San Juan County received proposals from two companies seeking to take over the county solid waste operation on San Juan Island’s Sutton Road.

Both bids will be reviewed by the county’s recently formed vendor selection committee, which will then pass its recommendation on to the County Council.

The bids were submitted by Lynwood-based Kentec Energy USA, which, in association with Evergreen Engineering, Eugene, Ore., and Lautenbach Industries, based in Mount Vernon, and by Cimarron Enterprises, a trucking company based in Anacortes, which also is seeking to operate the county run solid waste facility on Orcas Island.

According to county officials, Kentec would continue to operate the Sutton Road solid waste facility as a drop-box operation, but also plans to build a gasification system capable of using up to 30 tons of solid waste, plastics, cardboard, used oil and other waste products to produce electricity. Cimarron would also operate the Sutton Road site as a drop-box facility for self-haul garbage and recycling, with a possible expansion to handle and dispose of trash collected by the county’s franchise hauler.

Copies of each proposal, and background documents on the county request for proposal, are available on the county website: http://sanjuanco.com/sw-rfp/

The county is in process of getting out of business of collecting and disposing of solid waste and, in conjunction with the Town of Friday Harbor, which owns the core of the Sutton Road garbage dump, is seeking private operators to take over its solid waste facilities. San Juan Sanitation, the county franchise hauler, provides residential pick up of trash and recycling.

The county Public Works Department is negotiating with two groups, Cimarron and Orcas Recycling Services, on future operation of the Orcas solid-waste facility, and the recently formed Lopez Island solid waste district is expected to operate the facility on Lopez.