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WM Unveils New $30 Million State-of-the-Art Recycling Facility in Cleveland

 

Cleveland, Ohio – Sept. 15, 2023 – WM announced today it has opened a nearly 100,000 square-foot recycling facility in Cleveland. The state-of-the-art technology deployed in the new facility is expected to process up to 420 tons of recyclables per day.

The addition of the new WM Cleveland Recycling Facility – with state-of-the-art technology, including glass recovery equipment, optical sorters, non-wrapping screens and ballistic separators – is intended to help allow the region’s recycling programs to expand and produce higher quality material for customers that use the recycled material as feedstock to manufacture new products. 

 

"...With this investment, our team is proud to reinforce our commitment to the environment and our ability to provide a local solution for cutting-edge single stream recycling in NE Ohio..."

Aaron Johnson -- WM Great Lakes Area Vice President

 

“WM continues its investment in recycling infrastructure with the opening of our new Cleveland Recycling Facility,” said Aaron Johnson, WM Great Lakes Area Vice President. “At our core, WM is a sustainability company, and with this investment, our team is proud to reinforce our commitment to the environment, and our ability to provide a local solution for cutting-edge single stream recycling in NE Ohio, as we work with our communities to drive circularity and help give materials a second life.”

WM’s investments in new and upgraded recycling facilities, including WM Cleveland Recycling Facility, are intended to: 

  • Increase overall recycling capacity in this market

  • Increase the capture rate of both traditional recycling materials, and evolving into accepting materials that are traditionally difficult to recycle (such as film plastic)

  • Expand the list of acceptable recyclable material that WM manages for its customers

  • Improve the quality, value and marketability of the finished recycled bales benefiting the economics of recycling for its commercial customers and municipal communities

  • Allow WM to manage inbound contamination or “non-recyclables” more efficiently and provide opportunities to educate customers on how to recycle right

 

"This facility will increase recycling capacity within the County and the region and assist in furthering local sustainability efforts."

Elizabeth (Beth) Biggins-Ramer -- Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District Executive Director

 

“The Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District is honored to partner with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to assist WM in the development of their new Recycling Facility within Cuyahoga County,” said Elizabeth (Beth) Biggins-Ramer, Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District Executive Director. “This facility will increase recycling capacity within the County and the region and assist in furthering local sustainability efforts. We look forward to working with WM to promote Recycling Right education and bettering our environment.”

This project is part of WM’s previously announced enterprise-wide plans to invest over $1 billion in recycling infrastructure, including approximately 40 planned new or automated recycling facilities expected to add 2.8 million incremental tons managed by 2026. With the demand for recycled content products expected to rise, the investments are expected to enable WM to capture more recycled materials and increase 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. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling, and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, 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 achieve their sustainability goals. WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet in North America, is the largest recycler of post-consumer materials, and is the leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas-to-electricity plants in North America. WM’s fleet includes nearly 11,000 natural gas trucks – the largest heavy-duty natural gas truck fleet of its kind in North America. To learn more about WM and the company’s sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including all statements regarding future events, future investments and all outcomes or benefits of such investments. Such statements are based on the facts and circumstances as of the date the statements are made and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different. Please see Part I, Item 1A of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, and subsequent Forms 10-Q, available at investors.wm.com for information regarding such risks and uncertainties. WM assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.