This is a guest post written by Crosslands resident Allen Prindle. You may be surprised to learn about the many tons of waste that is generated by and hauled away from Kendal-Crosslands, and the substantial costs involved. Based on data provided by Facilities Director Roy Manno, Prindle has tabulated the six major categories of waste, the typical volume of each, and the costs involved. At the end of his report, he offers some suggestions for how the costs might be reduced.
This report is intended to share information about the hauling and disposal charges for various waste streams at KCC. The hauler is AJ Blosenski, Inc. PO Box 392 Elverson, PA, 19520-0392. Phone 610-942-2707. The following is based on data obtained from Blosenski for the period July 2024 to October 2024. The first four items are from Account 864804-003. Most of the waste streams are taken to SECCRA (Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority) site along Hwy 926 about 10 miles from KCC.
- CARDBOARD: Cardboard is collected into a rolloff dumpster located near the Service Building. KCC staff transports cardboard from (mostly) loading docks at Kendal and Crosslands in trucks.
Hauling Fee: $350/load
Disposal Fee: $0.00. (Cardboard has recycling value.)
Disposal Location: Taken to SECCRA and then taken to King of Prussia (about 40 miles) where it is baled and sent to recycling.
July 2024: 1.72, 1.79 tons (2 loads) Total = 3.51 tons
Aug 2024: 3.75, ??
Sept 2024: 2.33, 2.11 Total = 4.44
Oct 2024: 2.28, 1.53 Total = 3.81
How is pickup initiated? KCC staff phone to request pick up. - COMPOST/YARD WASTE: This includes the green clippings from shrubs, grass clippings, and the paper bags of yard waste from residents and staff. It is put in a dumpster near the Service Building.
Hauling Fee: $250/load
Disposal Fee: $100/ton
Disposal Location: SECCRA makes mulch and woodchips.
July 2024: 4.97, 3.05, 5.05, 2.05 tons Total = 15.12 Ave/load = 3.78
Aug 2024: 4.86, 6.56 Total = 11.42 Ave/load = 5.71
Sept 2024: 4.71, 3.86 Total = 8.57 Ave/load = 4.28
Oct 2024: 3.61, 5.60 Total = 9.21 Ave/load = 4.60
How is pickup initiated? KCC staff phone to request pick up.
Note #1: KCC staff grind or chip yard waste on site and use for compost or woodchips.
Note #2: The lightest load was 2.05 tons with a total cost of $455/load and an average $/ton of $222. The heaviest load was 6.56 tons with a total cost of $906, and an average $/ton of $138. - BRUSH IN DUMPSTER: This could be tree limbs after a storm, etc.
Hauling Fee: $250/load
Disposal Fee: $100/ton
Disposal Location: SECCRA makes mulch and woodchips.
Sept 2024: 5.39
Oct 2024: 4.50
How is pickup initiated? KCC staff phone to request pick up.
Note: KCC staff grind or chip much of the yard waste on site and use for compost or woodchips. - TRASH IN DUMPSTER: KCC staff collects trash from the apartment buildings, the cottages, health centers, etc. and take it 1) to a dumpster located near the Service Building, or 2) to a compactor near the Service Building. Large items, such as furniture, go to the dumpster.
Hauling Fee: $250/load
Disposal Fee: $100/ton
Disposal Location: SECCRA
July 2024: 4 loads: 3.05, 5.04, 4.02, 3.72 tons Total = 15.83 Ave/load = 3.96
Aug 2024: 3 loads: 4.37, 5.41, 3.53 Total = 13.31 Ave/load = 4.44
Sept 2024: 5 loads: 4.61, 3.86, 3.53, 3.68, 3.76 Total = 19.44 Ave/load = 3.89
Oct 2024: 4 loads: 4.92, 3.61, 2.73, 4.56 Total = 15.82 Ave/load = 3.95
How is pickup initiated? KCC staff phone to request pick up.
Note #1: Sometimes a contractor puts construction waste into the dumpster, but they are not supposed to do that.
Note #2: During this 4-month period, the lightest load was 2.73 tons and the cost to handle that load was $523, ($250+$100*2.73=523) with an average cost of $191/ton. The heaviest load was 5.41 tons and the total cost to handle the load was $791, with an average cost of $146/ton. - TRASH IN COMPACTOR: This is data from account 002. One compactor is located along the loading dock at Crosslands and another at KAL collect food waste and other “household” waste. There is another 35 yard compactor used for resident trash, located near Service Building as described in #4 above.
