HF&H Consultants, LLC

County of Kern

Kern County Solid Waste System Planning

2008 - 2009

HF&H is pleased to announce that we have been selected by the County of Kern to assist them in the development of a recycling and solid waste system plan that will guide the County's recycling and solid waste management programs towards higher levels of diversion, improved customer service, and maximum cost effectiveness.

Client Needs

The County of Kern retained HF&H Consultants in 1998 to perform an evaluation of the Kern County Waste Management Department (KCWMD) and to prepare a department plan which would guide the County's solid waste system for the following 10 years. As this planning horizon reached its end and many of the strategic elements from HF&H's report had been accomplished, the County Board of Supervisors requested that KCWMD provide it with an updated plan to act as a roadmap for the forseeable future. This plan is intended to give the Board of Supervisors the "big picture" view of their recycling and solid waste system from which to make policy decisions. The issues raised by members of the Board include: maximizing the useful life of the County-owned landfill system; improving environmental stewardship; minimizing the liabilities associated with the County-owned landfill system; reducing the air quality impacts of the solid waste system; ensuring that system funding and policy objectives are complementary rather than conflicting; and, reducing abandonned waste problems.

HF&H Solutions

HF&H will assist the County with a comprehensive system planning and redesign process which will include the following elements:

Assessment of system-wide and planning-area demand and capacity for various material types;
Limited waste characterization analysis;
Identification and evaluation of up to 20 alternative landfill diversion and materials management programs;
Development of system-wide and planning-area system portfolios illustrating the programs and facilities required to serve each planning area under various diversion scenarios;
Development of alternative funding strategies to ensure sustainable funding;
Identification of various fee and rate structure alternatives to create incentives;
Assistance in developing policies to guide KCWMD's operations;
Implementation planning guidance; and,
Facilitation of the public input process through their Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee.

More Information

If you would like to learn more about the work that HF&H is doing for Kern County, please do not hesitate to give us a call.