San Antonio Passes on Futuristic Waste-to-Energy Landfill Proposal

The city of San Antonio has made the decision not to proceed with a futuristic proposal to transform garbage into clean energy. This comes as the city begins preparing for negotiations to secure new landfill contracts – a situation it hasn’t faced since 1995. All three of its current contracts are set to expire next year.

RePower South LLC’s Futuristic Proposal

The forward-thinking offer came from RePower South LLC, a South Carolina-based company that currently operates two municipal waste management facilities. These facilities aim to transform solid waste into clean energy. Unfortunately, the company’s proposal did not pass the evaluation process of the city’s six-member committee due to concerns over capacity and an unorthodox funding arrangement.

The company presently has functioning sites in Berkeley, South Carolina, and Montgomery, Alabama, where garbage is collected in a single container before being sorted and repurposed to create new products. The leftover non-recyclable materials such as paper and plastic are reformed into fuel. Despite successful recycling operations, these facilities manage volumes significantly smaller than those produced by San Antonio.

RePower South’s Capacity and Financial Concerns

The proposed arrangement put forward by RePower South varied significantly from their existing contracts. The company aimed to remove potential recyclables and organics from the waste stream, then sell the fuel it produced on the open market, sharing the revenue with the city. This would, however, still require some of the remaining waste to be sent to landfills.

The firm’s proposal was subsequently marked as ‘difficult to evaluate’ by Josephine Valencia, deputy director of the Solid Waste Management Department, who believed the company was yet to master the technological advancements required to deliver its ambitious plan. She also noted concerns about the financial difficulties the company had encountered at its existing facilities.

San Antonio City’s Decision

Despite the innovative approach offered by RePower South, the city of San Antonio opted to proceed with three traditional landfill vendors. Even the progressive council members agreed with staff’s recommendation to exclude the company’s proposal. However, Councilwoman Teri Castillo showed an interest in considering a pilot program alongside traditional landfill contracts in the future.

Two contracts will continue with existing vendors: BFI Waste Systems of North America (Republic Services) and Waste Management of Texas Inc. Both have established landfill sites on San Antonio’s East and West sides respectively. A third company, Waste Connections, is looking to deposit waste in Luling, while the city is still searching for a vendor to transport it. Valencia stated that none of the new contracts guaranteed a minimum tonnage, leaving the city the option to amend its approach after signing.

Looking Forward

As the city’s three-decade-long contracts end in 2025, city leaders are tasked with securing a new future for San Antonio’s waste management system. These new contracts are projected to run for ten years, with two options for five-year renewals, at an anticipated cost of $13.3 million per year. The council is expected to vote on these contracts in the upcoming weeks. The new contracts will begin in October 2025.

This historical negotiation presents a pivotal moment for city leaders to shape San Antonio’s future waste policies, with the potential to make impactful strides towards sustainable waste management.