City of Fort Worth, TX

11/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/08/2024 23:18

Construction underway for state of the art recycling facility

Construction underway for state-of-the-art recycling facility

Published on August 11, 2024

WM recently began construction on a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Fort Worth.

  • The WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility will provide recycling capabilities for the City of Fort Worth and the North Texas area.
  • The WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility is anticipated to be approximately 110,000 square feet.
  • The facility will have the capacity to process up to 144,000 tons per year of recyclable material.

What they're saying: "WM is committed to environmental stewardship, supporting local communities and increasing access to recycling in North Texas and beyond," said Domenica Farmer, WM TexOma area vice president. "Construction of the new WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility is an important part of our investment in innovative recycling solutions that will help fuel a circular economy."

Why it's important: As the City of Fort Worth continues to grow, there is a continued focus on sustainability in its long-range planning, particularly through reuse and recycling.

The new recycling facility's state-of-the-art technology is intended to:

  • Collect more types of plastics for recycling
  • Improve material quality for end users through the use of intelligent sorting technologies, where conveyers and optical sorters communicate with each other and with technicians
  • Increase the capture of recyclable material through the inclusion of an additional optical sort line

What it means for Fort Worth: "This project leverages technology to promote resource recovery with recyclable material as a resource," said Cody Whittenburg, environmental services director for the City of Fort Worth. "Having a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Fort Worth will have numerous positive impacts for the community. The project also serves to highlight the importance of being mindful of recycling, recycling education and long-term sustainability."

In 2023, the City of Fort Worth approved WM's request for proposal bid for recycling processing services. With the City of Fort Worth and WM agreement signed, construction plans for the new recycling facility, which will be located at 9600 Hemphill St., are underway. WM is currently processing recyclables for the City at the nearby WM Arlington Recycling Facility.

Next steps:

  • This project is part of WM's enterprise-wide plans to invest over $1 billion in new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 to 2026, which is expected to add approximately 2.8 million tons of incremental annual processing capacity by the end of 2026.
  • With the demand for recycled content products anticipated to rise, these planned investments seek to enable WM to increase its ability to manage more recycled materials and potentially enhance access to recycling for its customers.
  • The WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2025. Once completed, WM plans to host a grand opening ceremony to celebrate the new facility.

Resources

Photo:Construction begins for the future WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility. Photo courtesy of WM.

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