A new fleet of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority transfer trailers will be traveling on the county’s highways and roads. The unique feature is not the trailers themselves, but the message they carry.

The goal of the message is to inform residents that LCSWMA generates renewable energy from Lancaster County’s waste. Research indicated many people in the community don’t understand what actually happens to their non-recycled trash after it is collected; especially that energy is recovered from the waste.

In fact, trash is generating enough renewable energy at LCSWMA disposal facilities to power 1 in 6 Lancaster County homes.

After working with a marketing agency, a message was refined and two different graphics were created to turn the transfer fleet into rolling billboards. Jim Warner, LCSWMA Executive Director said, “Given today’s interest in renewable energy, we feel it is very important for Lancaster County residents to understand that LCSWMA is generating renewable energy from their trash and people should feel good about that. It is believed to be the first time truck “wraps” have been used on waste transfer trailers in the U.S.”

Within LCSWMA’s integrated solid waste management system, each transfer vehicle will average 6 trips a day on Routes 30 and 441 to deliver waste from the Transfer Complex on Harrisburg Pike in Lancaster, PA to either its 36 MWh Waste-to-Energy Facility in Bainbridge, PA or its Frey Farm Landfill in Conestoga, PA where a 3.2 MWh power plant generates renewable electricity by combusting landfill gas.

With the construction of the new 40,000 square foot transfer facility on Harrisburg Pike, LCSWMA purchased 13 new top-loading aluminum transfer trailers to replace steel compaction trailers. A benefit to the community is that each new trailer’s 20% increase in payload capacity results in a decrease of about 3,500 LCSWMA truck trips a year on the roads in Lancaster County communities.

Another benefit is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the reduced number of truck trips. Additionally, LCSWMA’s diesel vehicles at all facilities are using a bio-diesel fuel blend which is expected to replace about 12,500 gallons of diesel fuel a year.

For more information, visit the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority website.

6/15/2007