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The Advantage in the Waste Industry

Sunshine Disposal & Recycling: Investing in New Opportunities and Technologies

Committed to changing with the industry, SunShine DiSpoSal & ReCyCling pRoviDeS a CompRehenSive SCope of SoliD waSte anD ReCyCling SeRviCeS to the cities and counties they serve.
EstablishEd in thE south End of sEattlE, Washington four generations ago by the Torre family, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling (Addy, WA) started with just a horse and wagon. Louis Torre had the vision to see that there was a demand to begin trash collection services. The Torre family stepped up to the challenge when many others were not interested. The company exploded in the 1960s when they were awarded the contract to collect trash for the City of Seattle. This opportunity provided the chance for rapid growth. Sunshine Disposal, then known as General Disposal, expanded from a fleet of a few trucks to over 20. The companys growth has continued from generation to generation. Today, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling provides a comprehensive scope of solid waste and recycling services to cities and counties throughout Inland Region of the Northwest. This area has a population of nearly one million people with vast majority living in rural areas. Currently, the company has more than 100 pieces of equipment and approximately 60 of those are collection vehicles that provide recycling and garbage service. In addition to collection services, the company also offers transfer, disposal and septic services. Sunshine Disposal & Recycling owns a transfer station in Spokane County and operates other transfer facilities throughout the region as well.
Sunshine Disposal & Recycling recently purchased a truck with a diesel motor equipped with Selective Catalytic Reduction, which is the only technology that produces the reduction of exhaust fume emissions while allowing optimum engine operation in terms of performance and fuel consumption.

Photos courtesy of Sunshine Disposal & Recycling.

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As Seen In

Food Waste Recycling

Over the past few years the poor economy has presented challenges. One of Advantage in the Waste Industry been the significant drop-off in the disposal and recycling The the biggest has of construction materials. As a result, Sunshine Disposal has mitigated the challenge by implementing new lines of business. The company implemented the first food waste recycling program in Spokane County in May 2010. This has help offset some of the declining business in the construction sector. Says Marc Torre, President of Sunshine Disposal & Recycling, When the economy crashed, we began to see underutilization of our roll-off equipment. As a result, we have looked for opportunities to broaden our service offerings. One of the first things we did was to offer food waste recycling. This line of business was popular in other areas of our region but had not been introduced in the Spokane area. Torre explains that it was a long process which involved working with a local processor to make sure they would be capable of composting the material. Once that assurance was secure, the company had to develop an entire educational program. Procuring the proper food waste recycling equipment was no small task since this recycling stream is different than the usual recyclables. We had to procure watertight containers for the inevitable material that will run out of the food waste. We also had to secure customers into a program that was new to the marketplace. Since this type of service is different from the ones that are more familiar to the community, he says that it has taken a lot of ongoing

WasteAdvantage

Sunshine Disposal has mitigated the challenge of the economy by implementing a food waste recycling program in Spokane County in May 2010.

WasteAdvantage Magazine November 2011

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sunshine disposal and Recycling: investing in new opportunities and technologies

education and training. Torres staff has spent countless hours working with local schools to educate them as to what can and cannot be recycled and the proper disposal methods. Introducing a new service has been a slow process. I think a lot of that has to do with the economy. People are very conservative about making any changes due to some of the uncertainty. According to Torre their composting process is a full circle. Sunshine Disposal & Recycling hauls organic material from the Spokane area to a regional processor. The company hauls back the finished registered, organic compost. All finished products are distributed into the marketplace where they originated as a waste. He explains, It is a closed loop system. We are able to collect food waste in our community and then return a very high quality, useable, product that is in demand. The finished product is sold into the landscaping marketplace through wholesalers, retailers and directly to some landscaping companies. Torre says he is proud of the success this program has had.

Established in the south end of Seattle, WA four generations ago by the Torre family, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling started with just a horse and wagon.

