Objective
Nationwide, many landfills are closing or exhausting their remaining capacity, yet due to environmental restrictions, zoning laws, and other regulatory and bureaucratic delays, pitifully few new landfills are opening to offset the looming space crisis. Municipal waste continues to flow at a higher rate. Many municipalities are facing major problems in managing the nation’s waste stream. As more waste is generated each day, landfills all over the country are quickly facing a capacity crisis. Landfills can be compared to owning a gold mine.
Good Earth Resources, Inc. (GER), was created to address the problem of municipal waste in the St. Louis, Missouri region and reap the lucrative benefits from fully-permitted landfills.
Operation
This operation has four components: buy two landfills; sort, recycle and import out-of state waste streams; convert landfill gas into electricity; or use it as a fuel substitute.
GER will purchase two landfills: one in Eastern Missouri, Martin Creek Landfill, and one at Barton Sanitary Landfill in Southern Illinois. Both landfills can be found near St. Louis in Missouri. The initial waste stream for both landfills comes from the St. Louis area.
All waste will go through both landfills to be sorted and any recyclables removed. The rest will be compacted then baled and buried in the respective landfills. Only 10% landfills today perform these functions. The remainder prefer to dump waste into their landfills, ignoring a substantial source for income.
GER will accept waste direct from customers, send its own trucks to transport more distant materials, and haul waste by rail from New York City and Chicago. GER will have a steady stream of waste from Missouri, which it can use to generate its income projections for the first month. GER anticipates that it will accept up to 1,540 tons of waste daily.
Unique Features
Incoming waste will be taken to the landfills and deposited in receiving facilities. These facilities are designed to contain waste, control vectors, as well as house machinery. Employee-sorters take away all paper, cardboard and plastic from the waste, which is then moved onto conveyers. These will be sold for a large profit and the remainder of the waste will then be compressed into two thirds of cubic yard bales. The landfill will place the bales in a large PVC-wrapped storage cell. This allows for efficient capture of methane gas. This is not the norm in most landfills.
Baling organic waste and removing recyclable materials adds significant value to GER’’s asset base, which is the permitted property. It reduces the landfill’s volume, increasing the landfill’s life. Further, recyclable sales add to gross revenues.
Landfill Valuation
Landfills are valued according to the volume of waste in cubic yards (‘#8220’air yards’#8221) that can fit into the allowed area. The volume of the deposited waste can be multiplied five-fold through compacting. For instance, the Martin Creek landfill permit covers an area of 42 acres to accept 3,612,000 cubic yards. If 2,000 cubic yards of waste were buried each day without compaction, the landfill would be full in six years. Recycling, compacting, baling, and baling can reduce the landfill’s life to 2,000 yards. This increases both value and gross income.
In the St. Louis region, the current fee per cubic yard is $11.33, or $34.00 per ton. 2,000 cubic yards/day of loose waste for 42 acres generates $35,328,000 in 6+ years. By recycling, compacting and baling, the same area can be used for 32 years and generates $176,640,000 or daily volume can be increased. Compacting and sorting are relatively inexpensive in comparison with the increase in valuation. However, recyclables can offset these costs.
Company Objectives
Anticipating waste hauler agreements, GER expects that GER will collect 940 tonnes daily for Barton within the first month of operation. This generates in excess of $5,500,000 revenues per year. Additional 600 tons per day for Martin Creek are transported to Barton during Martin Creek’s construction. This adds $4,000,000. Investors can expect an outstanding annual return as well as ownership in a profitable business with dividends in the first year.
To supplement this waste stream, GER principals will search for additional sources of waste, such as New York City and Chicago. Rail spurs are part of this plan and, once operational, will facilitate the incoming flow of waste from distant cities.
Within 12 months of establishing operations, GER can collect methane gases and convert them to energy. This will increase annual revenues.
Management
GER’s principals are experts in all aspects of the business. They founded the company to address the need for landfills in St. Louis and to also make it a profitable operation.
Don Smith, cofounder, of GER, has extensive waste collection, disposal, and handling experience. In the mid 1980s, Smith managed three of Chicago’s largest landfills and one in Gary, Indiana. Later, he managed a hazardous-waste facility in Scott City. His expertise in working with the Department of Natural Resources resulted in the landfill permit that the property now possesses. He constructed and operated a municipal waste transfer station in Wellston, Missouri in 1984.
John App, cofounder of GER has strong financial and marketing backgrounds and will focus on developing out-of-state waste streams sources from New York City or Chicago. App, who has owned and operated many businesses over the years, was elected to Orange County California Board of Education in 1974 and a founding member of Orange County California Marine Institute at Dana Point.
G. Calvin Rathbone, Esq. G. Calvin Rathbone is the corporate counsel to GER. With a strong sales history, he will also be involved in developing new state waste stream sources. Mr. Rathbone’s previous experience includes manager of sales and marketing for a company providing equipment for the exploration and production of oil and gas.
General Plan of Action
At this time, the principals of GER are seeking a $16,469,951 net investment to:
- Purchase both the Martin Creek & Barton landfills.
- By hauling waste, you can increase the daily waste stream to Barton landfill.
- Barton should have compacting and sorting machines to extend the life of its landfill.
- Complete the construction of Martin Creek landfill.
- Leasing or purchasing the equipment and vehicles necessary for operations.
- For waste collection in Missouri cities, build two transfer stations.
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You can increase your revenues by using methane.
1.1 Objectives
- In excess of $6,000,000, Martin Creek saw an additional 600-ton per day of sales. The first twelve months were a success. We have increased the amount of waste going to Barton landfills and grown each year.
- Barton’s recycling facility should have at least one compactor/baler. There is room for two more compactor/balers.
- Construct Martin Creek landfill and extend the landfill permit to include an additional 80 acres.
- You can buy property to restore an abandoned railway spur near Barton landfill. Construction will take approximately ninety-days.
- Continue to market Martin Creek/Barton by reaching out to other cities and hauling agencies, including from outside-of-state.
1.2 Mission
GER will transport the waste from designated transfer stations to one of its landfills in cases where other waste haulers would normally take it. Both the parties will benefit from this as it will lower GER customers’ costs and will provide GER an additional waste stream through GER’’s more efficient transportation.
All recyclable materials will go to GER for disposal and sale. GER will take used tires from vehicles to make income at the landfills. This operation does more than increase cash flow. It also helps the environment. The principals of GER will make every effort to use all resources to protect the environment.
1.3 Keys To Success
- Concentrate on bringing Martin Creek and Barton the maximum amount of waste capacity.
- Process the waste stream as efficiently and profitably as possible. Strive to reduce down time and stoppages.
- Operate the landfill as safely and efficiently as possible, using all methods to increase profits while still being concerned about the environment.
- Maintain a family-like atmosphere with all GER co-workers and customers.
