Consulting group is helping Fort Worth develop a 20-year solid waste plan.
Solid waste management consulting group Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), Fairfax, Virginia, has announced it is assisting Fort Worth, Texas, with the development of a 20-year (2015-2035) solid waste management plan.
GBB says key tasks of the project include data gathering and analysis; identification and evaluation of alternatives; public outreach; strategic planning and recommendations; present and future funding strategies; a 20-year implementation and capital improvement plan; and a disaster debris management plan.
Also involved in the project are three Dallas-based firms: Risa Weinberger & Associates Inc.; Arredondo, Zepeda & Brunz LLC; and OCG PR.
GBB says opportunities for further advancement of solid waste practices in Fort Worth that it is exploring include:
- identifying opportunities for commercial waste reduction, recycling and beneficial use;
- achieving higher residential recycling rates;
- identifying processing and recovery facilities to manage resources over the next 20 years; and
- potentially incorporating resource recovery technology for managing nonrecycled waste.
“According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Fort Worth is the country's fastest-growing major city with a 40 percent growth rate since 2000,” says Kim Mote, assistant director of the code compliance department for Fort Worth’s Solid Waste Services Division. “This underscores the importance of sound, long-term solid waste management strategic planning. Based on previous experience with GBB and their reputation elsewhere in the country, we know that they have the expertise and innovative ideas to help us successfully and sustainably manage our solid waste for the future.”
“The city of Fort Worth has a tradition of being proactive in waste management, going back almost 50 years, and is dedicated to providing residents with opportunities to divert, recycle and reuse,” says John Carlton, GBB senior vice president and project manager for the assignment.
GBB's previous experience with Fort Worth includes strategic planning, procurement and negotiation of services. GBB says it was one of the largest and most extensive procurements of privatized services ever undertaken by a U.S. community and that it yielded substantial savings and lease payments and royalties for the city since these new services began operating in 2003.
More recently, GBB completed a performance evaluation of Fort Worth’s selected solid waste contractors and completed a waste characterization audit study.