Action by Council supports multi-year effort to modernize 1960’s-era transfer stations

Final phase of construction on Bow Lake station will enable trucks to be loaded by weight more accurately and help County improve efficiencies, service

King County’s effort to modernize its 50-year-old transfer stations moved forward Monday with King County Council approval of the final phase of construction on the Bow Lake Transfer Station in Tukwila.

“Bow Lake handles more than a third of the County’s solid waste and represents a major step in our multi-year plan to modernize all of our 1960s-era stations,” said King County Solid Waste Division (SWD) Director Kevin Kiernan. “This project will move us significantly ahead in terms of bringing efficiencies, enhancing service and ensuring regulatory compliance.”

Replacement or renovation of the Bow Lake, Algona, Factoria, Renton and Houghton stations will include compaction systems with scales that weigh the waste, compress it into a cube it and then push it into a trailer or container.
 
The system replaces the less efficient top loading system and will allow SWD to consistently load trucks by weight much more accurately.
 
As part of the modernization plan the Solid Waste Division will install the compaction system scales at all transfer stations as soon as is reasonably possible.

The Bow Lake station is being rebuilt to meet current building and environmental standards, improve safety and operational efficiencies, accommodate projected future growth in the region, and increase recycling opportunities. The renovation project is expected to last until 2012.

SWD has completed replacement or renovation at Vashon, Enumclaw and Shoreline. After Bow Lake, the schedule calls for upgrades to Factoria, Algona, Renton and Houghton by 2016. The modernizations are part of the SWD capital program and are funded through the solid waste rate. More information about King County transfer stations is available at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/facilities/transfer.asp.

Related information

Bow Lake Transfer Station

King County transfer stations and drop box facilities

King County Solid Waste