WM updates Pittsburgh Recycling Facility

WM has announced the completion of nearly $23 million in automation updates to its Pittsburgh Recycling Facility, which is expected to be able to process up to 25 tons of material per hour.

The updates are expected to enable the recycling of more types of plastics, including polypropylene bottles, jars, jugs and tubs and to improve material quality by using intelligent sorting that enables conveyors and optical sorters to communicate with each other and with technicians. An additional optical sort line has been added that will serve as a final quality control measure for recyclables not captured initially, as well.

“WM is excited about the opportunities these upgrades bring to our facility and recyclers across the region,” says Chris Pilzer, capitol area director of sustainable growth. “This retrofit utilizes state-of-the-art equipment that focuses on artificial intelligence and optical sorting technologies that are expected to increase the amount of recycling we can process on behalf of local communities and businesses. It also expands our roster of acceptable materials and creates a higher-quality product for our end users.”

This project is part of WM’s previously announced enterprisewide plans to invest more than $1 billion in new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 to 2026. These investments are expected to add approximately 2.5 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 are expected to enable WM to capture more recycled materials and increase access to recycling for its customers.

Upon completion of its Germantown Recycling Facility in Wisconsin in April, Brent Bell, vice president of recycling at WM told Recycling Today Media Group that the company plans to upgrade 10 recycling facilities this year and open three new facilities.

Bell said WM has the same fundamental objectives with these investments, which include expanding the facilities’ capacity and the types of recyclables that can be recovered and improving the quality of the recovered materials.