MATERIAL RECYCLING FACILITY (MRF)

View the April 9th, 2024 Public Meeting Presentation

Watch a recording of the April 9th Virtual Meeting


​​Virtual MRF Public Meeting

Click here to view displays and learn more.

Request for Proposals

Click here to view the Recovered Material Processing Facility – Equipment DCP 1 Request for Proposals

Please note that this is an active procurement. Proposer questions must be directed to djones2@leegov.com

PROJECT OVERVIEW


The proposed new Lee County Material Recycling Facility (MRF) will be where all the county’s household and business recycling material is processed. This includes the handling of clean bottles, cans, paper, cardboard and plastic containers. It will be a fully indoor operation. Trucks will tip the materials inside; the machinery will be inside, and the rolling stock will be inside. The facility will only accept household and business recycling material; there will be inspections of inbound material to remove unacceptable materials.

WHY DOES LEE COUNTY NEED THIS NEW FACILITY?


As Lee County continues to grow, Solid Waste’s current Material Recycling Facility is projected to reach capacity for processing materials. Lee County Solid Waste consistently has been ranked as one of the top five recycling communities in the state of Florida. To ensure that the County meets recycling requirements, a facility with increased capacity is necessary.

WHAT THE MRF IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT

What it is: Recovered materials processing Clean bottles, Cans, Paper, Cardboard, Containers Indoor Operations Trucks tip inside Machinery inside Rolling stock inside Accepts household material Inspects inbound material What it is not: Not a waste transfer station No wet garbage No yard waste grinding No hazardous waste Prevented by deed restriction No outdoor processing No dirt roads No operations close to houses No tire processing


View the full presentation from the March 5, 2024 Lee Board of County Commissioners’ meeting.

Site Plan, February 2025

ceonceptual-site-plan.png

Conceptual Elevations, December 2024

COMMUNICATIONS TIMELINE TO DATE

The communications timeline for this project includes: 

  • February 18, 2025: Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved a Reimbursement Resolution for the Recycling Facility. The resolution provides the department the option to pursue reimbursement of expenses from the bond proceeds, as they relate to the MRF project. The resolution does not bind the County to any financial commitments or obligations.

  • March 2023: Lee Board of County Commissioners briefed on status of the property search. 

  • June 2023: Hosted Gulf Coast Landfill Tour with Pelican Preserve Board members. 

  • Aug. 1, 2023: At a publicly noticed meeting, Lee Board of County Commissioners approves purchase of property. 

  • October 2023: Lee County Sold Waste met with Pelican Preserve Board. 

  • November 2023: Lee County Solid Waste invited the public to a meeting at Gateway CDD Board Room.

  • January 2024: Lee County Solid Waste hosted a tour of the MRF at Buckingham for Pelican Preserve Board Members.

  • March 5, 2024: Lee County Solid Waste provided update at regularly scheduled and publicly noticed Lee Board of County Commissioners’ meeting.

  • March 21, 2024: Lee County held a open house-style public information session:
    • Thursday, March 21, 2024
    • 4 – 6 p.m.
    • Gateway Trinity Lutheran Church, 11381 Gateway Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33913

  • April 9, 2024: Lee County held a public information meeting from 4 - 5:30pm at the Pelican Preserve Community Center. A video of this presentation is available here.

  • April 16, 2024: Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved closing on property for MRF.

  • July 11, 2024: Updated the Material Recycling Facility (MRF) webpage to add a working site plan, conceptual floor plan, conceptual schedule and a copy of Lee County’s Ordinance 22-10. A newsletter was sent to subscribers with more detailed information. 

  • August 29, 2024: Updated the Material Recycling Facility (MRF) webpage to update the F.A.Q.’s and to add the facility equipment and sizing memo. A newsletter was sent to subscribers with more detailed information. 

  • December 6, 2024: Updated the Material Recycling Facility (MRF) webpage to add the conceptual building elevations, Army Corps of Engineers 404 approvals and new overview schedule. A newsletter was sent to subscribers with more detailed information. 

