Baldwin County Floats Recycling Center Plans

The Baldwin County Commission recently approved plans to construct a county recycling center using $3.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, GulfCoastNewsToday.com reported. The center would be built at the Magnolia Landfill in Summerdale. Currently, the county and area municipalities send recyclable materials, such as cardboard, plastic, paper and aluminum, outside the county to be processed. The nearest such facility is in Escambia County, Florida. The center would serve approximately 60,000 households in unincorporated areas of Baldwin County, as well as Fairhope, Daphne, Foley and other municipalities. Collection in unincorporated areas would be made at 31 dropoff locations, as well as via curbside collections in some incorporated areas. The material would be taken to the Magnolia Landfill facility, where it would be sorted using a combination of automated and manual procedures. The center would be able to process 2.5 T. an hour at first, with the goal of processing up to 8 T. an hour after reaching full capacity. The sorted recyclable material would be baled and taken to processing plants for sale, and the leftover material would be disposed of in the landfill. The facility could be completed within 18 months.