European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 29, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 overt Ere the View from the top of the Heap when it comes to reformer one Man talks trash by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wurzburg West Germany Cap. Mike Presley has been talking trash since August. That s when he was Given the dubious Honor of coordinating the disposal of thousands of tons of garbage that soldiers will generate during exercise Centurion shield next month. Presley s Parent unit the 3rd inf div originally received the task of taking care of Man Euver damage during the exercise. But with computer simulation and budget axes eliminating All tanks and 22.000 soldiers Man Euver damage will be less than expected. The remaining 70,000 German and american troops however will still generate a Mountain of trash. Exercise planners decided that the shovel that fills in Man Euver damage should also tackle the garbage. And when the division handed the responsibility Down to its artillery units Presley found himself at the top of the Heap. All the logistics books Tell you that a Soldier will generate a minimum amount of 4 pounds of trash a Day said Presley logistics officer for the 3rd inf div arty. But he did t believe it. Presley studied v corps garbage collection Effort during september s caravan guard exercise. Planners for that exercise thought 10.8 pounds per Man per Day was a better figure. He also talked with Usa eur s contracting Center in Frankfurt which handles dumpster deals Between the . Government and German disposal companies. They estimated 6 pounds. Then Thucie s the Type of trash. The army generates More trash than before because of the Way the new rations arc  Presley said. Not Only Are the army s new to rations bulkier they can be heated Only once. Unused Servings have to be pitched he said. Modern technology has also made support units garbage grow. High tech parts used for repairs arc packaged so they Don t break in transport. You get a lot of styrofoam peanuts and things that you did t have in the past Presley said. With his refuse research done Presley estimated that each Soldier would generate i5 pounds of trash per Day during Centurion shield. For 70,000 troops that adds up to 525 tons per Day or 6,300 ions for the in lira 12 Day exercise. Presley who has been Given the nickname of commander in chief trash devised a plan that will turn troops trash into the government s treasure. In the past there was no one in to Cap. Mike Presley stands before a map shotting the positions from which his War against garbage Hill be fought. Sas Jotin Millar charge of  he said. It was one for All and All for one. Some units would do a Good Job while others would  when Presley got the Mission $1.83 million in trash contracts had already been committed by individual units. But not All units had made plans. His solution is a centralized trash collection system designed to Benefit mane vering soldiers and the environment while saving the government about $ 1 million. The plan which will Cost an estimated $800,000. Involves 30 civilian landfills contracted dumpster Sites and containers at . Installations. All Are within the 23,000 Square mile Man Euver Box in Southern West Germany. This is the first Lime we be made extensive use of existing  Presley said Many of which Recycle trash or turn it into  contracts for about i30dumpsters allow the flexibility to move them within a 30-mile radius from where they re originally positioned within four hours. And contractors have agreed to empty the containers on Call within four hours in Case of surge  approximately 120 soldiers from the division s 4th in 3rd air defense  5lh ,4lst Field arty will Man dumpster and Landfill Sites throughout the exercise. The troops will make sure the right trash is being dumped in the right place and help solve any misunderstandings with germans. They also will keep curious and souvenir Hunting youngsters out of potentially dangerous trash Sites. As for the  . Military facilities in the Man Euver Box we gave them some Ballpark estimates of what to expect knowing that if a Soldier sees a Burger King he s going to go for it and drop his trash off while he s at it. So we gave them some additional funds to increase their existing  with Landfill dumpster and military installation contracts combined soldiers should t have to drive More than 18 Miles to dump their trash in most cases Presley said. The official Centurion shield reformer trash i Mcclory is on he Way to participating units. It lists locations of All landfills and what typos of trash they take. The directory also provides names and numbers of contracting officer representatives in each area that they can Contact with any kind of trash problem Presley said. In the past the contracting officer. Might have been one of their company commanders who s out worrying about killing tanks on the next Ridge. He does t have time to worry about de conflicting a dumpster contract. These Guys arc dedicated to help with trash removal that s their sole Mission in life. During  army is signing up microbes to do its dirty work Hermiston Ore. Up the army is enlisting hungry microbes to do cleanup work on the residues of int and other explosives. The army s 19,700-Acrc Umatilla depot near her Miston in Eastern Oregon will be the testing site for an experimental method for treating soil contaminated by explosives officials said. The system is known As composting Cap Craig Myler said. It uses microorganisms to literally cat the contaminants in soils and sediments. Mylar project officer for the army s to in and hazardous materials Agency said the microbes do not naturally feed on int panicles at a very rapid rate so they will have to be coaxed. That will be accomplished in the tests in special greenhouses by enriching the soil with additional food sources for the microbes such As Hay Straw manure or livestock feed. Myler said Many of the contaminants come from two dry Ponds that were used 25 years ago to Settle out High explosive residues. The material seeped through the Sandy Bottoms of he Ponds. Additional contamination is spread across about 1, 100 acres which were used for the disposal of rocket fuels Battery acid explosives and propel lands. Some of the materials have been detected in ground water. The explosives residue contain nitrates nitrites cyanide and metals. Myler said the composting system is less expensive than the Only alternative incineration. Burning the residue costs about $300 per ton As much As three times the expected Cost of composting