$2.6 million trash transfer station dedicated in Laconia

The ceremony marking the completion of the new solid waste transfer station on Meredith Center Road in Laconia could not have occurred on a more appropriate day. The weather was gray and ominous. The downpour came just as the two city of Laconia Public Works directors responsible for bringing the new facility to fruition cut the ribbon to symbolize the event.

The gravel roads in the facility, with their muddy ruts on a rainy day and clouds of dust the rest of the time, are a thing of the past. They have been replaced by paved arteries.

It doesn’t look or feel much like a place where you go to dump your trash.

The heavy commercial compactor trucks easily access the new, enclosed 12,000 square foot, three-bay tipping floor at the back of the site. This new building replaces the old, three-sided transfer building.

Smaller commercial haulers and residential users have easy access to separate, covered disposal bins. There's an area of clearly marked bins for materials to be recycled and special areas for the deposit of construction waste.

The facility is the intermediate point between the points where trash is actually generated and the cooperative municipal solid waste incinerator in Pennacook, where it is turned into electricity.

Paul Moynihan, the city’s current DPW Director, heaped praise on Frank Tilton, his retired predecessor, for his early focus on the need for a new facility and the start of the planning that ultimately led to the city entering into a contract with Waste Management for the redevelopment of the facility.

Also on hand for the ceremony were officials from Waste Management. The company partnered with the city to construct the new $2.6-million facility.

According to Moynihan, the state of art facility will handle the 55,000 tons of trash generated annually in Laconia and Gilford, with room for growth.

Laconia, Gilford, and WM split the cost of the construction based upon the amount of waste they each deliver to the facility. Historically, 55-percent or about 30,000 tons of the solid waste processed has been generated by Waste Management. The remaining 45-percent is split by Laconia and Gilford on a 70-30 basis. In tonnage terms, that means about 17,000 tons for Laconia and 7,500 tons for Gilford. The actual numbers may be slightly less because less trash is generated during economic downturns.

The partnership between Waste Management and the two communities will last 18-years. At the end of that time, the three will either enter into a new agreement or the facility will become the property of Laconia.

According to Moynihan, the project will have zero impact on the property taxpayer. “The project cost will be paid by those who generate the trash,” he said. “The city’s share of the facility cost was approximately $825,000. A 10-year bond issue, utilizing the NH Municipal Bond Bank, funded that amount. The bonds are being repaid from an increase of $10 per ton (from $20 to $30) in the fee charged for private loads of two or more tons.”

The fee increase, based on historical data, should generate $150,000 per year, more than enough to retire the bonds.

The fees of $5.00 and $10.00 per load for vehicles carrying less than two-tons remain unchanged. City officials remind residential users that $5.00 and $10.00 coupons must be used to pay the charges for dumping residential refuse at the transfer station. There is no charge for dumping leaves or using the recycling bins.

Retired DPW Director Tilton recalled that the old transfer station was originally a small municipal incinerator that began operations in the 1960s. It was soon converted to a transfer station. The growth of Laconia and the Lakes Region over the last decades of the 20th century resulted in trash generation that far outpaced the capacity of the old facility.

According to Steve Poggi, WM’s Area Engineering Manager, construction of the new facility was accompanied by a number of upgrades to the entire site, including a many that have made the operation more sensitive from an environmental perspective.

The planning, design, and financing of the project took more than two years, and it survived an approval process that included the Laconia Planning Board, the NH Department of Environmental Services, and the NH Department of Transportation.

Sanborn Head and Associates of Concord designed the facility. Horne Construction of Rochester, NH, was the general contractor.