Big changes are underway at the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) Parkway Transfer Station in Plano, Texas. NTMWD is converting the station to a top-load operation, making it consistent with the other two transfer stations. The project is anticipated to be completed in April 2026.
City garbage trucks deliver municipal solid waste to transfer stations, where it’s temporarily stored before being loaded into large transfer trailers to be taken to the landfill. This system reduces the number of trucks on the highway.
The current method of processing waste at the Parkway Transfer Station consists of using a system of compactors and hydraulic rams to load and unload waste in the trailers. When the Parkway Transfer Station was built more than 40 years ago, this was standard practice. But when compared to more modern top-load methods, it’s an inefficient and high-maintenance way to handle solid waste.
When the project is complete, trucks will drive into a tunnel beneath the floor of the transfer station. Waste is then pushed through a trash chute in the floor, filling the transfer trailer waiting in the loadout tunnel below.
Trucks used at top-load stations can be loaded and unloaded faster, carry more waste and require less maintenance than the existing operation. In addition to the increased efficiency, decreased fuel usage and overtime provides cost savings.
Retrofitting the transfer station is no easy task, given the extensive construction required.
“First, the contractor has to demolish the floor and interior walls of the existing building,” said Engineering Program Manager David Scott. “Then they construct an adjacent multi-story building that is structurally connected to the existing facility without damaging it’s exterior wall or structural integrity.”
Throughout the project, the Parkway Transfer Station will remain open to Solid Waste Member City residents to drop off their household waste upon producing their current city-issued utility bill and driver's license. While this adds to the complexity of the construction process, it’s important to the solid waste team to provide the vital services the people who use the transfer station count on, now and in the future.
“As North Texas cities continue to experience unprecedented growth, our solid waste system must become more efficient to serve that growth,” said Scott. “This project will greatly improve the efficiency of waste transported from the Parkway Transfer Station to the landfill and allow the District to continue to provide exceptional service to our Solid Waste Member Cities.”
A fourth transfer station is in the early stages of development to also address unprecedented growth in our service area.