Minnesota facility seeks end-use markets for waste byproducts

Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy (R&E), Maplewood, Minnesota, has announced a request for proposals for gasification, anaerobic digestion, chemical recycling and other processing solutions to manage waste byproducts from its 500,000-ton-per-year waste processing facility.  

All mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) generated by residents and businesses of Ramsey and Washington counties is delivered to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center (R&E Center), Newport, Minnesota. Ramsey and Washington counties comprise the eastern portion of the Twin Cities metropolitan area and have a total population of over 800,000.

The center is owned and operated by R&E and is a key feature of the region’s waste management system. Currently, the facility produces refuse-derived fuel and recovers recyclable metals from the waste stream. About 464,000 tons of MSW were processed at the center in 2019. 

R&E is expanding the center’s ability to recover value from MSW and other waste streams. Over the next two to three years, enhancements at the R&E Center will accommodate source-separated organics and enable the recovery of additional high-value recyclable materials from trash. R&E is seeking vendors that can recover value from the following feedstocks:

• refuse-derived fuel; 
• source-separated organics in durable compostable bags; and
• organic-rich materials recovered from MSW.

R&E has requested proposals to find qualified vendors to accept and use one, two or all three of these feedstock materials. Management of the materials may include but is not limited to anaerobic digestion, composting, gasification, pyrolysis, chemical recycling or other processes. The company says it may enter into agreements with more than one vendor.