Every year, Phoenix collects more than 30,000 tons of palm fronds. According to the Public Works Department, loading and driving the fronds more than 50 miles to Buckeye where the city’s landfill is located costs $17 a ton. Palm Silage LLC is offering to take them for no more than $12 a ton.
The coarse leaves are tough to compost and can jam machines. Palm Silage wants to dry and grind them into livestock feed. A city subcommittee is scheduled to discuss the deal on Tuesday.
If approved by the full city council, Palm Silage would become the first company to set up shop at the Resource Innovation Campus which encompasses about 80 acres of undeveloped land in southwest Phoenix. That’s where city leaders hope to create a circular economy hub with businesses and industries turning turn trash into new products while also creating jobs.
Phoenix city leaders have set a goal of diverting 40 percentof the city's trash by 2020.
