Charlotte County, Florida — Charlotte County’s Solid Waste Management Division has received the 2011 Collection System Excellence Bronze Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).
In 2010, Charlotte County expanded their residential solid waste automation program to include the collection of recyclables set out at curbside, using the single-stream collection approach. The combination of automated residential collection and single-stream recycling has enabled Charlotte County to provide a world-class level of service to its residents.
Under the County’s Once-a-Week Residential Automation and Single-Stream Recycling Program residents are provided a standardized container into which they place their waste. During collection, the driver positions the collection vehicle beside the cart. Using controls inside the cab of the vehicle, the driver maneuvers a side-mounted arm to pick up the container and dump its contents into the hopper of the vehicle. The driver then uses the arm to place the container back onto the curb. Under this type of collection system, the driver alone is able to service the entire route; and the need for manual labor is eliminated. The savings in personnel and worker’s compensation costs, as well as the increase in crew productivity for automated collected have been well documented for this program. This translates into lower monthly costs for Charlotte County’s citizens and an improved level of service.
SCS Engineers (SCS) is proud to serve as Charlotte County’s Engineer of Record for its solid waste system. Since the mid-1980’s, professionals employed by SCS have provided engineering design, permitting, and construction support for the County’s solid waste system.
