As a subcontractor to Smith Gardner, GBB was tasked with assisting with the development of a comprehensive solid waste management plan update for York County, SC, and the solid waste rate study to evaluate service costs and rate design.

Solid Waste Management Plan Update

To ensure a thorough and participatory approach to developing a robust and sustainable Solid Waste Master Plan, the Project Team was tasked with:

• Evaluating the County’s solid waste facilities and services offered
• Performing a condition assessment of the County’s solid waste facilities
• Providing improvement recommendations for facilities, programs, and services
• Revising and updating the County’s Code of Ordinances with respect to Solid Waste Management

Comprehensive Solid Waste Rate Study

Concurrently with the solid waste management plan update, to inform it, the team was tasked with preparing a 10-year financial projection to establish the revenue requirements for solid waste management activities, taking into consideration:

• Cost escalation factors, including anticipated changes in current operations
• Provision for population growth and housing stock changes
• Future capital expenditures and funding mechanisms
• Allowances for new technologies, such as energy-efficient vehicles, use of route optimization, landfill gas recovery, etc.
• Provision of appropriate reserves, especially for landfill closure/post-closure
• Allowances for new services as identified in the Solid Waste Management Plan

With the current and future costs of each activity identified, the revenue requirements for each service can then be projected and compared with current rates to identify adjustments that can be made to establish fair, equitable, and comprehensive rates.