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Minutes - Regular Meeting Solid Waste Advisory Board December 9, 2004 Approved January 6, 2005 Attendance : Bonnie Norwood, Remus Smith, Linda Bowerman, Al Vickers, and Jan Sassaman Staff : Gayle Wilson, Blair Pollock, Wanda McCain, Rebecca Holdway and Rod Visser Guest : Reese Martin Sassaman ask new member, Town of Carrboro representative, Linda Bowerman to tell a little about herself . Bowerman states that her background is biology and she thought this was an interesting way to getting more involved in the community . 1 . Adoption of Minutes from November 11 Norwood moves to accept . Vickers 2na , Passes unanimously . 2 . Feasibility of Controlled Burning of Land Clearing Debris . Board member Smith introduces guest Reese Martin who owns an air curtain burner . Martin states that he runs a small land clearing excavating business in Hillsborough . He states, " I am the one that generates part of the problem of land clearing waste . Years ago this type of material could be put in a gullet' or an old pond that would not hold water . My concern is that eventually we will run out of space and the environmental implications . I would like to address the problem head on . I ' ve talked with the Commissioners and Gayle Wilson about ways to manage this problem . It comes down to managing and disposing the debris in the most economical, environmentally correct, and the way to use the least amount of fossil fuel . This brings me to the issue of air curtain or pit burning . The debris can be burned with a small amount of smoke with the right equipment . " Martin continues -- there are three avenues to get rid of the waste : hauling to a landfill, chipping or grinding and incineration . With landfilling the cost of tipping fees and the mileage are the main issues . Grinding the material, have to transport, the huge equipment, cost of fuel for the equipment, material has to be stock piled and separated . Once it is ground, it will have to be stockpiled again and turned to prevent fires and transported once again to final destination . Incineration with pit burning includes a large engine driven fan, which develops a huge airflow that is directed into a pit 30ft long, 10 ft deep , 10ft wide . A fire is started in the pit, the fan directs air into the pit that raises the temperature of the burn . As smoke rises, it is blown back down into the fire . This gives a hotter, cleaner burn and reduces waste by 95 % . If you grind the material, you have not reduced the volume much . As mulch, it may spontaneously combust . The (potash) material left can be put back into the soil . It is an environmentally friendly way of doing it . 1