CREST HAVEN – They were trash talkin’ at the county MUA the other day.
Conclusion: Construction and demolition debris “leveled off” or “plateaued” last year indicating the local building boom may have peaked.
“You can’t count on continued growth,” Solid Waste Manager John Baron told commissioners March 2.
“It’s a good thing,” he added. “We need the air space (in the landfill).”
That doesn’t mean island residents in particular aren’t being wakened to the sound of hammers at 8 a.m. It means the double digit percentage of C&D growth may be over.
Baron’s 10-year study showed a C&D yearly growth of 21 percent in 1997, followed by 41 percent in 1998, 10 percent in 1999, 16 percent in 2000, 10.5 percent in 2001, 14.26 percent in 2002, 23.8 percent in 2003 and 17.5 percent in 2004.
Then, kerplunk, the increase of 2005 over 2004 was just 3.27 percent.
“It’s still an enormous pace,” Baron told the Herald, “but it’s not going up 10 percent.”
He said C&D so far this year is “a little ahead over last year,” but he credited the “phenomenal weather” which made it possible for builders to do more work.
Municipal trash – that’s what you throw in the garbage can – has had a small but consistent increase recently, but even that rate of growth fell last year.
It was 3.78 percent in 2002, 5.4 percent in 2003, and 3 percent in 2004. Last year, it was one half of 1 percent.
It also is up so far this year, said Baron, presumably for the same reason: good weather that brought visitors to the shore.
The “total waste stream” climbed only 2.37 percent last year compared to 10 percent in 2004 and 14 percent in 2003, according to Baron.
But last year’s total, just over 250,000 tons, is double that of 10 years ago.
Contact Zelnik at (609) 886-8600 Ext. 27 or: jzelnik@cmcherald.com
