By Courtney Dentch
A proposed construction plan to expand a Jamaica waste transfer station would more than triple the facility’s capacity and increase on-site parking for trucks.
The plan to expand the Regal Recycling Co. plant at 170-21 Douglas Ave., would boost the site’s capacity from 177 tons of garbage a day to 600 tons a day, said Michael Reali, president of M&P Reali Enterprise, Inc., which owns and operates the plant. It would also fully enclose the plant to prevent pollution and odors, and would add a parking lot to keep garbage trucks from blocking residential streets.
The proposal was reviewed by Community Board 12 at its meeting last week. Although the plan does not need the community board’s approval, Reali and project engineer Ted Yen met with the board to answer questions.
The $1.5 million proposal is awaiting state approval and a second public hearing, Yen said.
The site currently handles 177.5 tons of waste a day, Reali said. The garbage – waste from construction and demolition projects as well as commercial waste from retailers and restaurants – comes in by truck and is redistributed for recycling or incineration, he said. Construction debris that can be reused, like wood or Sheetrock, is recycled, and waste that cannot be reused is hauled to an incinerator in Pennsylvania, Reali said. The incinerated garbage is used to produce electricity or steam power, he said.
Enclosing the larger plant would alleviate some concerns expressed by the community board members, including smell, air pollution and noise, Reali said.
“Once it’s enclosed, it mitigates a lot of problems,” he said. “It contains noise and dust so there won’t be noise or dust going off the property.”
City law says construction and demolition debris must be watered down if it is outside to eliminate dust being carried off by the air, Reali said. By enclosing the waste, the company would conserve water, he said.
The enclosed building is also more aesthetically pleasing, Reali said.
“Looking at it from the outside you’d think it was an office building,” he said.
The plan to increase the site’s capacity would also require more trucks, Reali said. At 15 tons per truck, that means about 40 trucks per day, averaging about five trucks an hour, he said.. The enclosed site would be able to accommodate those five trucks, Reali said. Should there be a backup for any reason, trucks would be able to park in the 15,000-square-foot lot rather than block the street, he said.
Some members of the community board were still concerned, however, about trucks parked along Liberty Avenue.
“Unfortunately, Liberty Avenue is a designated truck route,” Yen said. “You can’t ask them not to park there. It’s designated for them.”
But Reali did welcome the board members’ comments and invited them to visit the plant.
“They can look at it and tour it and see exactly what we’re going to do.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
