Revolver Solves Blaine, Minn., Street Sweeping Dilemma
Wed May 27, 2020 - Midwest Edition #11 CEG
According to the state of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency "street sweepings are materials such as sand, salt, leaves and debris removed from city streets, parking lots and sidewalks to prevent these materials from being washed into storm sewers and surface waters, and is done to improve the appearance of public roadways."
Regarding reusing street sweepings, the same report states that "test results have shown street sweepings from normal sweeping operations are safe and acceptable for reuse in many areas." The state mandated that unless street sweepings had the organics and trash removed from the aggregates, the street sweepings could not be reused and had to be disposed of in an approved landfill.
The City of Blaine
Presented with the increased cost of disposing this material every year from city streets, a large suburban area like the city of Blaine, which has approximately 260 miles of streets that need to be kept clean and produces a lot of unusable refuse and materials, the search was on for a more affordable process.
"The city of Blaine is required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency [MPCA] to manage street sweepings to prevent sand, salt, leaves and debris from entering into storm sewers and surface waters and to help roadways look cleaner. The city has had a process in place for quite some time but it hasn't been as efficient at separating out the various sources making it more difficult to find outlets for the materials," said Rebecca Haug, Water Resources manager of the city of Blaine.
According to Haug, a solution was found last year after being invited to equipment dealer Ruffridge Johnson's Centerville, Minn., headquarters.
Ruffridge Johnson Shows Solution
In the spring of 2019, Dave Hosch, president of Ruffridge Johnson, and his team showed city representatives the perfect solution.
"We took on Revolver at the beginning of 2019 and it has turned out to be a great addition for us. Besides being an easy-to-use, well-built machine, it can be hauled with a 1-ton truck. This makes it a great unit for municipalities and small contractors," said Hosch.
After seeing what the Revolver RT508 could do — its ease of use and how efficiently it processed materials — the city realized it had found the answer and purchased the machine. It was immediately put to work for spring cleanup and was in continuous use through last year's fall leaf season.
"Working with the men and women at Ruffridge Johnson was a great experience. They invited us to their facility to meet with the manufacturer and ask questions. The service department came out to our site and within 20 minutes we were up and running. Just a great company to work with," said Brad LeTourneau, Stormwater Utility foreman of Blaine.
Revolver RT508 Provides Clean Sweep
According to the manufacturer, the Revolver RT508 is an easy-to-use, easy-to-transport portable trommel screening plant. Its applications include topsoil, loam, black dirt, compost, mulch, sand and gravel, construction and demolition debris and recycling.
The drum of the RT508 offers standard features that include:
A 5-ft. diameter by 8-ft. long with choice of screen size
Variable speed rotation for optimum screening action and product control
Reversible drum to prevent plugging
Heavy-duty brush screen cleaning system with ground level adjustment
24-in. drum-mounted rubber boot extension
Optional drum design to accommodate a range of materials
Revolver offers a choice of Caterpillar or Kubota diesel engines, which are supported by nation-wide service and support by Caterpillar and Kubota dealers across the country. The enclosed engine compartment offers easy access for service and glow plugs with adjustable settings.
The feed hopper of the RT508 features a low dump height; a capacity of 4.5 cu. yds., foldable hopper wing flares and a 36-in. wide variable speed belt feeder. Skid steers, tractor backhoes, hydraulic excavators and wheel loaders with up to a 9-ft. wide bucket all work well with the RT508.
According to Haug, "The benefits are the cost savings in being able to separate out the aggregate from the compost from the waste and properly dispose of each source. The aggregate is able to be mixed with rubble and reclaimed into new mixes. The compost is brought to a composting facility to become dirt again and the waste is properly disposed of at a landfill rather than in our natural water systems. Without this screener, all of the material would have to be landfilled."
Operator Test
CEG stopped by to see the machine in action and met with Blaine storm water utility staff members and equipment operators Travis Lenz and Chad Becker.
"This unit has been great to work with and easy to use. It takes five minutes to change out the screens for different aggregate sizes," said Lenz. "We remove large items like logs and asphalt chunks before we load it and then, as it is processing, the organics and trash come out the front. Clean, screened aggregates come out the back. We remove the trash and the organics go to our compost sites for use and the aggregates get mixed into paving and fill projects.
"This is a great product and does exactly what we were looking to do. It can be towed with a 1-ton truck so it is light and portable and can be set up to use in minutes. It is a low-maintenance machine. I can't say enough about how happy we are with this unit."
Haug said the city is in the process of having a fabric-covered building built to house the screener and the sweepings. This will allow for greater efficiency.
For more information, visit revolvertrommels.com or rjequip.com. CEG
This story also appears on Aggregate Equipment Guide.
