Pennsylvania Resources Council proposes Allegheny County facility for hard-to-recycle waste

Pennsylvania Resources Council is dreaming big as it begins planning its future in the state’s western region.

The environmental organization wants to establish a permanent recycling facility in Allegheny County to enable maximum recovery and proper waste diversion and recycling while providing residents with a convenient, cost-effective location to drop off electronics, household chemicals and other materials not accepted in curbside recycling. It would be sustainable and multi-functional, according to the executive overview posted on its website.

Right now PRC has been offering with partners one-day collection events in the county and beyond. But a permanent facility, once it is fully operational, could serve 200 people a day within five years, according to a news release. PRC staff calculates that it currently helps only about 1% of the county dispose of those items responsibly.

The goal: Construct the facility by 2030, but with assistance from partners, funding and governmental and public support, that dream could be realized sooner.  

PRC Deputy Director Sarah Alessio Shea said the staff has been talking about this internally for years. The environmental organization began collection events in the early 2000s, she said, and while these are important, the staff knows it’s not able through these to reach and serve everyone.

“We sat down in 2022 to do our strategic plan, and in this, we said let’s finally move it up and really start to move ahead and really try not just to talk [about it] but take a big step forward,” Shea said. They also knew they needed expert help to come in, research the possibilities and then lay out all the steps toward constructing such the facility. It needed funding to do so, and PRC looked for help.

The Richard King Mellon Foundation provided that assistance. It funded a specific strategic plan to establish a Center for Hard to Recycle Materials, or CHaRM, in Allegheny County. PRC created the request for proposals in January and by March selected MSW Consultants from Florida, which started work on it that month. Shea said this firm had worked with Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling, a nonprofit located in Greensburg, and another in Montgomery County. No similar facility has been proposed for the eastern side of the state.

The conclusion from the consultant was clear in its report: “This study provides conclusive evidence that clear justification exists for PRC and Allegheny County to pursue the development of a permanent collection center,” Shea said in a PRC news release.  “Compared to PRC’s current system of half-day collection events, a permanent facility in Allegheny County will serve far more households and divert far greater quantities of materials while better managing risks, costs and liability.”

Shea said the main goal would be to have the facility focus on the hard-to-recycle items and also accept glass, aluminum, plastics, scrap metal, paper and cardboard. That creates a one-stop shop for people.

An overview of the CHaRM facility is available on the PRC website.

The proposed vision aligns with Allegheny County waste diversion, climate and sustainability initiatives, including the Allegheny County Solid Waste Management Plan, City of Pittsburgh Roadmap to Zero Waste and Southwest PA Commission Regional Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, according to the news release.

From this effort and from applying for government grants, which require data collection, PRC knows that 20 municipalities in Allegheny County don’t have curbside recycling programs. That is mainly because they are smaller or have lower density in their populations. It also knows that 73 out of the 130 county municipalities don’t offer curbside e-waste or HHW — household hazardous waste — collections. The latter includes chemicals, tires, paints and paint products, all items that can cause harm to the environment if they make their way into landfills. Plus, people who live in apartments don’t always have access to recycling.

Within the first five years of operation, the executive summary states PRC could recycle approximately 3 million pounds of materials annually, nearly five times the current totals collected from its existing events system.

The consultant’s report came up with two paths for PRC to take: a larger facility that would cost $6.9 million to construct and $2.3 million to operate or a smaller one with an estimated $2.2 million in construction costs and just over $1 million to run.

Shea believes right now that the smaller facility, which is similar to Westmoreland Cleanways’ site, will likely be the choice if the plan moves forward. PRC would operate it in similar fashion, starting off with accepting e-waste, tires and basic recyclables daily and HHW collections twice a month. It would still offer its county collection events but not the 133 it offers now. The frequency of collections at the site would increase as operations become more established.

The Greensburg facility right now is open to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and the second Saturday of each month, with specific hours, and large loads and commercial vendors can arrange drop-offs by appointment.

Construction decisions will be made after PRC is able to start looking for a site to locate the facility and calculate all costs, including acquiring the land. Securing the proper permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection would have to be factored into the final decision. Then it would have to decide what materials it will take to start operations. For example, accepting HHW items on a daily basis right now is more expensive and it would be something PRC would have to grow into, the PRC assistant director explained.

Shea and others know no matter where it is located, some county residents would have to travel farther than others to get to it, too. She and her staff already know the difficulties associated with the current events system, such as the events selling out before people can register or the collections have finished for the year just when people have need to get rid of items. So some community collections would still be scheduled.

PRC will have to add at least two employees to operate the new facility, too. The consultant’s report explained that, but it stressed that the organization is ready to operate and maintain the facility because of its experience with all its collection events and how it has partnered with governmental bodies and agencies to cover costs and accommodate residents.

Shea said when the PRC staff compared the budgets for its collection events and the weight of all items collected against the work of Westmoreland Cleanways and another site in Lancaster, the path became clearer. “The numbers just jumped off the page,” she said, as they all saw how much more could be done by adding a facility.

But it will take work and funding. “The hurdle to get the site is such a big one, not that the rest is easy,” she said. “We could be on a better footing and do so much more than we can do right now. PRC and staff are eager to get to that place.”

The facility would be a multi-use one. Right now PRC leases office space, and those would be moved to it.  PRC offers educational programs and recycling and composting workshops, to name just a few, to the public, and those would be held there, too.

If the building is constructed and operations move along as projected, Shea said PRC would like to add an additional option: collecting food waste. “We would not process it,” she explained. “Like the other materials, it would be stored, and a certified composter would come and collect it.” She said right now there is a big momentum to get more food waste diversion in Allegheny County.

PRC has applied with Allegheny County and the Allegheny County Health Department for a federal Environmental Protection Agency solid waste infrastructure grant, one that has a maximum amount available of $5 million. “An EPA grant in 2025 would be a big boost,” Shea said.

The organization has another foundation request pending to continue its planning into 2025 for the proposed facility. That would help research available land and create partnerships and public education and promotion of just what the facility would provide. Shea said both city and county officials have been supportive in preliminary conversations. And so has Westmoreland Cleanways.

“The folks at Westmoreland Cleanways have been wonderful supporters of us and been helpful by answering our questions,” she explained. “They have been a wonderful resource as we take these next few steps.” That facility has seven employees, and it utilizes volunteers there as well.

Seeking funding is nothing new for PRC as it finds partners and sponsors for all its collection events. Residents are charged mostly $20 for those for a normal load, which is not close to the cost of disposing of those items. That effort not only requires a great deal of work by PRC staff but also certified contractors to haul away what is collected and dispose of it properly.  

“Our ultimate goal is to make it as affordable as possible for the residents to drop it off,” Shea said. “We try not to charge for overhead. We’re lucky to have partners who help with overhead costs.”

All the PRC materials stress that such a building fits the organization’s 85-year history. PRC has been recognized for leading landmark environmental legislation, educating residents and professionals across the commonwealth, and creating many of the state’s initial regional recycling and waste collection programs. Its commitment to a Pennsylvania where nothing is wasted is cited on its website and promotional materials.

PRC is asking government officials, individuals and organizations who support PRC establishing a year-round recycling center to serve Allegheny County and Pittsburgh residents to sign its letter of support online. Shea said that effort will be ongoing, with no deadline ahead. And by obtaining supporters’ email addresses, PRC can keep them updated on the project’s progress and PRC educational programs.

Shea is very hopeful, and with success grant applications and securing partners, she believes this will all move forward and possibly faster than anticipated. “We would love to have it open by 2028,” Shea said.