Evaluation of the Refuse Management System at the Jersey City Operation Breakthrough Site. Volume 3. Utilities Demonstration Series

摘要

The reliability and maintainability, performance, capital and maintenance costs, and the environmental impact of the solid waste management system at the Jersey City, N.J., Operation Breakthrough site are evaluated. The installation was the first pneumatic trash collection system (PTC) used to collect residential refuse in the United States. The annual cost of $120,021 to collect 248 tons of refuse, was 160 to 460 percent more expensive than the cost of conventional systems. However, the system would have been cost - effective if it had been operated at design capacity. During its first 18 - month period (July 1974 to December 1975), the system was operable only 54 percent of the time and had a 50 percent probability of failure within 16 hours or 15 cycles of operation. The main transport line, programmer, discharge valves, control panel, vertical trash chutes, and compactor caused 88 percent of all malfunctions, 95 percent of downtime, and 91 percent of all repair manhours. Design recommendations that could increase system reliability to about 86 percent have been made. Modifications which could make the system practical in future residential complexes are also suggested. The PTC system has many benefits: reduced labor costs, control of rodents and vermin, and the elimination of odor, noise, and litter. Photographs, drawings, and statistics illustrate this evaluation. Appendices contain the test plans for each component of the system and calculations for the transport velocity, for service life of various components, and for energy use and costs. References are included.