Composting feasibility study and conceptual planning for the city of Harlingen, Texas

A feasibility analysis of composting green waste and biosolids was conducted for the City of Harlingen, Texas. Two alternatives were evaluated. Alternative 1 assumed that a municipal facility that served Harlingen alone would be implemented and that Harlingen would assume all costs. Alternative 2 assumed that a regional facility that served Harlingen, Edinburg, and Mission combined would be implemented, and that the three cities would share costs equally. It was initially hypothesized that (1) either alternative would be more cost effective than Harlingen's existing green waste and biosolids management practices, and that (2) due to economies of scale, the regional composting facility would be the more cost-effective alternative. The results of a cost-benefit analysis indicated, however, that neither of the two alternatives would result in net benefits and that the municipal facility would be less costly than the regional facility because lower waste hauling costs out-weighed higher O&M costs.