The Facility Tour – The Power of Three: Transfer, MRF, and AD at the CRRA 47th Annual Conference

The Facility Tour - The Power of Three: Transfer, MRF, & AD
August 16, 2023

1^st stop: Shoreway Environmental Center 

The award winning Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos is the hub for waste and recycling activities for the RethinkWaste service area (11 public agencies in southern San Mateo County). On this tour you will see the Transfer Station and the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The Transfer Station houses the compost, garbage and construction and demolition materials collected from residents and businesses and self-haul. Inside is also an area for compost giveaway to service area residents and houses our Organics-to-Energy project first piloted in 2020 to process source separated organics to send to nearby wastewater treatment plants to be processed as energy. The MRF, rebuilt in 2010, was upgraded in 2020 with more optical sorters to increase throughput, container separation and glass cleaning.

2^nd stop: Blue Line Biogenic CNG Facility

Guests will visit our dry anaerobic digestion facility where we transform organic waste into fuel and digestate (which undergoes further processing to become soil amendment). Tour will include looks at the receiving bay with in-bound material to be digested, 8 anaerobic digestion tunnels, the control room, 2 in-vessel composting tunnels with digested material being dried, and the infrastructure used for scrubbing, and compressing methane for use as fuel. In operation since late 2014, this award-winning facility is permitted to process 11,200 tons per year. Blue Line's sister company, South San Francisco Scavenger, uses the natural gas produced to power a carbon negative collection fleet and to help its franchise cities earn over 50% of SB 1383's procurement goal.

Tour Timing:

• 2 pm: Leave Hyatt (meet on the lobby level behind the Concierge Desk). Travel time 15-20 min to get to Shoreway
• 2:20 pm-3:45 pm: Shoreway Tour (60 min tour with 25 min for questions)
• 3:45 pm: Leave Shoreway to Blueline. Travel time 25-30 min to Blueline
• 4:15 pm-5:15 pm: Blueline Tour (60 min)
• 5:15 pm: Leave Blueline back to Hyatt. Travel time 20-25 minutes
• 5:45 pm: Return to Hyatt

The “Do’s and the Don’ts”

• Do wear closed-toe shoes (It’s a MUST)
  
• Do sign waivers for each facility and bring with you: Shoreway & Blue Line
• Do wear a face-mask for the duration of the tour at Shoreway
  
• Don’t take pictures of any facility staff at Shoreway