Recovery Plant, be converted to a transfer station model where refuse and recyclable materials can be deposited, consolidated, and loaded for transportation all on-site.

Ames staff suggests keeping solid waste out of Boone landfill

Staff also recommended that the city partner with Metro Waste Authority (MWA) for an organized collection system, which they said would reduce truck traffic on city streets.

The City of Ames currently transports much of its solid waste to the Boone County Landfill on the southwestern edge of Boone off Highway 30. Partnering with Metro Waste Authority would keep the trash consolidation local and wouldn’t require garbage trucks to leave the county.

According to a city report, Story County generated more than 32,000 tons of additional solid waste in 2019 that was deposited in Boone. Story County annually disposes of an average of 20,000 pounds of solid waste outside in Boone.

The city report noted that the Boone landfill is running out of space, and the additional Ames trash is straining the current operation.

Staff said the city could partner with MWA to sort and consolidate the solid waste and load it into semi-trailers before taking the trash to a company-owned location.

This option, the staff said, could eliminate local truck traffic to and from the Boone County Landfill and it would eliminate the need for the city to burn its trash. Though the city turns the waste into energy at the Resource Recovery Plant, city staff said the plant uses roughly $16 million of natural gas each year to do so.

The staff report said new boiler technology, emission regulations, and the switch from coal to natural gas have “impacted the reliability” of the city’s waste-to-energy system in the past decade.

A partnership with Metro Waste Authority would also help manage residential curbside trash and recycling collection.

The council did not make a decision Tuesday whether to partner with MWA or if they are going to switch to a transfer model.

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Waste management provider supports transfer station

Thor Nelson, executive vice president at Aspen Waste Systems, a private trash collection company in Ames, said they support the switch to a transfer station.

Nelson said a transfer station could enhance local recycling efforts. Aspen Waste is one of the few haulers in Ames that picks up recycling, which Nelson said they then take to Des Moines. The VP said not all of the company’s trucks can take recycling to the capital city.

“(The transfer station) is a great option for the community to take control of the waste,” Nelson said. “MWA is a logical partner for what waste may be transferred to, but having a transfer station, you still retain some independence from them and, in the long run, have some options about where you can try to take that place.”

Though Nelson said a transfer station is an improvement, he hopes the city’s decision doesn’t have an impact on the local trash haulers.

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Ames community members offer their opinions

Greg Piklapp, director of community and economic development outreach at the Ames Chamber of Commerce, said that though he supports the city’s economic development, he doesn’t want local providers blocked from providing services.

Ames Climate Action Team member Jeri Neal said she would like to see the city meet its sustainability goals, which start with less on-street traffic and more recycling opportunities.

“I want reduced truck traffic on my street, and I want to be able to do better recycling and be better rewarded for reduced consumption,” Neal said.

Ames resident John Pohlman is the former superintendent at the Resource Recovery Plant. He worked at the facility for more than 30 years but is disappointed with the City of Ames, warning of future issues with a new partner.

“MWA is a very reputable company; they have done a lot of good things in their landfill technologies and recycling programs,” Pohlman said. “But I would remind everyone that as well as you’re doing business with them, you would also be at their mercy.”

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Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames council eyes changes to the city’s waste collection, recycling