Significant investments by WM in local infrastructure for recycling, compressed natural gas (CNG) and a renewable natural gas project are helping drive sustainability in Colorado
DENVER, Colo. – July 9, 2026 – WM today celebrated the completion of its new $110 million Denver East Recycling Facility & Hauling Site in Aurora, with a grand opening event attended by more than 250 guests including Colorado Governor Jared Polis.
“WM’s investment in local recycling infrastructure, lower-emission CNG collection operations, and an adjacent renewable natural gas project here in Colorado further demonstrate our dedication to innovation, improved technology, and creating a more sustainable future for our communities,” said David Brannon, area vice president, WM Four Corners. “The new Denver East Recycling Facility is equipped with the cutting-edge technology needed to process more recyclable material more efficiently and to produce a high-quality product that can be used to create new products. This, in turn, could help to improve the economics of recycling for our Colorado business and our customers.”
The Denver East Campus
The advanced technology deployed in WM’s new recycling facility can process up to 45 tons of material per hour, providing crucial recycling infrastructure to Colorado as the state continues to roll out its free recycling collection program for residents statewide. The 84,000-square-foot WM Denver East Recycling Facility features nearly 2 miles of conveyors that carry materials through more than 30 advanced automated equipment stations that feature optical sorting and artificial intelligence technology. This operation is expected to process more than 175,000 tons of recyclables per year and produce higher quality recycled cardboard, paper, metal, plastic and glass that will go on to be used by manufacturers as feedstock to make sustainably sourced consumer products. An onsite Recycling Education Center will host group tours of the recycling plant with the goal of fostering a better understanding of how recycling works and why proper recycling habits are important.
Sharing the campus is the Denver East Hauling site. A 30,000-square-foot building houses office space and a 10-bay truck maintenance shop. Outside, the site has 104 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations to support WM’s growing fleet of lower-emission CNG collection trucks. A team of about 100 managers, drivers and technicians work out of this hauling site – which is the third WM hauling site servicing communities and businesses in the Denver metro area.
Investing in Sustainability
WM’s most recent local investments include the $73 million new construction of the Denver East Recycling Facility, and a $36.4 million investment for the Denver East Hauling Site which includes the CNG fueling infrastructure. The site’s existing fleet of CNG collection trucks is expected to be further expanded next year. WM has also broken ground on a co-located facility for the At Your Door Special Collections® program, which collects difficult, sometimes hazardous and hard to recycle materials. Later this year, WM expects to begin the estimated $67 million construction of
Colorado’s first large-scale renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site (DADS), which is located adjacent to WM’s Denver East campus. In addition, WM has invested a total of approximately $8.2 million in the Organics Recycling Facility at DADS, which includes 2026 site improvements and equipment.
This state-of-the-art WM campus is a major step forward in advancing the future of sustainability in Colorado,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who addressed the group at the event. “As Colorado continues to transition to EPR for packaging and paper products, expand recycling to all residents and work to reduce both waste and greenhouse gas emissions, investments in sustainability infrastructure like WM is making here in Denver, are crucial to supporting the state’s aggressive goals for environmental, economic and public health.”
The Denver East Recycling Facility is part of WM’s enterprise-wide plans to invest more than $1.4 billion in 39 new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 to 2027, which is expected to add approximately 2.8 million tons of incremental annual processing capacity by the end of 2027. These planned investments seek to increase WM’s ability to manage more recycled materials and potentially enhance access to recycling for its customers.
About WM
WM (WM.com) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions. Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. WM, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, medical and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them pursue their sustainability goals. In North America, WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet, is the largest recycler and is a leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas-to-electricity plants, as well as the largest heavy-duty natural gas truck fleet in the industry. WM, through its subsidiaries, also provides collection and disposal services of regulated medical waste and secure information destruction services in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. To learn more about WM and the company's sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.