With limitations on acceptable materials and waste transfer stations in place for the Ordot landfill, affected businesses and residents are adapting
The dumping restrictions, effective Thursday, stated businesses, village mayors and residents who haul their own waste must separate yard waste, untreated lumber, corrugated cardboard and construction debris from their dump loads.
Mayor Paul McDonald of Agana Heights said the ban would likely affect his office's ability to help residents whose trash isn't picked up by the Department of Public Works.
"My situation would be to stop picking up the trash because we can't separate it," said McDonald. "We can take care of the green waste though."
McDonald and other central mayors submitted grant requests for three mulching machines to the Soil and Water Conservation Group through the University of Guam.
The dumping restrictions are the first in a series of changes recommended by the Guam Environmental Protection Agency and implemented by Virginia-based solid waste receivers, Gershman, Brickner and Bratton Inc. The goal of the changes is to extend the life of the Ordot dump until a new landfill can be opened.
Receivership of Guam's solid waste was granted to Gershman, Brickner and Bratton after a March 17 District Court of Guam ruling, which took control of the Ordot dump and transfer stations out of GovGuam's hands.
Frank Shimizu Sr., president and chief executive officer of Ambros Inc., which distributes Anheuser-Busch products on island, said the time for change had come.
"It's about time. To those that want to delay more, I say we can't do it anymore," he said.
Ambros Inc. has been sending about 80 percent of the wooden pallets received with its shipments -- which otherwise would have been sent to Ordot -- back to Los Angeles for reuse. Pallets are now banned from the dump.
"I think it's worth it. We've saved about 100,000 pallets over the past 10 years," said Shimizu.
More recently, Ambros Inc. began separating cardboard from its waste stream for recycling.
"We set it aside, bundle it up and send it to Guahan Waste, and they take it and send it back to somewhere in Asia," said Shimizu.
Lisa Bigly, assistant vice president of quality assurance at the Bank of Guam, said the bank has been self-implementing waste reduction measures for several years. It recycles all of its waste paper, phone books, cardboard, magazines and newspapers.
"It became clear to us that we needed to do something a while back, because of the Ordot situation," said Bigly.
Jackie Marati, Bank of Guam's senior vice president of marketing, said the bank has also taken an active role in encouraging customers to "choose green." The bank began distributing durable cotton bags with new bank accounts in the hope that customers will use fewer plastic and paper bags.
