King County announced on Feb. 22 that it will build its new recycling and transfer station for south King County residents and customers in Algona, in a former gravel mine just north of the existing facility at 35101 West Valley Highway S.

The present station, which has been in operation for more than 50 years, has passed its engineered lifespan, county officials say.

With the siting decision made, King County now turns to analyzing options for design and construction of the station, which should begin operations in 2022. The respective city and county councils, however, must still approve what is, as of today, a tentative agreement, according to Doug Williams, media relations coordinator for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

“King County made its siting decision, and we are proceeding with the planning stage. Concurrent with that process, King County and the City of Algona have reached a tentative agreement that addresses project development and mitigation. This would resolve the city’s pending appeal on the environmental impact statement that is before the Hearing Examiner. Both parties have requested the hearing dates be extended for 60 days, until about mid-May, to allow time to conclude the tentative agreement,” Williams said.

“Constructing a replacement facility for the aging Algona Transfer Station enables the County to continue making critical updates to its transfer system, while enhancing services to customers in south King County,” said Pat McLaughlin, King County Solid Waste Division Director.

The estimated design and build cost is $100 million.

The new facility will include:

• Adequate room for recycling services;

• Adequate space for vehicles on the site;

• An enclosed building to control odor, noise, and dust;

• Trash compactors to accurately and efficiently load collected garbage; and

• Landscaping and design features that help the facility be more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

The decision to build the transfer station in Algona concludes the solid waste division’s extensive siting process, which included an analysis of numerous potential sites in communities throughout south King County, the city of Auburn among them. The division also completed an Environmental Impact Statement that evaluated potential impacts that siting, constructing, and operating a new recycling and transfer station would have on the built and natural environments.

King County worked with city partners and stakeholders, and conducted a public involvement process complete with public meetings and open houses.

According to King County officials, they favored the Algona site as it would:

• Minimize impacts to the routes of commercial waste haulers;

• Minimize further delays in implementation of the project; and

• Provide a terrain suitable for accommodating the multi-level transfer building, and take advantage of materials left behind by a former sand and gravel mine.

King County operates eight transfer stations, two drop-boxes, the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, and many programs to help customers recycle.

Learn more about the Solid Waste Division at kingcounty.gov/solidwaste.