When Tucson Environmental Services announced in July 2021 that it wanted to create a sustainability campus at the Los Reales Landfill, we were intrigued. But the entire process fell apart quickly when we found out the department wanted to make waste-to-energy the centerpiece of the campus. We learned that the department had been holding discussions with several project developers. The department released a map for the proposed campus that included parcels or designated areas for both a conventional mass-burn incinerator (with energy recovery) and a plastic-to-fuel pyrolysis system. Next, the department hired an engineering consultant to help it evaluate and solicit proposals to build one or more waste-to-energy facilities at the landfill. In July 2022, the department received over ten project proposals for turning solid waste into electricity, fuels or fuel ingredients. One year later, the department proposed that two of these projects be included in a City federal funding proposal to create a tech hub for advanced energy and materials. The two projects were pulled from the grant proposal due to public concerns about the health and environmental impacts of heating plastic and other materials at elevated temperatures to create fuel.
Is the department still interested in hosting a waste-to-energy facility at the landfill? It is hard to tell because there has been little effort to share information and seek stakeholder input on the projects being considered for the campus. We believe the department still favors waste-to-energy but has changed its focus to sending solid waste to facilities located outside of Tucson. For example, the department has received a proposal from a company that wants to process plastic waste at a pyrolysis facility that it plans to build in Eloy, AZ. The department has also been evaluating options for hosting a mixed-waste processing facility at the campus. These facilities typically create fuel pellets or bricks from plastic, paper and other carbon-rich materials. The fuel pellets are then shipped to cement kilns and waste-to-energy facilities.
We believe it is time for the City to make the planning process for the sustainability campus much more transparent and inclusive. Too many decisions are being made behind closed doors.