Newsletter

Further Information and Reports can be requested through the public records request page.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

To learn more about this project, please explore the below list of frequently asked questions. If you have questions that are not covered, you can contact Lee County Solid Waste at SolidWaste@leegov.com.

Anticipated Regulatory Submittals Q3 2024 – Q1 2025

  • South Florida Water Management District – Environmental Resource Permit: Wetlands and Surface Waters; Stormwater Management; Water Quality; Erosion and Sediment Control; State Listed Species

  • Army Corps of Engineers – Section 404 Approvals: Wetlands/Waters of the United States; Federal Listed Species - Submitted Oct. 2024.

  • Lee County Community Development – Development Order: Lee County Land Development Regulations, Site Development such as Landscaping, Building Height, Buffer, Traffic Impact, Lighting, Noise and Odor 

Anticipated Regulatory Submittals 2025 – 2027

  • Lee County Community Development – Building Permits: Florida Building Code, including Electrical/FPL, Mechanical, Fire Protection, Structural, etc.

  • Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) – Recovered Materials Dealer Registration: Authorization to handle and distribute recycled materials. Please note that while the common name for this type of facility is “Material Recycling Facility”, it is categorized as a “Recovered Materials Processing Facility” for permitting purposes.

  • FDEP –  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Notice of Intent: Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for Facility Operations

  • FDEP – Domestic Wastewater Collection and Transmissions System Permit: Sanitary Sewer System

  • FDEP – General Permit for Construction of Water Main Extension: Potable Water System

  • Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) – Connection and Drainage Modifications: Requirements for SR 82 Right Turn Lane

Lee County does not intend to develop the western part of the property. As part of the Development Order (permit for development) Lee County will stipulate that the western part of the parcel will be conserved as open space.

The facility will process clean bottles, cans, paper, cardboard and containers. It’s a fully indoor operation. Trucks tip the materials inside, the machinery is inside and the rolling stock is inside. The facility will accept household and business material; there will be inspections of inbound material to remove unacceptable materials.

Lee County closed on the property purchase on April 24, 2024, with construction of the Recycling Center planned for 2026 - 2027. Construction of internal access road and utilities will start in 2025.

The facility will not be a waste-transfer station. There will be no wet garbage, no tire processing, no yard-waste grinding and no hazardous waste. (Deed restrictions prevent any hazardous waste processing.) There will not be any outdoor processing or dirt roads. No operations will take place close to houses.

All material is contained within the building. Any material that is not acceptable for recycling is reloaded and removed to Buckingham operations the same day it is received. The operator and Lee County inspect recycle loads daily. These inspections include individual carts at the curb and removing them from the residence, if necessary, before contaminated materials reach the facility.

An 18-month search by size, cost, zoning, transportation and seller willingness was conducted to identify a property with the specifications needed for the facility. County staff conducted an internal search of county-owned lands first. There was no land identified that would have avoided the purchase of a new parcel due to zoning, size and transportation infrastructure needs.

Yes. The Buckingham expansion will be used for other materials such as municipal solid waste (wet garbage), construction/demolition recycling, and yard waste grinding, which are all more intense uses than the proposed recycling facility. In addition, the Buckingham site has traffic constraints, as there are more than 1,100 truck entries per weekday.

Preliminary estimates are that the new MRF will serve 100-200 customer trucks per day.

Route trucks and tractor-trailers will enter from the present State Road 82 entrance, not from Treeline Avenue and not from Gateway Boulevard. Trucks now use the same arterial roads to get to the current facility, located nearby on Buckingham Road. Current traffic patterns are not expected to be affected. An estimated 100 to 200 vehicles per day are expected to use the site, mostly in early morning and late afternoon. Please watch this short video from Lee County’s Traffic Engineer for more information.



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES


PROJECT REPORTS, SUBMITTALS AND STUDIES

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