To: Dr. Beverly Brown, Community & Economic Development Committee Chairperson
From: Derek Bradshaw, Director
title
RE: Letter of Support for Priority Waste’s Materials Recovery Facility and Processing and Transfer Facility
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff is requesting approval of a letter of support for Priority Waste’s proposed Materials Recovery Facility and Processing and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan (MMP), and for Board Chairman Delrico J. Loyd to sign the letter.
BACKGROUND:
The existing Processing and Transfer Facility at 5125 Dort Hwy, Flint, MI 48505. As required under Part 115 of the Act 451, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, this facility must be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan. Currently, all Michigan counties are in the process of developing their first Materials Management Plan, and in the interim, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has established a process for determining consistency with the MMP. This process includes getting a letter of support first from the local municipality and then the county in which the development will be located for a proposed materials management facility. The City of Flint has provided a signed letter of support for the facility, which is attached, thus staff is requesting the Genesee County Board of Commissioners to approve and sign a letter of support. A facility description summary has been included with the letter of support. Priority Waste’s MRF and Processing and Transfer Facility will be approximately 68,000 square feet in size on a property of about 7.25 acres. The processing and transfer facility will be 35,000 square feet, the MRF will be 25,829 square feet, and 7,000 square feet will be dedicated to an additional service area. The MRF initially will process about 25,000 or more tons of recyclable materials annually. This includes items like plastic bottles and containers, aluminum and steel cans, glass bottles and jars, cardboard, and various paper materials. The Processing and Transfer Facility will accept general household and commercial waste materials. This facility unloads and sorts material from smaller collection vehicles and then reloads the material on larger trucks for transport to a final disposal site like a landfill. Overall, the entire location will serve 5 surrounding counties and will create approximately 100 permanent jobs as well as 150 temporary construction related jobs during development. The project will cost Priority Waste an estimated $40,000,000 and is expected to be completed mid-2025.
DISCUSSION:
Staff is requesting approval of a letter of support, and for Board of Commissioners Chairman Delrico J. Loyd to sign the letter, regarding Priority Waste’s proposed Materials Recovery Facility and Processing and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan. Paired with the attached City of Flint’s Letter of Support for this development, Genesee County’s written support will allow Priority Waste to move to the next necessary steps of getting proper permitting and approval of the development through EGLE.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
No impact on human resources.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
No impact on budget. This approval is only for a letter of support, the development is entirely funded by Priority Waste.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
No impact on facilities. This facility is proposed to be developed entirely by Priority Waste, this letter of support is to provide consistency of the site with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan.
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
No impact on technology.
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
To meet Genesee County’s priority of healthy, livable, and safe communities, this project will support the development of Priority Waste’s Materials Recovery Facility and Processing and Transfer Facility. These facilities will provide Genesee County with a much-needed local solution for recycling, reducing landfill waste, and supporting circular economy, ultimately promoting environmental stewardship.
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the Director of Planning to approve sending a letter of support for Priority Waste’s Proposed Materials Recovery Facility and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and supporting documentation being on file with the official records of the March 5, 2025 meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee of this Board).