WM Completes $40 Million in Upgrades to Automate the WM Philadelphia Recycling Facility in PA

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): WM announced completion of the $40 million automation update of its Philadelphia Recycling Facility. The upgraded facility is expected to process up to 192,000 tons of material per year and is already processing recyclable bottles, jars, cans and paper collected from homes and businesses in Philadelphia and nearby communities. “WM has invested $40 million in this facility,” said Chris Farley, WM Greater Mid-Atlantic Area Vice President during a dedication ceremony this morning. “This plant has the potential to process up to 192,000 tons of material a year and produce commodities that manufacturers can use to create new products.”

Mr. Farley’s comments were made this morning during a site ribbon cutting ceremony that attracted several city and state officials, students, and WM team members, including Brent Bell, the company’s vice president of recycling.

Mr. Bell said the Philadelphia facility is part of a $1.4 million investment WM is making in new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America. More than $100 million of that investment is being made in Pennsylvania. The company’s Pittsburgh plant has been upgraded and a new recycling facility is being built in Northampton County.

“I’m so happy that we have great partners to work with,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said during the event program. Referring to her ambitious goals for making the city cleaner and greener, the mayor said, “I need partners … I can’t get it done alone.”

Technological advancements engineered into WM’s recycling facility are intended to:

•          Collect more types of plastics
•          Utilize sorting technologies, supported by artificial intelligence, that allow conveyors and optical sorters to communicate with each other, and with technicians, to improve material quality
•          Include an additional optical sort line that serves as a final quality control measure for any recyclables not initially captured.

Mr. Farley, a Bucks County residents, during his presentation repeated a question he frequently hears and his response to that question. “Does it really get recycled?” Mr. Farley said. “If you do it right, it does. This plant allows us to take more material and produce better commodities.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com