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Recycling Is Back (With Facility Photo Gallery)
August 23, 2016
ECUA and Escambia County held a held a kick-off ceremony Monday to mark the opening of ECUA’s Interim Materials Recycling Facility, or IMRF, at the Perdido Landfill.
The collaborative effort between ECUA and Escambia County is a state-of-the-art facility that will have the capacity to recycle up to 40,000 tons of materials per year.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“Building this partnership has been instrumental in eliminating our reliance on outside contractors for the processing of this region’s recycling effort,” said Steve Sorrell, executive director of ECUA. “Now, we can focus on what’s really important: keeping recyclable materials out of the landfills and putting them to good use once again.”
Sorrell said the facility is expected to break even or make a profit.
The $10.6 million project was initiated to offer a long-term, regional recycling solution for this community, while at the same time, to assist Escambia County in reaching its state-mandated 75 percent recycling goal. On February 12, ECUA broke ground for the IMRF, which encompasses a 53,460 square-foot fabric building and recycling equipment that is expected to process up to 165 tons of materials per day.
“It means that everyone that wants to recycle can get back to genuine recycling better than ever before,” ECUA District 5 board member Larry Walker said. “The list of recycles will be same as before.”
“It is exciting to see this joint project to support recycling in Escambia County,” Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson stated. “But it is even more rewarding to see the partnership between Escambia County and ECUA making this happen and thereby making our community better.”
The facility will provide a solution to the recycling woes experienced by ECUA over the past few years.
After the flooding, closure and bankruptcy of West Florida Recycling in Pensacola, ECUA entered into a two year agreement with the Infinitus Energy Park (IREP) in Montgomery. Even with transportation costs, ECUA was making a net profit of a few dollars per ton off the deal.
After the center abruptly closed in October 2015, ECUA began transporting recyclable materials to Tarpon Paper Co. in Loxley, AL. ECUA stopped transporting recyclables to Tarpon in December when they implemented a $12.50 per-ton tipping fee.
While the finishing touches are put on the IMRF, all recyclables collected in Escambia County are being dumped in the Perdido Landfill, and the Santa Rosa County Landfill is receiving materials collected in that county. The new facility is expected to be fully operational in September.
“We have encouraged our customers enrolled in the recycling program to continue their positive recycling habits throughout this interruption, and urge those who may have gotten out of the recycling habit to resume the separation of their recyclables,” Nathalie Bowers, ECUA public information officer, said.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
17 Responses to “Recycling Is Back (With Facility Photo Gallery)”
@ Richard Harry..
There is no way to tell how many tons of recyclable material has been buried off Beulah Rd. We’ve paid for ECUA to recycle, yet our efforts are moot, all turned into trash. The new “tent” is awaiting the next storm.
I leave my aluminum cans out for someone to pick up. I hope they can use them. Not like my paper which is going into the ground.
@Richard Harry – according to the Esc. Co. Sheriff’s Dept., once it’s on the curb, it is public access. This is why kids’ bikes are being taken, etc. Scrappers are assuming they can take bicycles, etc. if they are laying on the curb, even if the kid just went in to eat dinner. We have a pick up truck or two that drives around every Thur. night picking up “scrap metal”, etc. As far as how well you would come out going through someone’s can at night, it may be better to ask them if they would give cans to you once a week instead. I would be concerned if it were me. Hope that is correct info.
awesome! hopefully, someday, ECUA will be the utilities provider for the entire county. everything but power, mind you.
——————————————– i laugh, lest i cry
Is it unlawful to take aluminum cans out of other peoples recycling bins in the middle of the night?
@ Larry Walker: Thanks for the cogent explanation. I’m disappointed that all of the recyclable material was co-mingled with the regular trash instead of being segregated into a separate area of the landfill. Some of that material could have been processed once the recycling center was up and running.
@ Larry Walker…thanks, I never thought about calling you, but have called and emailed ECUA a few times. I’ll be calling in the morning since it was not picked up again this week, that makes 2 weeks in a row.
This is great and all.
But I noticed the article did not mention if there are buyers lined up to take the recycled materials?
What happens when ECUA can not find buyers for the materials?
According to the expected amounts they plan to process each day and total capacity the plant can process a year, what are they going to do with the other 18,000 tons of material.
To Jane:
ECUA went for 6-8 months with no place to deliver recyclables at a feasible expense. During that time, our recyclables were buried in Perdido Landfill. Nine months ago, we approved the obtaining of our own materials facility for sorting, baling, and shipping to national and international recyclables markets. August 22 was the official opening of the recycling center, and it will be in full-swing operation in “a week or two.”
To Jim: no styrofoam. It is already an end-of-the-recycling-line product.
To ECUA customer:
If a can is skipped, report it to ECUA staff at 476-0480 and then to me at 850-723-6094.
this is great news E C U A is doing a great job of recycling solids also the yard debris the sewage plant recycling of sludge and water and the trucks using natural gas we have some forward thinking people on the board of e c u a keep up the good work
@jane: please explain the difference between “landfill” and “trash.”
Are they hiring for positions to work at the recycling center
Does this mean they will start emptying my recycle can EVERY week instead of once or twice a month?
Is there any plan for ECUA to recycle styrofoam items?
So where have the recycled materials they have been collecting been going? Into the landfill or the trash?