Types of Municipal Solid Waste Transfer Station

TRANSFER STATION

The transfer of waste is frequently accompanied by removal, separation or handling of waste. In areas, where wastes  are  not  already  dense,  they  may  be  compacted  at  a transfer station. The  technical limitations  of smaller  collection  vehicles  and  the low hauling cost of solid waste, using larger vehicles, make a transfer  station  viable. Also,  the use  of transfer  station proves reasonable, when there is  a need for vehicles servicing a collection route to travel shorter distances, unload and return quickly to their primary task of collecting the waste.

 Limitations  in hauling solid wastes are the main factors to be considered, while evaluating the use of transfer stations. These include the additional capital costs of purchasing trailers, building transfer stations and the extra time, labour and energy required for transferring wastes from collection truck to transfer trailer.

1      Types

Depending on the size, transfer stations can be either of the following two types:

(i)           Small to medium transfer stations: These are direct-discharge stations

that  provide  no  intermediate  waste  storage  area.  The  capacities  are generally small

(less than 100 tonnes/day) and medium (100 to 500 tonnes/day). Depending on weather, site aesthetics and environmental concerns, transfer operations of this size may be located either indoor or outdoor. More complex small transfer stations are usually attended during hours of  operation and may include some  simple  waste  and  materials processing  facilities. For example, it includes a recyclable material separation  and processing centre. The required overall  station capacity (i.e., the  number  and  size  of containers) depends on the  size and population density of the area served and the frequency of collection. 

(ii) Large transfer stations: These are designed for heavy commercial use by private and municipal collection vehicles. The typical operational procedure for a larger station is as follows:

when collection vehicles arrive at the site, they are checked in for billing, weighed and directed to the appropriate dumping area;

collection vehicles travel to the dumping area and empty the wastes into a waiting trailer, a pit or a platform;

after unloading, the collection vehicle leaves the site, and there is no need to weigh the departing vehicle, if its weight (empty) is known;