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ECUA focusing on two vendors for new recycling facility

April 30, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ economy

The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is focusing on two firms interested in building and operating an advanced waste management and recycling center in Escambia County. Those two firms are Infinitus Energy – a Plantation company that ECUA already has a relationship with – and the Dewey Group, based in Newport Beach. Calif., according to ECUA spokeswoman Nathalie Bowers. They were among seven companies that responded to a request for qualifications that ECUA issued last fall. The anticipated facility would be intended to “to serve the needs of the entire county,” according to the request for qualifications. That marks an unusual level of cooperation between the waste services offered by the Escambia County Commission and the ECUA. The new facility is intended to help the county and ECUA save money, reduce fuel consumption and extend the life of the Perdido Landfill. Ultimately, the successful vendor will be free to seek waste management and recycling business from surrounding counties and Alabama. A joint county/ECUA selection committee is currently negotiating with Infinitus and Dewey, Bowers said. The selection committee is scheduled to meet again on May 5 when it will be reviewing the latest information and responses provided by the two firms. The committee is made up of Randy Rudd, ECUA’s deputy executive director of shared services; Mitch Kessler, a consultant to ECUA; Pat Johnson, Escambia County’s solid waste director; Chuck McClendon, the county’s consultant, and Scott Luth, of the Community Economic Development Agency. ECUA refers to Infinitus and Dewey as “Tier A” applicants. “Both Tier A firms are proposing that the facility be sited on the grounds of the Perdido Landfill but that is not final,” Bowers said. “Specifically where at the landfill has yet to be determined.” Two other firms that responded to the county’s request for qualifications are considered the “Tier B” applicants. Those firms are Envision Waste Services of Cleveland and Wheelabrator Technologies of Hampton, N.H. If a deal cannot be reached with Infinitus or Dewey, the committee may begin negotiations with Tier B companies. Three other companies – Energy3 of Annapolis, Md.; Abengoa-Abeinsa of Chesterfied, Mo., and DTE Energy Services of Ann Arbor, Mich. – also applied for the job. Originally, ECUA had hoped to have a vendor selected by mid-April. “The original schedule was quite aggressive. so it’s not surprising that the process has taken longer than expected,” Bowers said. “Also, it took the county longer than anticipated to gather its information prior to the start of negotiation.” Last year, West Florida Recycling, a private company which had previously handled recyclables collected by ECUA, the county and the City of Pensacola, shut down. After that, ECUA, the county and the city began trucking household recyclables to an Infinitus facility in Montgomery, Ala. Pensacola Today's multimedia content editor Ron Stallcup visited the plant on May 28. Here’s what he saw.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6IRSPVPpQg[/embed]

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ECUA focusing on two vendors for new recycling facility

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