It is one of the busiest solid waste facilities in the county’s solid waste system – along with being the oldest building in the system. At its June 9 meeting, the Metropolitan King County Council gave its unanimous approval to replacing the county’s Factoria Solid Waste Transfer Station with a new modern facility.

“The much needed update of this facility is based on a careful review of our solid waste needs,” said Vice Chair Jane Hague, whose district includes the Factoria facility. “This state of the art facility is supported by our Bellevue partners and the process has helped us identify a solid contractor.”

Built in 1963, the Factoria Transfer Station processed about 115,000 tons of mixed municipal solid waste in 2012, with over 80 percent of that amount derived from commercial haulers who pick waste up from residents and businesses in the Factoria service area. The Factoria facility was one of the transfer stations slated for replacement in the county’s Solid Waste Transfer and Management Plan adopted by the council in 2007.

In 2012, the council approved a “competitive negotiations” procurement method that included designation of the county executive as the council’s representative for managing the procurement process, and recommending a vendor for construction of the facility, to be approved by council. Key considerations of the vendor procurement process included:

• Cost proposal
• Specialized experience and technical competence
• Record of past performance
• Current and projected work load for proposer’s key personnel
• Safety program
• Environmental protection and mitigation
• Approach to quality assurance and quality control
• Approach to construction
• Small Contractor and Supplier (SCS) participation and outreach plan and
• Financial resources

After an extended review process, the evaluation was completed, with the recommendation that PCL Construction Services be awarded the contract for the construction of the facility.

The new facility in Factoria will be larger than the current transfer station, with the expectation that it will handle a larger volume of waste, and reducing the need for the construction of an additional solid waste facility in northeast King County. This would provide millions of dollars in long-term savings. Consideration of the need for a potential facility in northeast King County will be the subject of further review.