Clay County Aims to Build Regional Recycling Plant

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): A new facility to sort recyclables could start construction as early as this spring if Clay County can find the right business partner, according to county officials.

So far, the county has not decided what its criteria are. But at least one firm, Waste Management, has expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, and another, MinnKota Recycling, said it plans to take a close look at the criteria.

“I think it’s good for this region,” said County Commission Chairman Kevin Campbell. “There’s plenty of material to be recovered from this area that can be sorted here.”

Kirk Rosenberger, the county’s solid waste director, said county residents would enjoy lower fees and the facility would employ 15 to 25 workers.

Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo all started no-sort recycling programs for residential customers in the last two years — MinnKota has the contract with the first two that started this year, and Waste Management has the contract for the last that started in 2015 — and all have seen significant increases in the rate of recycling. But much of that material is hauled 250 miles away to the Twin Cities for sorting because there is no facility nearby that can do all the sorting required.

If Clay County and its eventual partner do build a local facility, Moorhead would naturally bring its recycling there, and other cities in the county — Barnesville, Dilworth and Glyndon — have expressed interest in starting no-sort recycling as well. But they’ll need recyclables from more populous communities, such as Fargo and West Fargo, because volume is what makes or breaks such a facility.

Clay County is discussing what the recycling industry calls a MRF, short for “material recovery facility” and pronounced “Murph.”

According to Rosenberger’s projections, the county would pay an estimated $3.5 million to $4 million to construct a building and the business partner would contribute $5.5 million to $7 million in sorting equipment. Included in the county’s costs is land to be bought from the city of Moorhead, which owns a 20-acre lot at the corner of 15th Avenue North and 34th Street North set aside for a recycling facility.

Rosenberger said he’s looking for a lower processing fee than is paid now — Moorhead pays $95 a ton. That lower fee might be achieved by a “hosting fee” the county would charge its partner for using the building.

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantagemag.com