Transfer Station Repair and Maintenance: Trickier than You Might Think!
Transfer stations remain an expensive type of facility to own and operate due to their harsh exposure. However, with some changes in approach and expectations, the types of self-propagating issues leading to this can be mitigated.
The difficulty in owning, operating, and maintaining solid waste transfer stations is often underappreciated. At first glance, a transfer station seems like a simple structure, consisting of a metal building, concrete floor, and, most commonly, a pit to load material into trailers. As simple as these facilities may seem, the extremely aggressive exposure environment and continuous operations make them very tricky to keep in operation. Our experience shows that designers and owners both frequently underappreciate the complexity of these facilities during initial design and construction, routine maintenance, and rehabilitation projects.
In today’s environment of operational cost pressures, employee turnover, and constrained budgets, our industry needs to “up our game” and better navigate all the different challenges of our unique facilities—they will wear out, break, and will need repair in the future.
Publisher
WasteAdvantage Magazine