Dive Brief:
- The Dallas City Council has approved a contract with Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) to build and operate a $20 million materials recovery facility on a 15-acre site at the McCommas Bluff Landfill.
- The MRF, which will be able to process up to 120,000 tons of recyclable materials annually, will be built next year and is scheduled to begin operations in January 2017.
- The contract is a result of a two-year process in which engineering firm Burns & McDonnell helped Dallas develop and implement a "long term and sustainable recycle processing program," according to a press release.
Dive Insight:
The City of Dallas recently announced a plan to achieve a 40% recycling rate by 2020, and a new MRF puts the city on the right track to do so. Aside from building a recycling facility, the City evaluated multiple resource recovery technologies to improve solid waste management, and has decided to focus on single-stream recycling.
"Understanding the challenging recycling commodity markets, the City wanted to provide companies with as many incentives as practicable that would benefit both parties. Additionally, we were very mindful when developing procurement specifications to consider employee benefits and work environment, as well as potential impacts on nearby communities," said Burns & McDonnell project manager Scott Pasternak in a press release.
Other developments in Texas have been made to improve recycling operations this year. The local government in Austin is redeveloping a 100+ acre site into an Austin [re]Manufacturing Hub for recycling and reuse manufacturers. Additionally, the Texas Metal Theft Statute has been put in place to issue recycling ID cards and prevent theft associated with recycling.
At the Dallas MRF, FCC will provide a host fee, public education contributions, revenue sharing, and processing fees for the MRF. The partnership between the City and the FCC will be the largest public-private partnership of its kind in Texas.
