CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi city council is expected to approve the second phase of a compost facility project on Tuesday.
The vote will start the facility's design and then be followed by construction, which would wrap up by February 2025.
Corpus Christi does not currently have a composting facility and when this one is built it will remove about a fourth of the debris that goes into the landfill.
The compost might also bring in some money to the city as it's looking to sell that product.
Solid Waste Director for the City of Corpus Christi, David Lehfeldt, said the new facility is planned to be built on 100 acres of city owned farmland next to the Cefe Valenzuela Landfill between County Roads 59 and 57.
"That's a big facility it's a big site," Lehfeldt said. "But, when you're dealing with a 100,000 tons of material you need a big site."
The conceptual design and permitting work has been done and now the actual design and construction will be starting soon.
Council member Roland Barrera believes city council will support the creation of the compost facility.
"I'm confident that a majority of the council is supportive of it," Barrera said. "It's much better for the environment it reduces the stress on the landfill by about a fourth."
Lehfeldt explained that initially, the city's composting efforts will concentrate on material it already picks up.
"We will be taking all the brush and organics that we get curbside, the curbside brush and bulky collection," Lehfeldt said.
Right now that's 300 thousand cubic yards a year which is equal to about a thousand football fields.
When the compost done, the liquid fertilizer will be sold to local nurseries.
"We would sell it to the nurseries," Lefeldt said. "We would market it thru the nurseries. They would become our vendors, distributors if you will. That way we're not competing with them."
The solid waste director also told 3NEWS that the city may expand the composting program to include bins for folks at home who want to do more to help the environment.
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