Smart Recycling Centre

Waste Management invested $18 million in its new single-stream recycling facility located on an 8-acre site outside the City of Spokane. The facility opened in October 2012. SMaRT can process 100,000 tons of recyclables per year. This new facility is the centerpiece of a regional strategy aimed at dramatically reducing waste and boosting recycling in the area. The 62,000-square-foot, “single-stream” facility allows residents and businesses to recycle a broader assortment of materials, resulting in dramatically higher recycling and diversion rates. An economic impact study conducted by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business estimated the facility will inject more than $46 million into the local economy over the next five years.

Waste Management is passionate about finding environmental solutions that save money, make good sense for communities and make the world a greener place.

SMaRT Quick Facts and Information

• SMaRT system will process 11 pounds of recyclables per second.

• The new facility, the first of its kind in Washington State east of the Cascades features high-tech equipment, including an optical sorter and a glass crusher with a “hurricane” vacuum system.

• The new system enables residents to use one larger roller cart—similar to clean green carts—for all recyclables, including many materials that currently aren’t accepted for recycling.

• Materials that are collected include: paper products, many types of plastic containers, and a host of other items ranging from clam shells, to jars, tin and aluminum cans, foil, pie tins, and small scrap metal, including old pots and pans.

• The recycling center will have the capability of processing 26 tons of mixed recyclables per hour.

• The SMaRT center is one of more than 100 single-stream facilities WM operates and can process about 250 tons of recyclables per 10-hour shift

• The SMaRT Center, curbside recycling conversion, and CNG fleet launch are all part of WM Spokane’s big and bold commitment to Spokane customers and to building sustainable communities across Eastern Washington.

Waste Management's Success is Driven by Our Customer's Sustainability Goals.

At Waste Management, environmental stewardship is linked inextricably to our business performance. As recycling volumes rise and the demand for recycled commodities grows, our revenues from this part of the business rise. As the demand for renewable energy increases, driven by governmental and customer sustainability goals, so do Waste Management revenues from green energy. And, of course, as demand falls or the value of recycled goods or renewable energy declines, our revenue from these activities fall as well.

We take a long-term outlook. We are committed to maintaining our course. Despite periodic dips in recycling and green energy prices, we continue to develop new ways to convert waste into valuable resources. We are committed to reinventing our business model and re-envisioning the nature of waste itself. We are pleased to share our continued commitment to our sustainability goals.

WM Recycling & Recovery Centers

• Cascade Recycling Center - Most of the combined bottles, cans, paper and cardboard collected by Waste Management from Puget Sound area residences and businesses, as well as construction and demolition materials, are sorted at Waste Management's Cascade Recycling Center in Woodinville, WA.

• SMaRT Recycling - Waste Management of Spokane, opened their new $18 million single-stream recycling facility on an 8-acre site right outside the City of Spokane in October 2012.

• Tualatin Valley Waste Recovery - This recycling facility sorts construction and demolition materials (dry waste) from around the Portland area as part of a regional effort to achieve aggressive waste reduction goals.

• Waste Management JMK Fibers - Waste Management JMK Fibers (WM JMK) is a MRF Recycling Center for mixed recyclables including plastics, metals and papers servicing the Tacoma area, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Canada and Washington State.