Bobby Masterson, left,is the Fleet/ Solid Waste Superintendent for the City of Edmond. He also oversees all of Edmond's Fleet purchasing and maintenance, and oversees the facilities for Solid Waste disposal. We had him as our speaker this past Tuesday the 23rd of April.We fill the big green and blue bins up with all of our used or unwanted household debris and set them on the curb in the morning. When we get back home the bins are empty and the cycle starts all over. Or has it just started?? What happens to the stuff we toss away? Somebody has to be in charge of it, as well as all of the big trash truck maintenance and, by the way, if it has City of Edmond on the side, his department takes care of it. Lured to Edmond after spending 16 years honing his skills in Texas, Bob was first given the position of supervisor of the solid waste department. After transforming the department into the efficient model it is today, the city manager's office began to task him with more duties until now Bob holds sway over all of the rolling stock on the City of Edmond asset list, from fork lifts to Fire Trucks. Every piece of rolling stock has its own ID number and all expenses incurred by that unit are now maintained in house, logged and charged to the unit and then back to the department that own the unit. This has made all departments able to track perfectly their expenses that in the past had been impossible.
Just a few facts about trash we learned from Bob at the meeting:
Edmond residents set out about 40,000 green trash carts per week. Each trash truck in the fleet can pick up about 1590 carts per day with an ideal route containing a count of 1100 carts.
Edmond spends approximately $2.5 million dollars per year in waste disposal fees. $700K in Vehicle Repairs, $474K Fuel, $716K Fleet Funding costs, $267K cost per new truck (2 this year and 3 scheduled next year), $178,600 for tires. This covers operation for 12-14 trucks/day dependent on conditions. The approximate cost of waste for Edmond is $41.10 per Ton.
About Recycling: Environmentally and socially justified but economically Edmond writes a check for nearly $1million a year ($983K)to recycle 4663.08 Tons of material for $196K savings (almost $700 to the red now, but steadily improving through education and improved efficiency at the recycling center). He stated that Aluminum was the most recyclable material with cardboard closely following. Plastic bottles are a "wash" as they can be made from scratch as cheap as recycled.
Edmond is in the lead as far as most cities in their recycling and waste disposal efforts. Anything that needs to be disposed of can be handled but not all can be put in the green bins. Hazardous materials must be disposed of through a different pick up as well as electronics, building material (bricks, stone, etc). The directions for taking care of these can be found by going to http://edmondok.com/609/Household-Hazardous-Waste
Many other services can be found on the EdmondOk.com website.