Bruin 91²Ö¿â is moving forward with building a recycling facility in partnership with the city of Grand Junction that would service the Western Slope. The Naturita-based waste disposal service operates in Montrose, Mesa, Garfield, San Miguel, Ouray, San Juan, Dolores, Montezuma, Delta, and Archuleta counties. Locally, Bruin 91²Ö¿â does the majority of recycling in Telluride and Mountain Village. Recycling is done in a âsingle streamâ meaning that all recyclables go into one (truck) bed and are sorted at a facility.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruin 91²Ö¿â owned and operated a facility in Montrose, but the company discontinued their sort line during the pandemic. âDuring COVID, it became extremely difficult to staff that, as you can imagine. So we changed gears a little bit and started taking that recycling that we were collecting, packing it up and sending it to a facility in Salt Lake City,â Rob Kendall, Bruin 91²Ö¿â VP of sales and new market development.
Bruin 91²Ö¿â began looking for a solution that was closer to home and met with the city of Grand Junction. On Dec. 18, Grand Junction City Council voted 6-1 for city staff to negotiate a contract with Bruin 91²Ö¿â to create a regional material recovery facility (MRF). The plan is to construct a 58,450 square foot building on 9.58 acres of land. Costs of construction are estimated at $5.5 million, with equipment costs likely between $8-10 million. The city of Grand Junction is also applying for a $5 million Solid 91²Ö¿â Infrastructure for Recycling grant to help pay for the project.