WM, Recycle America Reopen NY MRF

Waste Management invested $11 million to rebuild the facility, which replaces a prior operation at this site that was severely damaged by a fire in April 2005, and supports residential and commercial recycling in Onondaga County, including the city of Syracuse, as well as other communities throughout Central New York.

With 94,000 square feet of production space and the ability to process up to 20 tons of recyclables per hour, the Liverpool facility is the largest single-stream recycling operation in New York State and one of the largest and most advanced recycling operations in the nation. The equipment was provided by Van Dyk baler.

Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro, OCRRA Executive Director Tom Rhoads, WM Recycle America President Patrick DeRueda, and Waste Management Senior Vice President - Eastern Group Jim Trevathan.

With single-stream recycling, recyclable paper and containers can be mixed and collected together because all the materials are separated at the recycling center. When recyclables arrive at the Liverpool recycling facility, advanced technology including magnets, screens and scanners are used to separate, sort and process the materials, which are then shipped out for reuse.

By making the process of handling recyclables easier, WM’s single-stream recycling facility has the potential to increase the already high rate of participation in recycling by Onondaga County residents and businesses, which currently approaches 70 percent.

"This multi-million dollar investment exemplifies Waste Management’s leadership as North America’s largest recycler in offering communities and businesses the most effective and affordable recycling options," said Patrick DeRueda, President, WM Recycle America. "We are proud to partner with OCRRA and the people of Onondaga County to build on their high rate of participation in recycling with this advanced, single-stream facility that makes recycling even easier, more cost-effective and efficient."

Onondaga County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro said, "We are proud to work together with Waste Management, Inc. and OCRRA in our efforts for a cleaner and greener environment and the outstanding cooperation and participation of all Onondaga County citizens to recycling. We congratulate Waste Management for their commitment to our community and our environment."

Presently, Waste Management has 70 MRFs, roughly one third of which are single stream operations.