Procurement of Emerging Waste-to-Energy Technologies

The City of Taunton, MA (City) has undertaken a competitive procurement process to consider proposals for a private company to develop, design, permit, finance, construct and operate a Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF), which may be sized up to 1800 tons per day (TPD), to serve both the City’s and region’s needs for long term solid waste management. A comprehensive Request for Qualifications and Proposals (RFQP) for the SWMF was issued in June 2008. The City initiated the procurement process because its current landfill is scheduled to reach capacity in 2013. The procurement process focused on conversion technologies capable of recovering materials and producing electricity or fuels, and maximizing diversion of waste from landfilling. Technologies considered included both traditional and emerging technologies; e.g., composting, co-composting, thermal gasification, aerobic and anaerobic digestion, hydrolysis and mechanical means of waste separation into useful products. Landfilling and traditional waste-to-energy technologies were not considered.