Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:
Question: I was just driving down Sand Hill Road near the Bob Lewis Ballpark complex, and I noticed a rather large building going up with a steel frame. What is going in there, and when will it be completed?
My answer: With every ounce of my soul, I'd love to answer, "Costco." But I know that's not right.
Real answer: No, it's not a Costco.
This 118,000-square-foot behemoth going up in Enka Commerce Park will be the new Haakon Industries manufacturing plant, which represents a $19.6 million investment and the creation of 160 new jobs in the first five years of operation, according to a story we wrote in September 2018. Jobs will include a range of positions, from assembly and production staffers to engineers, management and administration positions.
I stopped by Monday to take some pictures, and the building is really coming along.
Beverly-Grant Inc. is the general contractor, and Construction Superintendent Ron Siggs told me they hope to have the building completed in June or July of 2021. Work started in May of this year.
The building is not far from the New Belgium distribution facility and what Siggs and another construction worker casually referred to as "the Amazon site." We've written about these plans, too, which call for the Greensboro-based Samet Corp. to build a 129,859-square foot distribution center on the site of the former American Enka plant.
More:Enka clock tower may be demolished to accommodate large distribution center
More:Enka clock tower needs repairs, may regain 'ENKA' lettering
That made a lot of news because initial plans called for the demolition of the historic Enka clock tower, but Samet said earlier this month it now plans to preserve the tower. The distribution center will have 278 employee parking spaces, as well as parking for 696 vans.
Samet built the Amazon Distribution Hub in Mills River, so the Enka project sure is looking like an Amazon duck and quacking like one, too. But I digress.
Haakon, based in Canada, makes large, custom HVAC systems. Haakon looked at sites in the Carolinas and Tennessee before choosing Enka, a process that was in the works for a year.
The Commerce Park is hopping of late, between New Belgium, Haakon and now the distribution center Samet will build, which also should be completed next year.
Clark Duncan, executive director of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, noted that the N.C. DOT has committed to "completing the interior access roads (in Enka Center), including Walk-Off Way and Enka Heritage Trail, which will connect – at long last – to the bridge and future stop light on Smoky Park Highway. This will help pull significant employee and trailer traffic off of Sand Hill, Duncan said.
Those two roads will be completed in the second and third quarters of 2021, respectively, Duncan said.
Question: You recently answered a question, which I think of as trash talk, in which you explained information about cross-contamination between garbage and recyclables. A friend and I were discussing your answer over a cup of coffee. He indicated to me that there are many recyclables that actually are not recyclable because there is no market for them, and therefore they end up in the landfill anyway. He said that was particularly true with some of the plastics, in spite of the fact that they have the recyclable triangle on them. Is that correct? If so, should that change anything that we are currently doing regarding our recyclables?
My answer: This is why I shifted to an all-beer diet when the pandemic hit. You know aluminum cans and glass bottles are getting recycled. Hey, I'm just thinking of the planet here...
Real answer: "This coffee buddy is correct!" said Nancy Lawson, co-owner of Curbside Management, the Woodfin company that processes most of the recycling in the area. "It is very important to understand what your area can and cannot accept in their recycling program and to recycle correctly."
Both the city of Asheville and Curbside Management (often called "Curbie"), have nice graphics on their websites detailing what can and can't be recycled.
The city's site is: www.ashevillenc.gov/service/what-can-i-recycle/
Curbie's is: www.curbie.com/
When it comes to plastics, here's the key to remembering what you can recycle: "Bottles, tubs, jugs and jars."
Markets do a play a role in this.
"He is also correct in knowing that in order for the material to be on the 'accepted recyclables list,' we must have a market or a 'home' for the recyclables to go — i.e. a factory or manufacturer that will take these products and utilize them," Lawson said, acknowledging that plastics recycling can be confusing.
"Just because something plastic has a recycling symbol, it does not mean that it is accepted," Lawson said. "Here’s the rule: It must be a plastic bottle, tub, jug or jar to be accepted in our recycling program (and in fact, all of North Carolina)."
Lawson also addressed "wishful recyclers” — those who hope an item can be recycled and toss it in the bin. These well-intentioned folks "can actually cause more harm than good when it comes to recycling," Lawson said.
"Our advice to people is, 'If in doubt, throw it out," Lawson said. "That would be so much better than putting the wrong items in the recycling bin. If there is no market for a material, it must be landfilled, which causes inefficiencies and higher costs to your local recycler."
This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or [email protected]
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