Curbside Recycling
In the poor economy, internal growth has been relatively flat. Service is voluntary outside of contracted areas. Torre says, Some people simply cannot afford garbage service right now. Some are fighting to try to make their mortgage payment. Obviously, this pushes paying a garbage bill down their list of priorities. As a result, some people will throw their trash along the roadside or toss it in a dumpster behind a business in town. In many rural areas, Torre says that some people even resort to burning their trash. To try and combat this, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling has worked hard to

enhance services without increasing fees. For example, they have recently added single-stream curbside recycling to its offerings in Western Spokane County. The goal of the program is to increase diversion from the landfill while saving the customer a little money. It works well because the customer can now recycle, and as a result, lower their garbage subscription level. The offset in fees provides a small savings each month. While the company ran several pilot programs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it implemented its first full scale curbside recycling program in the mid-1990s. The most recent roll out came in a collaboration between Sunshine Disposal & Recycling, Spokane County and the State of Washingtons regulatory agency. The program is the first single-stream recycling service in Spokane County. Under Washingtons system, the county has the option to pass a service level ordinance. This process provides that any voluntary garbage subscriber will also receive recycling service. Torre explains, About a year ago we learned that our Spokane area disposal fees would be rapidly escalating. We took a proactive approach. Immediately we began to work with the Board of County Commissioners to try and find ways to diminish the effect on the customer. They knew they needed to implement the new program to help the customer out. The Board of Commissioners understanding of the service level process was important. We could not have implemented the recycling program without their partnership, Torre says. He also points out that in some of their communities, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling holds an annual or semi-annual cleanup at a designated location where people can dispose of their waste at no cost. Torre says these programs are very popular. A lot of our customers live a long distance from their disposal options. Without these events many of these people would not have access to clean up their yard or garage and properly dispose of their junk.

Community Outreach and Safety

In addition to curbside recycling and food waste programs, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling has participated in many community outreach programs. Every September, Valley Fest is held in the City of Spokane Valley. The company will bring trucks to the community to let them look at and explore, as well as set up a booth with educational material explaining their programs. They also visit and provide educational discussions and donations to area schools. When we rolled out the food waste recycling program in the Central Valley School District one of the schools held a competition to develop a song about it. It was great. The local news did a morning segment on it, says Torre. Additionally, East Valley High School in Spokane Valley has a program called Farm to School. In September they created a little garden in order to teach the students about plant growth and Sunshine Disposal & Recycling donated some compost and finished product for their use.
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sunshine disposal and Recycling: investing in new opportunities and technologies

Investing in Urea
Torre points out that keeping up with changing government regulations has always been a priority for Sunshine Disposal & Recycling. As some of the industry converts to alternative fuels, there is limited or no infrastructure for those fuels in their area. Although urban and metro areas are able to convert over and get the appropriate fuel and pricing, the company still has to use diesel because of the vicinity to the urban core. Currently, as you move away from the urban core and into the more rural areas, the barriers to invest in infrastructure for CNG and LNG are tougher. As a result we are purchasing new trucks that meet the current diesel emission standards, says Torre. Sunshine Disposal & Recycling recently purchased a truck with a diesel motor equipped with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), which is the only technology that produces the reduction of exhaust fume emissions while allowing optimum engine operation in terms of performance and fuel consumption. SCR technology reduces emissions of the NOx gases that are produced inside the engine during combustion. This process requires the correct injected volume of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)a very pure, aqueous, solution of urea. It is a clear liquid similar in appearance to water. DEF is sprayed into the exhaust, where it is subsequently hydrolyzed before the catalytic converter breaks down nitrogen oxide (NOx) into harmless nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O). Since the 2012 emissions standard has allowed the company to get back to maintaining new equipment purchasing and procuring new equipment, they made the conscious

In addition to curbside recycling and food waste programs, Sunshine Disposal & Recycling has participated in many community outreach programs.

decision to purchase this type of garbage truck. According to Marc, not only is it working out well, but the refueling rate is low enough that the company can handle it at their facilities. We have been pleasantly surprised with the results of our first urea truck.

Continuing to Grow
One of Sunshine Disposal & Recyclings goals is to continue its growth and remain committed to changing with the industry. With their current emphasis on recycling, Torre says, A large portion of our waste stream is recyclable. As new opportunities to recycle emerge, it is important to us to continue to move in that direction. For more information about Sunshine Disposal & Recycling, call (509) 924-5678 or visit www.sunshinedisposal.com.

2011 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved.Reprinted from Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted without permission from the publisher.

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