Republic Services seeks new transfer facility location after pushback

PHOENIX – After receiving community pushback, a local waste services company is looking for a new location to build a waste transfer facility in the northwest Valley.

Republic Services announced Friday it will not pursue constructing a facility near 115th Avenue and Happy Valley Road after community members voiced concerns about the location.

“After hearing from the community leaders and our neighbors up there, we determined that this particular location just wasn’t the best spot and we look forward to looking with the community to find a better, more suitable location,” Stephen Herring, Republic Services municipal manager, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

Transfer facilities are indoor locations where waste and recyclables are transferred from collection vehicles to larger trucks that bring the items to recycle centers or landfills.

Currently, there are 32 facilities in Maricopa County alone, and the northwest Valley is one of the areas that lacks this type of infrastructure.

Herring said the main worries they heard from the community was about traffic in the area, which was one of the biggest factors that influenced Republic Services’ decision to pursue a new site.

“The biggest concern that we heard was traffic on 115th and how that’s a main drive for a lot of the neighborhoods that are located to the south of the facility,” Herring said.

While it’s still too early in the process, Herring said all options are on the table for where the location could be.

“We have a development staff and experts that are looking at all possibilities,” Herring said.

Herring added that if the community has feedback or suggestions about where a transfer station could go in the northwest valley, there’s a website to provide input.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report.

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