Most of what Watco moves are commodities that consumers want to purchase or use. But in New York City, Watco moves something that everyone wants to be rid of: garbage, or Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as it’s known in the industry.
Watco Terminal and Port Services (WTPS) began operations of the terminal on September 5 and according to Scott Rudolph, vice president of operations, the start was a smooth one. WTPS signed a 20-year contract with two five-year extensions that delivers New York City cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation of MSW to distant landfills. Watco will be loading barges of containerized MSW at terminals in Brooklyn at the Hamilton Terminal and unloading the barges in Elizabeth, New Jersey for furtherance to rail served landfills.
“We’re fortunate to play a key role in the supply chain solution the City has chosen – if we shut down, if the supply chain fails in any of its links, the city would be awash in garbage in no time,” said Marc Massoglia, senior vice president of commercial. “It’s critical to the Department of Sanitation and their plans for reducing congestion on city streets, and in making sure waste is disposed of properly.”
Watco has operated in NYC with three transfer stations: Bronx and Brooklyn which came with the first acquisition of Kinder Morgan terminals and Queens which was opened as a growth initiative in 2015 after the acquisition.
A new project, a marine transfer station, accepts 1,600 tons of containerized waste from the Department of Sanitation, uses cranes to load it onto barges on Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn, and moves it across the harbor to a new intermodal facility Watco built in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There, it is loaded to truck and transported to a railyard to move it to its final destination.
The project relies on the efforts of 15 Team Members lead by General Manager Paul Suarino.
A second Brooklyn location, Southwest Brooklyn, is being built now and will come online next year, Massoglia said.
In a story by Waste Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio said for far too long, communities in the five boroughs were saturated by waste transfer stations and resulting truck traffic. This project shifts the burden.
According to data shared by Waste Today, full implementation of the plan will reduce annual truck travel by more than 60 million miles, including more than 5 million miles in and around New York City.
“When these stations are fully up and running, overburdened communities will breathe easier knowing 200 fewer trucks per day will be carrying trash through Brooklyn,” de Blasio told Waste Today.