FCC to build MRF in Houston

The Houston City Council has awarded FCC Environmental Services, The Woodlands,Texas-based American environmental services subsidiary of the Spanish company FCC Group, the contract to design, finance, build and operate a material recovery facility (MRF) that will sort and market the city’s recyclables for 15 years, extendable up to 20 years. The expected contract value is more than $250 million, including the sale of recovered materials from Houston and from third parties, though the cost for the city will not exceed $36.8 million, FCC says.

FCC calls Houston a “strategic enclave,” noting that the city, with its population of some 2.3 million, is the fourth most populated city in the U.S. and will soon be the third, according to growth predictions.

Before the addition of the Houston contract, FCC says its U.S. contracts value $900 million and that it serves more than 8 million Americans.

The company says it has more than 50 facilities that are similar to the one it proposed for the city of Houston, including one near Dallas. The Houston facilities will sit on nearly 15 acres with a footprint in excess of 118,000 square feet.

The Houston plant plans to process 120,000 metric tons per year with a maximum capacity of 145,000 metric tons, FCC says. The processing line will be fully automated and will be equipped with the latest materials separation technologies, according to the company.