Rental Fee: $2000/month for 3 compactors
Hauling Fee: $350/load
Disposal Fee: $95/ton
Disposal location: SECCRA
July 2024: 11.97, 4.40, 3.50, 8.67 tons Total=28.54 Ave/load=7.13 $/ton=$214
Aug 2024: 14.83, 13.20, 16.45, 5.53 Total= 50.01 Ave/load=12.50 $/ton=167
Sept 2024: 16.74, 6.62, 12.65 Total = 36.01 Ave/load=12.00 $/ton=180
Oct 2024: 12.98, 6.01, 11.29, 5.82, 12.80 Total = 48.90 Ave/load=9.78 $/ton=171
There was one overweight fee in Aug and one in Sept. Fee = $100.
How is pickup initiated? There is a monitor on the compactors and when it reaches 80% of capacity, a message is sent to Service Dept and KCC staff will phone for a pick up.
Note: The cost of the lightest load of 5.53 tons was 500+350+525=1375, with an average $/ton of $248/ton. The heaviest load was in Sept, and the total cost was 667+350+1590=2607, with an average $/ton of $155/ton. (ignoring the overweight fee). The monthly rental fee was averaged over the number of loads. The calculation of $/ton for each of the four months is reported above. - TRASH AND RECYCLING FROM RESIDENCES: In a Dec, 2024 email from Blosenski to Roy Manno, Blosenski indicated that the trash and recycling from KCC is mixed in with non-KCC residents on the route. Accurate weights for pickup from KCC are not available. Blosenski estimated the following for the year 2024: Trash: 238,576 lbs; Recycling: 181,272 lbs. Destination is SECCRA for trash. King of Prussia is destination for recycling.
A Dec 2024 invoice from Blosenski indicates that KCC is billed on a monthly basis for residential trash and recycling. There is weekly pickup at the apartment buildings, independent living units, Cartmel, and Coniston. The pickup is with a trash truck that can pick up the 96 gallon bins.
KCC is billed each month for 48 trash bins at a rate of $17.25 per bin per month, and for 103 recycling bins at a rate of $11.50 per bin per month.
Dumpster vs Compactor Cost Comparison: The discussion above developed cost per ton comparisons for trash in dumpsters and trash in compactors. Following is a review of the data which shows the cost per ton is lower with heavier loads for the months selected. The data also show that the cost per ton is higher with the compactor than with the dumpsters.
| Min Weight | Max Weight | |
| Dumpster | $191/ton | $146/ton |
| Compactor | 248/ton | $155/ton |
Total Waste Handling and Disposal Costs: The invoices from Blozenski show the totals for the three accounts at KCC. The summary of the three accounts is shown below.
| Acct #001 | Acct #002 | Acct #003 | Total | |
| Residential | Compactors | Dumpsters | ||
| July 2024 | $2,012 | $6,111 | $6,576 | $14,699 |
| Aug 2024 | 2,012 | 8,251 | 4,073 | 14,336 |
| Sept 2024 | 2,012 | 6,571 | 5,394 | 13,977 |
| Oct 2024 | 2,012 | 8,388 | 4,092 | 14,492 |
Summary and Conclusions:
The handling of various waste streams is costly. Understanding the costs will help direct conversations about how to reduce the costs. Options for cost reductions include:
- Fewer dumpster pickups. Be sure dumpsters are full before calling for transport.
- Divert heavy yard waste from hauling by chipping or composting on campus.
- Handling more compost and yard waste internally. Consider passive composting on campus of yard waste, including the paper bags from residents. May need to be chipped?
- Diverting more food waste from trash to compost.
- Evaluate use of compactors vs dumpsters given hauling fees and disposal fees and rental costs
- Residents should be putting recycling materials into recycling bins, not trash.
- Better sorting of trash, recycling and compost in cafés and dining facilities.
- Create composting to reduce weights from trash in dumpsters and compactors.
- Evaluate the number of bins for resident recycling. Reduce the number of bins to reduce costs.
- Create agreement with staff and residents that cooperation with handling trash and recycling will lower costs.
- Monitor contractors to prevent contractors putting waste into dumpsters at KCC.
On the Kendal Journey 