The Antelope Valley Times

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Council to vote on Materials Recovery and Conversion Facility agreement

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LANCASTER – The City Council will vote Tuesday on an agreement with Ecolution, an advanced solid waste separation and renewable energy developer, for the development of a Materials Recovery and Conversion Facility (MRF) in the City of Lancaster.

“The City of Lancaster stands to be the first Net-Zero City in America,” says Mayor R. Rex Parris.  “I support innovative public-private partnerships which promote green energy development and maximize our available resources.  The long-term success of Lancaster hinges on our ability to position ourselves as a leader in alternative energy production.”

The proposed development agreement between the City of Lancaster and Ecolution represents an innovative way of looking at how the city manages and utilizes waste streams.  Each year, thousands of tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) are deposited in local landfills, with millions of dollars in untapped recyclable materials being buried beneath the earth.  Ecolution’s facility would use state of the art technology to mine, separate, and recover up to 85% of the recycled materials that currently exist in Lancaster’s waste stream.  This represents an approximate efficiency increase of 49%. At capacity, the Materials Recovery and Conversion Facility could generate up to $5 million in annual revenue for the City, while sustaining nearly 200 permanent green collar jobs.  During construction, the facility would create nearly 100 construction-related jobs for the community.

“Economic development remains a top priority as the City of Lancaster continues to work with local businesses through these challenging economic times,” said Council Member Marvin Crist.  “Our goal is to support as many local businesses and opportunities as possible, in order to create more local jobs.”

This partnership also provides several other direct benefits to the City.  Currently, residents within the City of Lancaster utilize three separate curbside bins for solid waste collection.   This represents three waste streams that include trash, recyclables, and organic waste such as grass clippings and mulch which are manually separated.  Utilizing Ecolution’s GreenStream System, the number of bins would be reduced to one, thereby eliminating the costs associated with additional service trucks, drop-off locations, and multiple waste deposit sites.

If approved, the agreement will require the City of Lancaster’s waste stream to be directed to Ecolution’s proposed MRF.  Under a separate Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, the City will work with Ecolution to identify a site for the facility.  In return, Ecolution will locate its facility in Lancaster and provide the City with a per ton host fee.

“Implementing a system to maximize waste stream flow and recovery is crucial in meeting the future economic needs and energy demands of this community,” said Tim Fuller, Ecolution President. “Ecolution seeks to employ its experience and know how in the area of recycling and waste stream management to yield the highest percent of return to the city.”

(Information via press release from the City of Lancaster.)

Filed Under: Lancaster

16 comments for "Council to vote on Materials Recovery and Conversion Facility agreement"

  1. I just bought a house in Lancaster, it turns out that I am paying over $1200.00 extra a year on special assesments taxes, on top of the regular property taxes, I am being told by a friend that the money is going to the City of Lancaster, Can any one exprain this to me? Why am I paying over $100.00 more a month? this is not Mellow Ross they tell me.

    • Property tax calculation is SALES PRICE X 1.25% anything extra in your tax bill it usually goes to the pay for extras, YES, your are paying for the Da’ BLVD, Eye in the Sky, trips to China and other exotic places our city officials feel like visiting, we just lost $50 million dollars the Re-Development Agency is not paying back to the city, YES Da’BLVD was build with that extra $100.00 that you pay every month, in other words your hard work is making Da’ BLVD, breakfast at the Green Leaf for the City officials at the tune of $1300.00 a pop, Go Cart Races and other idiotic ideas, posible, while the rest of the city infracstructure falls apart (streets), guess who’s taxes will be going up soon.

  3. Although I live in Palmdale, in a home by myself, there are times when I fill most of my 3 bins. I’m guessing a family of 4 or 5 living in Lancaster might not fit all of their 3 different types of trash into only 1 bin unless it’s a huge one. Do they think these things through? I know Parris doesn’t think much about anything before he acts. He has a mouth disconnected from any brain activity.

    I don’t care if Lancaster does become a net-zero city with no crime whatsoever, I still wouldn’t want to live there. I wonder how many new home buyers are aware of the politics of Lancaster prior to making a down payment on a house.

  4. Wait a minute here. Seems that this Tim Fuller is a Parris appointee to the Criminal Justice Commission… It also seems that Mr. Fuller is the current owner of 5 Star Auto Body shop in Lancaster already… Oh, yes, it seems that this company also did not exist even 6 months ago, either.

    Where are the bids? Where are the public hearings? Where is the community involvement?

    My God, how blatant can one get!?!

    • Five Star Auto Body has been around for years! Had my Car taken care of there since the 1990s! Why don’t you do a little research first?

      • Ummm… “What planet are you on,” the company that was being referred to for this contract is not 5 star auto body, but a new company, “OEC-Lancaster, LLC,” with no history of experience other than their saying so. Parris’ crony, Tim Fuller, ALSO owns the 5 star auto body shop.

        Maybe you should pay more attention to the subject at hand before you post inanities.

      • If you’ve going to a body shop reguraly for over 20 years maybe you should switch to the bus. Sheep do not drive well, particularly those in Rex Sheppard’s hip pocket. They do not do much of anything well.

  5. Are they going to have any enviormental impact reports done or any public hearings or are just going to select a site and start building, they way the article reads, that’s how I read into it. Also wouldn’t the county or state have issues with this? Seeing how the county benefits from waste management, correct me if I’m wrong?

    • Evidently its a done deal. The Council just approved it. I haven’t heard anything about an EIR and no public outcry, especially after they made such a fuss over Palmdale’s gas fired power plant.

      I guess the citizens of Lancaster have just rolled over on this one, or have just given up.

      Then again, this comes as no surprise, especially after the plant operator is another Lancaster insider.

    • Nah! Environmental impact reports take time and profiteers want their $$ ASAP. Besides, sheep cant’ read. What’s in your wallet?

  6. And Parris and gang were worried about a twice a year steam plume coming from Palmdale! What hypocrites.

    The pollution cloud from this will mix with the deadly steam plume from Palmdale and create Godzilla who will then stomp through Lancaster and destroy ‘Da BLVD.’

  8. Hmmm… I wonder how Waste Management feels about this one… It sounds like they are being replaced.

    • Since when did our Council take up voting? Does Rex the Sheppard and his flock of sheep know about this? Let’s not say anything. He may get us into another lawsuit.