MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Entsorga West Virginia plans to break ground Wednesday on a waste-to-solid-fuel plant near Martinsburg.
The Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority and Entsorga have been working on the project since 2009.
The plant will use a mechanical, biological treatment system to organize incoming waste without the need for employees to sort it by hand.
Entsorga said the facility will divert municipal solid waste from landfills and use it to produce alternative fuels expected to be used at the Essroc cement plant, which is a little more than two miles away in Martinsburg’s south end.
Chairman of the Solid Waste Authority Clint Hogbin says this creates a zero waste option for companies locating in the area.
“All these companies are looking for that option,” Hogbin said in December. “That puts us as a player in zero waste.”
Hogbin believes the plant will bring potential economic development opportunities to the whole region.
Entsorga has said the plant will be the first of its kind in the United States.
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority authorized a $25 million bond in August 2015 to finance the project.