Ground has been broken on a new materials recovery facility (MRF) in northern Florida that will process recyclables collected by and for the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), Pensacola, Florida.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, at the future site of the facility, which is adjacent to the Escambia County Perdido Landfill. The new facility is to be known as ECUA’s IMRF (interim MRF).
The Escambia County Waste Services Department and the ECUA say they are “working together toward the achievement of the State of Florida’s 75 percent recycling initiative and the manifestation of a long-term recycling solution.”
The new IMRF will include a 50,000-square-foot fabric building that will house material sorting equipment capable of handling 165 tons of recyclable materials per day, or 40,000 tons annually. It is expected to be fully operational in the of summer 2016.
The ECUA board awarded a $5.5 million contract to Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Eugene, Oregon, for the recyclables processing equipment; a $1.4 million contract to Big Top Manufacturing, Perry, Florida, for the fabric building; and a $1.5 million contract to Brown Construction, based in Pensacola, for site work.
The ECUA is a regional governmental body established to provide sanitation collection, water and wastewater services. It is undertaking the IRMF project along with the Escambia County Waste Services Department, which manages approximately 300,000 tons of waste per year.
According to a report on www.NorthEscambia.com, after flooding and bankruptcy closed the former West Florida Recycling company in Pensacola, the ECUA contracted to have its recyclables taken to the IREP facility in Montgomery, Alabama.
However, that facility closed suddenly in October 2015, leaving the ECUA again scrambling for a home for its recyclables. The ECUA then paid about $12 per ton to drop off recyclables at a different plant in Alabama, and more recently has been sending its recyclable materials to its landfill.
Florida agency breaks ground on new MRF
Northern Florida waste authority will install a $5.5 million BHS system.