WM opens upgraded recycling facility in Southern California

WM has upgraded its Orange Recycling Facility in Southern California. With the $20 million investment in advanced technology equipped with automation and artificial intelligence (AI), the site is expected to process up to 130,000 tons of material per year.

The upgraded Orange Recycling Facility uses optical sorters with near infrared (NIR) and high-speed sensors to maximize recovery and quality, including producing higher-grade paper and glass.

WM says the upgrades will allow it to collect and sort more types of paper and plastics, including materials it previously could not, such as yogurt containers made of polypropylene plastic; process more material more efficiently, which supports recycling growth in the community; and reduce recycling contamination challenges and improve the quality of the end product, allowing WM to provide customers with bales of recycled material that can be used as feedstock to create new products, such as backpacks, boxes, water bottles, cans and apparel.

The Orange facility is part of WM’s enterprisewide 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 recyclables and potentially enhance access to recycling for its customers.

The company recently opened two new MRFs in Ontario as well as a MRF in Pembroke Pines, Florida, the Grand Central Recycling Facility in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, and a recycling facility in Portland, Oregon.

“WM is proud to drive sustainability across Southern California as we’ve committed $3 billion to recycling and renewable energy projects, including nearly $500 million in this region,” says Mike Hammer, area vice president, WM of Southern California. “That includes AI and automation upgrades at our Orange and Azusa recycling facilities and the launch of our first California RNG plant in Simi Valley in 2025. These investments reflect WM’s dedication to innovation, improved technology, and a more sustainable future for our communities.”

In addition to the new recycling facility, since S.B. 1383 was enacted in California, WM has invested more than $30 million to expand seven of its organics facilities with composting and anaerobic digestion.