Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
2.
S
TUDY
A
REA
2.1. Solid Waste Collection
The City of Altoona, Pennsylvania is one of twenty-four municipalities
located in Blair County (Figure 1). It has a population of 46,320 with 19,473
households spread across 9.91 square miles of land (US Census Bureau, 2012).
The city's inefficient solid waste collection problem emanates from a
―freedom to choose‖ system where residents choose their own solid waste
company because the city has no department of solid waste management nor
do they contract a single company for waste collection. As a result, 20
independent companies operate within the city collecting solid waste and
recyclables. Their customer base is not concentrated in one particular area of
the city but rather is scattered throughout the city. As a result, any particular
neighborhood could have several separate companies collecting solid waste
throughout the day. Such a system has a trickledown effect as the sheer
number of companies leads to a number of environmental and policy issues.
The only positive aspect of solid waste collection within the city is that
residents are required to participate in curbside recycling of newspaper, other
mixed paper, cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and steel cans.
Companies working within the city are required to properly recycle these
materials and adhere to ordinances set by the city and IRC. It's worth noting
that the only municipality in Blair County that contracts their solid waste
collection to a single company is the borough of Tyrone. Not coincidentally,
monthly costs in Tyrone are more than $8US cheaper per household than the
average cost in the City of Altoona.
2.2. Inefficient Solid Waste Collection
In 2006, Gannett Fleming, Inc. performed a study that evaluated recycling
and solid waste collection in the City of Altoona and surrounding townships.
They concluded that the freedom to choose system as it existed was expensive,
inefficient, and impossible to enforce (Gannett Fleming, 2006). Based on the
report, Altoona City Council was prepared to contract a single company for
solid waste collection within the city. This would reduce the cost per
household to $14.00US (25-35 percent savings) when compared to the current
$22.00US average fee per month paid by Altoona residents for private
subscription service at that time. However, a small minority of Altoona