Brian Phillips, assistant city manager, told partner communities that the city will stop operating its waste-to-energy power plant because the system is no longer economically viable, has reliability problems and faces future regulatory limits on operating hours. "We're no longer going to be operating a waste to energy facility," Phillips said, adding boiler corrosion from modern plastics and the economics of buying grid power made continuing the plant impractical.

The city plans to construct a Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus (R3C) near Friel Drive to accept municipal solid waste from local haulers, perform limited processing and consolidate loads for transport to Carroll County Landfill. Justin Clausen, public works director, said the city purchased the property in early 2025 and is about 60% through design. "The current estimate is about $16,800,000 to construct the facility," Clausen said. Staff are aiming to open on or about July 1, 2027, and are seeking to accelerate that date if possible.

Clausen and Phillips said the R3C will change some financial flows. The existing tipping fee at the resource recovery plant is $75 per ton; the city's financial model projects a tipping fee of roughly $95.11 per ton when the new facility opens to cover disposal, trucking and other costs. Phillips noted about $30 of that fee reflects the ultimate disposal cost at Carroll County Landfill and another ~$30 covers trucking from the R3C to Carroll. The per-capita fee that partner communities pay into the resource recovery utility would remain $10.50 per person, staff said.

City staff emphasized operational limits: the new facility will accept "light" C&D loads from residents (for example, small amounts of lumber and drywall) but will not accept heavy materials such as concrete or whole loads from large contractors because of equipment damage risks. Clausen said the design includes heavy-duty shredding and compaction equipment and a layout that lets the facility continue to accept waste during power outages using loaders and trucks.

Because Ames will no longer generate refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for combustion, staff propose revising the existing 20/80 partnership agreements so the RDF production number is set to zero and the agreement term aligns with debt for the new facility. Phillips said current 20/80 agreements run through 2034 and staff seek 20-year extensions through 2047 to match anticipated debt terms. "We would just like to know who's in or out, for the duration of that term of the debt," he said, asking partner communities to indicate support for the extension by January to inform financing.

On disposal partners, Phillips said Boone County has limited expansion options and has expressed a desire not to accept increasing Story County volumes; the city has arranged to join the West Central Iowa Solid Waste Management Authority to use Carroll County Landfill, which has agreed to accept Ames loads for a minimum of 20 years. Phillips cautioned that siting a new landfill would take 5 to 7 years and entail significant political and regulatory hurdles.

Next steps: staff will finish design, issue construction bid documents (anticipated early 2026), run the curbside recycling RFP (separately), and continue outreach to partner communities. Staff invited communities to contact Brian Phillips, Justin Clausen or Nolan Sagan (City of Ames sustainability coordinator) for follow-up.