Guam Solid Waste Management Division

News

NEW - Effective August 15, 2008
Ban Rules Adjusted to Take Compactor Containers Into Account

Following additional discussions with customers directly affected by the ban, we are making certain refinements to the policy to ban certain materials at the Ordot Dump and Transfer Stations that took effect on July 17, 2008:

Effective August 15, 2008:

Haulers must identify each self-contained compactor unit owned by the hauling company with a clearly marked number. The number must be clearly visible and able to be identified by SWMD employees. Failure to number the self-contained compactor unit will result in an infraction for the truck.
Numbered self-contained compactor units owned by the hauling company that do not comply with the materials ban will be subject to the Material Ban Enforcement Policy.
When a hauler is transporting a self-contained compactor unit owned by an entity other than the hauler and that self-contained unit is found to be carrying banned substances, an infraction will be assessed against the hauler’s transport vehicle.

Effective July 17, 2008

Ban on Certain Materials at the Ordot Dump and Transfer Stations

Time for a change to recycling

Key to sustainable waste management for Guam

Ordot In order to extend the capacity at the Ordot Dump, increase recycling and comply with Guam EPA Permit No. 05-060LFL, effective July 17, 2008, the following items are no longer accepted at the Ordot Dump or any of the Solid Waste Management Division’s Transfer Stations:

NO Old Corrugated Cardboard Containers (OCC): corrugated cardboard boxes.
NO Yard and Other Vegetative Waste: organic wastes from lawn, tree, horticultural and landscaping activities, including:
- leaves
- grass clippings
- tree prunings
- large cut waste timber and stumps
- other similar materials
NO Untreated Wood: wood, such as construction and demolition lumber or pallets, that has had neither paint/stain nor preservatives applied to it.
NO Inert Material:
- concrete
- concrete blocks
- bricks
- rocks
- other bulky material
NO Mixed Loads: loads containing one or more of the above material will be considered a mixed load as determined by SWMD personnel.

Customers to Whom the Ban Applies

The ban applies to all customers who deliver waste to any of the SWMD’s Transfer Facilities or Ordot Dump. This includes:

All commercial haulers
All loads generated by the Mayors’ Offices
All loads generated by the Government of Guam’s Departments
All residential self haulers

While the ban will not immediately apply to residential customers whose waste is collected by the Solid Waste Management Division, it is anticipated that the ban will be extended to them at a later date.

Materials Ban Enforcement Policy

The following rules will be used to enforce the ban of items from all customers using the SWMD’s Transfer Facilities and Ordot Dump.

Effective August 15, 2008, Haulers will have to clearly number compactor containers for easy identification. Failure to number the containers will result in the truck being warned or banned.
All loads entering facilities are subject to visual inspection by SWMD employees at the gate. If a load is found to contain banned material, the SWMD employee will inform the customer of the transport vehicle of the finding, advise the customer of the rules, inform the customer that the load cannot be dumped at the SWMD’s facilities, and provide information as to what the customer can do with the load. This is not considered an infraction to the banning policy;

If a load with banned material is not detected at the gate and a SWMD employee finds banned material at the disposal point the employee will alert the customer who dumped the banned material of the issue. The SWMD employee shall request that the customer get out of the vehicle, acknowledge the banned material, and answer questions regarding the identity of the customer. The SWMD employee will obtain the customer’s name and company (if applicable), the license plate number of the vehicle, and customer contact information. The customer will be requested to take back the banned material as long as it is safe to do so. No money will be returned to the customer for the material removed from the facility. This load with banned material detected at the gate will be considered an infraction of the banning policy. The SWMD employee will then do the following:

Upon a first or second infraction: the customer committing the infraction will be warned and informed that upon the third infraction by the same vehicle/compactor container that vehicle/compactor container will be banned for a period of one (1) week from disposal at any and all of the SWMD facilities.
Every additional infraction by each specific vehicle/compactor container will result in an additional week being added to that vehicle/compactor container’s exclusion from access to any and all SWMD facilities.
After a one (1) month period during which a customer’s vehicle/compactor container, which had previously been cited as being used in the delivery of the banned material resulting in an infraction, has had no such infraction, the customer for that vehicle/compactor container shall be considered in good standing with that vehicle/compactor container and be provided the privilege of starting the process from the beginning for deliveries with that vehicle/compactor container, with the next infraction, if any, involving that vehicle/compactor container being considered as the first, resulting in only a warning.

Click here for a list of facilities that accept some or all of the banned materials.

For more information:

Press release
Information Flyer - Materials Ban