The Municipality of Anchorage broke ground on a new central transfer station, giving the city more space to handle various waste materials and recycling, and adding 20 years to the life of the landfill. The project is expected to cost around $114 million, funded by user fees. Solid Waste Services is proposing an annual 5% increase for residential and commercial collections and a 6.25% increase for disposal at the transfer station through 2022. Those increases are subject to approval by the Assembly.
The city expects the project to be complete in 2023, though Solid Waste Services General Manager Mark Spafford said he will push to finish in 2022. The current transfer station, located at East 54th Avenue off the Old Seward Highway, is crowded, Spafford said. It was originally built in 1975, and in recent years has had to be closed for maintenance and repairs.