Recycling operations in Columbia may resume by October
Keriana Gamboa
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia’s recycling center is completely demolished, and city workers are testing equipment for a reopening.
However, assistant utilities director Tom Ratterman said Friday that workers are restoring power to the equipment. He said that it should be complete in two to three weeks.
“We tested it with a generator, and now it’s time to get line power to it, and that’s what we’re currently working on,” Ratterman said. “And when we get line power to it, we’ll have to go through some permitting processes, and we may be able to start it back up.”
The City Utilities Solid Waste Department says the next step in restoring recycling services is to construct a building over the sorting equipment. Solid Waste is updating the City Council on the progress Monday.
City Utilities plans to ask for $2.5 million for a new recycling center building to replace the one destroyed by a tornado earlier this year.
Ratermann said the new metal structure will be similar to the previous building. The city government will have the option to expand the building in the future.
Staff is reaching out to local contractors to explore designs. It may take a year to ship the building, then up to six months to get it standing and operational, Ratterman said.’
Rattermann said it’s still too early to know if operations can resume without the building.
“A lot of it depends on the weather and a lot of it depends on local permitting, getting electrical permits, and determining whether the equipment can be operated in the elements and whether it needs some of it may need to be replaced before we can operate it in the elements,” Rattermann said.
He said it may take until October or November.
“I usually assume by Thanksgiving the weather is going to get pretty inclement. So it’s too soon to tell,” Rattermann said.
The city has gradually resumed recycling by partnering with Federal Recycling & Waste Solutions, based in Jefferson City.
In July, the city hauled about 14 tons of mixed containers to the Jefferson City facility, where they are baled and sent to Illinois for sorting. The city will receive a rebate based on commodity prices once it reaches a full load of 20 tons.