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Davis Material Recovery facility opens

Layton— Operations began this past month at the Davis Material Recovery and Transfer Facility located in Layton, Utah.  The new facility is recovering valuable resources from residential waste generated in Davis and Morgan Counties. 

Opening the new facility marks the culmination of three years of planning, engineering, and construction by Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District (Wasatch).  The $25 million project is located at the former site of the Davis Energy Recovery Facility, also known as the “Burn Plant”, which was closed after 30 years of operation in May 2017. 

The new facility is designed to process residential waste, as well as comingled recyclables, for recovery of valuable materials.  Waste is processed in a highly mechanized system which recovers recyclable materials for sale to market.  Recyclables currently being recovered include cardboard, plastics number one and number two, aluminum cans, and steel cans.  Non-recyclable plastics and some paper are combined to create an engineered fuel which can be used by industrial sources to offset the use of coal.  Organics, such as food waste and grass, are concentrated and can be used as feed stock for anerobic digestion which generates renewable natural gas.  Residue from the facility is then transferred to a regional landfill extending the life of the Davis Landfill, located in Layton, for many years.

“This facility is a flexible platform which will allow the District to respond to market conditions and future opportunities to recover and reuse materials from our waste, which would otherwise be dumped into a landfill,” said Nathan Rich, Executive Director of Wasatch. 

Davis County Commissioner, Bob Stevenson, said “I credit Wasatch’s Board for accomplishing this project in a fiscally prudent manner” noting that the $20 million in bonds required for construction of the facility should be repaid early and no additional rate increases are planned for residential waste services. 

A grand opening of the facility with tours available for the public will be scheduled as conditions related to the COVID-19 outbreak allow.  Additional information regarding the project can be located at www.wasatchintegrated.org.