the City of Suffolk owns garbage cans
the City of Suffolk owns garbage cans
In 1976, eight jurisdictions in southern Hampton Roads created the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA). It evolved from the Southeastern Water Authority of Virginia. That authority had been created originally in 1973, but failed to gain traction as a regional solution for coordinating water supply efforts.
Two waste management approaches were adopted, incineration and landfill disposal.
The US Navy needed a steam generating plant in Portsmouth for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The Southeastern Public Service Authority constructed a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) plant next door to process municipal solid waste into fuel, which was carried by conveyor belt to the steam plant. Over 80% of the municipal solid waste in Virginia beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake was burned to generate steam and energy, and the steam was delivered to the shipyard.
the Wheelabrator plant in Portsmouth was on the northern edge of the Norfolk Navy Shipyard
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Revenue from the US Navy for steam purchases plus sale of electricity minimized sold waste disposal costs.1
The US Navy completed an Environmental Assessment in 2017 of a plan to build its own 20 MW (megawatt) Combined Heat and Power Plant at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. it was designed with two turbines burning natural gas, with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) as back-up for up to 1,000 hours per year, rather than Refuse Derived Fuel.
Lowering costs for steam and electricity would free up funding to construct at new Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant, replacing a 40-year old facility. The power plant and a Battery Energy Storage System was planned to serve as an independent source of electricity in case the electricity transmission grid was interrupted, enhancing national security.2
the new US Navy Combined Heat and Power Plant was built on a parking lot at the shipyard
Source: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Combined Heat and Power Plant and Energy Conservation Measures Briefing (July 1, 2020)
After losing access to a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) plant, the Southeastern Public Service Authority determined that its landfill was expected to reach permitted capacity in 2060 but 70% of the material being disposed at the landfill could be recycled or converted into biochar. The regional agency then completed a Alternative Waste Disposal project using cameras, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to separate material which could be diverted from the landfill.
Commonwealth Sortation, a subsidy of AMP Sortation, invested $200 million in the new approach. It started in 2026, and by 2029 was expected to process 500,000 tons a year and extend the life of the landfill through 2095.3
Source: SPSA Waste Solutions, What is Alternative Waste Disposal?
at the Alternative Waste Disposal project, artificial intelligence (AI) helped identify how to sort recyclables and materials suitable for biochar from waste destined for the landfill
Source: SPSA Waste Solutions, What is Alternative Waste Disposal?
the Southeastern Public Service Authority became the regional waste manager in 1976
Source: Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA), Our Story/a>