Escambia County and Emerald Coast Utilities Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday, February 12, at 2:30 p.m., at the future site of the ECUA’s Interim Materials Recycling Facility, located at the Escambia County Perdido Landfill. ECUA Board members and Escambia County Board of County Commissioners were present for the ceremony, highlighting this inter-governmental partnership. Escambia County and ECUA 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 for Escambia County through this cooperative venture is an extremely positive step toward meeting this goal.
The new IMRF will include a 50,000 square-foot fabric building that will house the material sorting equipment. The IMRF is projected to handle 165 tons of recyclable materials per day, with an estimated annual capacity of 40,000 tons.
The ECUA Board has awarded the following contracts for the project: Brown Construction for approximately $1.49 million to complete site work; $1.4 million to Big Top Inc. for the fabric building; and $5.5 million to Bulk Handling Systems for the recyclables processing equipment.
The IMRF is scheduled to be fully operational in the summer 2016.
About ECUA: Originally founded as the Escambia County Utilities Authority in 1981, the Authority’s name was officially changed to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority on June 29, 2004. The ECUA is a local governmental body, existing under the laws of the State of Florida, established to provide sanitation collection, water, and wastewater services.
About Escambia County Waste Services: The Escambia County Waste Services Department operates an integrated municipal solid waste facility with a primary focus on environmental compliance and community service initiatives. Through resource recovery, waste diversion and innovative landfill design initiatives, Escambia County has established a valuable asset to address the responsibilities of today, as well as meet expectations for tomorrow. This division manages approximately 300,000 tons of waste per year using best management practices to manage incoming waste on a daily basis.
