The Sunnyvale Sun

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Recycling machinery set for $14 million upgrade

By Cody Kraatz

The Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved a $14 million contract to upgrade machinery at the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer facility, or SMaRT station, a move it anticipates will cut operating and landfill costs and bring in more revenue for the city.

"The return on investment for this is just tremendous in terms of the financial and also the environmental," said councilwoman Melinda Hamilton before the July 24 decision.

The upgrades will save Sunnyvale $18.5 million over 15 years, according to a city report. The city plans to pay for new and improved garbage sorting machines by selling bonds.

The cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View also send garbage, yard trimmings and recyclables to the SMaRT station and share the operating costs, paying 22 percent and 29 percent of those costs, respectively, according to a 2005-06 SMaRT station annual report. Sunnyvale owns the machinery and pays for nearly half of the operating costs.

The SMaRT station, at 301 Carl Road, was opened in 1994 and typically keeps about 18 percent of more than 200,000 tons of garbage it receives each year out of landfills.

Upgrades will take about one year, including several months with the facility offline for demolition and construction. The old machinery will be recycled, said Mark Bowers, Sunnyvale solid waste program manager.

The upgrades will replace screens that shake to bounce and separate recyclables of various sizes with sturdier screens and trommels, rotating drums with knives that cut garbage bags and holes for recyclables to fall through. Recyclables are later sorted by hand in an air-conditioned facility.

In January, Bay Counties Waste Services will start operating the facility. It is currently operated by GT/Zanker.