Waste Management invests $70 Million to keep South Florida recycling

America Recycles Day will be held on Tuesday, November 15th. Waste Management has big plans to ensure recycling is resilient and has a bright future in the United States and South Florida.

This week, Waste Management (WM) announced plans to build a new 127,000-square-foot recycling processing facility adjacent to the current Reuters recycling facility just north of the Miami-Dade/Broward County line in Pembroke Pines. .

At more than $70 million, WM Recycling South Florida will be the largest and most technologically advanced recycling facility in the southeastern United States.

The facility will use artificial intelligence, robotics, and other cutting-edge technologies to increase the production of marketable recycled materials by 75%, increasing the long-term viability of sustainable recycling programs throughout South Florida. to ensure

This new state-of-the-art technology recovers 95% of recyclable materials compared to 80-85% at current facilities. It also enables the recycling of more types of plastic, such as plastic bags and films. Paper recycling is also improved. WM Recycling South Florida separates the paper from the newsprint mix and processes it 10 times faster than today (600 picks per minute, 60 manual picks).

This intelligent sorting allows conveyors and optical sorters to communicate with each other, allowing robotics to provide quality control and extract additional recyclable material. This process includes a final optical sorting line. The line allows him to send back uncollected recyclable materials for his second chance at reusing and diverting them from landfills.

Demand for recycled materials is at an all-time high and is expected to continue to do so. This is fueled by laws requiring products to use a minimum amount of recyclable materials and efforts by domestic consumer brands to use recycled materials in the production of new packaging. .

Recycling also benefits the supply chain. Because recycled paper and cardboard become new paper and new boxes for e-commerce. Recycled plastic becomes new containers, park benches, and even clothing and running shoes. Recycled aluminum cans hit stores after 60 days of him.

The new facility includes the WM Sustainability Education Station, which offers schoolchildren and citizen groups lessons on sustainability along with tours of the recycling facility. WM, North America’s leading recycler, will recycle 15 million tons of materials in 2021, saving precious natural resources such as energy and water, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change We support increased recycling because doing so benefits the environment.

Across the company, WM will invest $275 million in recycling infrastructure in 2022, bringing its total investment since 2018 to more than $800 million, to better serve the sustainability needs of business and home customers. can be properly met. The new state-of-the-art WM Recycling South Florida means the majority of its sustainability investments stay here in South Florida.

Dawn McCormick is Director of Communications and Government Affairs for Waste Management Inc. of Florida.