Investment to bring 50 new green jobs, double processing capacity; Aims to reduce “Readily Recyclable Materials” to less than 10 percent.
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – Jan. 14, 2014 – Waste Management, local elected officials and members of the recycling community broke ground for the $10 million expansion of the Davis Street Resource Recovery Complex. The material recovery facility (MRF) investment should bring 50 new local green jobs. The expansion is scheduled to be completed on April 1, 2014.
“This event reaffirms Waste Management’s commitment to the local economy and to help our communities achieve their waste reduction goals,” said Jack Isola, Senior District Manager, Davis Street Resource Recovery Complex, Waste Management. “We see continued growth in sustainability efforts, and this expansion provides dry-waste producing businesses additional options to achieve their diversion goals.”
The new commercial dry waste line is designed to meet the CalGreen 2013 mandates, which restrict the use of Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) and increase diversion goals for construction debris. It also designed to generate less than 10 percent residual of “readily recyclable materials” per goals set by StopWaste, the Alameda County Waste Management Authority.
“Davis Street is the first facility I know of in the United States that is designed to reach our goal of less than 10 percent recyclable and compostable materials in solid waste that is landfilled,” said Gary Wolff, Executive Director, StopWaste.
With upgraded technologies, it will be able to process 1.4 million pounds a day of construction/demolition and dry commercial volumes, twice the amount it currently processes.
“For certain businesses with dry large waste volumes like office parks and builders, they may only need one bin for their operations because we’ll do the sorting for them,” said Rebecca Jewell, Recycling Program Manager, Davis Street Resource Recovery Complex, Waste Management. “After it’s sorted, there will be less than 10 percent of readily recyclable materials that will end up in the landfill.”
The upgrades to the MRF include:
- Vacuum System – Designed to separate film plastics that end up in recycling markets to become new products.
- Air Separator – Designed to separate small pieces of paper.
- Vibratory Screen (Small stones/rocks) – Designed to separate small stones/rocks, which will be reused for construction and avoiding use as ADC.
- Vibratory Screen (Wood) – Designed to separate out wood, which will be sent to biomass facilities for renewable energy.
