Ames has taken the next step in building a new solid waste disposal and recycling facility.
The city plans to construct a new Resource Recovery and Recycling campus along Freel Drive, just south of Lincoln Way, for about $16.7 million. It will replace the current facility, which is more than 50 years old.
The new facility will handle solid waste, recyclables, and yard waste and is expected to be operational by July 1, 2027.
Due to the complexity of the construction project, city staff felt there was a need for a construction manager as advisor. The Ames City Council approved a $1.2 million contract with Story Construction on Tuesday, Sept. 23, to fill that role.
Story Construction will assist in cost estimating and control during the design phase, and will provide full-time project representation on-site during construction.
How will the new Resource Recovery campus operate?
The new 9.5-acre Resource Recovery campus is anticipated to receive over 58,000 tons of waste annually. The amount is expected to increase with the city’s population to over 78,000 tons by 2045.
The city plans to discontinue using the waste-to-energy method employed by the current Resource Recovery Center by the time the new facility opens in 2027. Instead, the city will focus on recycling
The solid waste will be consolidated and transported to the Carroll County landfill. Recyclable materials would be sent to recyclers, and yard waste will be either composted on-site or hauled away for disposal.
Preliminary designs in June included a tipping floor that can temporarily store several hundred tons of solid waste in the event of severe weather and winter road closures. Individual car line traffic would be directed either to the tipping floor or to the customer convenience area to deposit household hazardous waste.
The municipal solid waste delivered to the tipping floor will be lightly shredded, then sent through a transfer tunnel where it will eventually be hauled to a landfill and recyclers.
A designated area for yard waste will be established on the property’s east side.
What is Story Construction’s role as construction manager?
Story Construction will work “as an extension of city staff” for the project’s construction, said Ames Public Works Director Justin Clausen.
“We’d bring them in during the design phase,” Clausen said. “They can help us ensure we have a property that’s not only constructable, but also look at value engineering opportunities, ensuring the best value of the project when all is said and done.”
Story Construction will be responsible for the overall logistics, contractor scheduling, worksite coordination and general oversight of the project. The company will not perform any of the work during the construction phase.
What are the individual costs in the $16.7 million project?
The city purchased five properties along Freel Drive to make up the 9.5-acre site where the new Resource Recovery campus will be. The five properties — 220, 306, 312, 318 and 400 Freel Drive — cost a little over $1 million.
Total design costs along with financial modeling are estimated to cost about $1.1 million.
The “probable construction cost” is about $9 million, according to city documents, and the construction contingency is estimated at about $1.4 million.
Mobile equipment, which includes transfer trucks and trailers, is expected to cost $2.3 million.
Why is Ames building a new waste disposal plant?
Ames currently transports leftover solid waste to the Boone County Landfill, which is nearing capacity.
Story County annually disposes of an average of 20,000 pounds of solid waste in Boone, though the landfill has about 30 years before it reaches capacity. The Boone County Landfill administrator in 2024 estimated the landfill would fill up in 13 years if it continues to accept Story County’s waste.
Ames’ solid waste agreement with the Boone County Landfill was set to expire in June, but was extended for an additional two years while the new resource recovery plant is being built.
How does the Ames Resource Recovery and Recycling plant work?
The 50-year-old Arnold O. Chantland Resource Recovery Plant, located at 110 Center Avenue, just off E. Lincoln Way, was the “first municipally owned and operated waste-to-energy facility in the nation,” according to the City of Ames website.
Some of the trash at the Resource Recovery Plant, which comes from Ames and surrounding Story County communities via public and private distributors, is recycled in various forms. The facility collects reusable metals that are sold to scrap dealers, while the burnable trash is used as fuel at the city’s power plant at 200 E. Fifth Street. The remaining non-burnable trash is shredded and then transported to the Boone County Landfill.
The burned trash produces refuse-derived fuel, according to the City of Ames, which prevents 70 percent of the city’s trash from being dumped at a landfill.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames moves forward with $16.7 million Resource Recovery Plant development
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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