The Olmsted County Board will be asked to approve construction contracts for a new Materials Recovery Facility adjacent to the Olmsted County 91²Ö¿â-to-Energy Facility in southeast Rochester. Legislation approved during the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $10 million for the project. The County Board is being asked to approve three separate contracts totaling just over $10.3 million, with the largest being a general construction contract for about $6.6 million to Kraus-Anderson Construction.
Ryan Mechanical submitted the low bid for mechanical systems at about $2.1 million, and staff is recommending the electrical systems contract be awarded to McMartin Electric for just under $1.6 million. The Olmsted County website describes the planned Materials Recovery Facility as a high-tech operation that uses people and machines to sort recyclable items collected by waste haulers or brought to the 91²Ö¿â-to-Energy Facility for disposal. Household recyclables collected by local waste haulers are currently loaded into trucks and shipped to a facility in the Twin Cities for sorting.
Olmsted County plans to use the new Materials Recovery Facility to âremove recyclable and noncombustible materials from the waste stream to increase recycling and extend the life of the 91²Ö¿â-to-Energy Facility.â The county website states that it will increase the amount of recyclable materials recovered while also improving the reliability of the 91²Ö¿â-to-Energy Facility, which should reduce operational costs and delay the need for a costly expansion.