MRF operators are celebrating their long-term investments in artificial intelligence and automation with spring facility openings and expansions designed to make operations faster and safer.
Aside from touting AI and robotics-driven sorting efficiencies, companies continue to build facilities meant to capture volumes from fast-growing communities while aligning with state or local diversion requirements. Some are also offering public-facing services like education centers.
Here’s a look at a few recent MRF updates in Massachusetts, California, Florida, Indiana and Virginia. Do you have other recycling facility news we should know about? Send us an email at waste.dive.editors@industrydive.com.
Republic Services upgrades its Massachusetts MRF
Republic Services has upgraded its Peabody Recycling Center in Massachusetts with automated and AI-powered sorting equipment. The MRF services several Boston-area communities.
The 54,000-square‑foot facility now has upgraded AI and ballistic sorters, eddy current separators, baling systems and a new conveyor network, the company said. The improvements have expanded processing capacity to between 35 and 40 tons per hour and align with state waste reduction goals.
The upgrades were part of a long-term plan to modernize the facility with incremental equipment improvements after Republic acquired it from JRH Hauling & Recycling in April 2022. At that time, the facility could handle around 27 tons per hour. Before that deal, Republic only had one small MRF in the region.
"The enhancements at the Peabody Recycling Center enable us to process more recyclables, divert more material from landfills and deliver cleaner commodities to end-users," said Republic Services Market Vice President Kurt Lavery in a statement.
Republic has other MRF infrastructure plans in the works, including a 105,000-square-foot recycling center in Bridgeton, Missouri, set to open in mid-2027. That facility is meant to meet growing demand in the greater St. Louis area.
Republic estimates it processes around 5 million tons of recyclable materials a year through a network of 75 facilities throughout the U.S.
Athens Services opens its LEED-certified MRF in Irwindale, California
Athens Services has opened a new 155,500-square-foot MRF in Irwindale, California. The facility aims to divert about 200,000 tons of material from landfills each year, with a capacity of 70 tons per hour. It will serve the greater Los Angeles area.
Athens has a major presence in the L.A. region and holds several notable waste and recycling contracts, including under LA Sanitation & Environment’s RecycLA commercial waste franchise system.
Engineered and built by CPG Sorting Technologies, the 17-acre facility has a LEED Silver certification and is powered partly by solar panels. AI sorting technology can process residential and commercial single-stream recycling, as well as C&D materials and organics. It’s also open to the public for self-hauling, the company said.
The building also has a Recycling Science and Technology Center for youth education programs.
WM opens MRF in Indiana, C&D recycling facility in Florida
WM held a grand opening for its $60 million recycling plant in Indanapolis, Indiana, on April 9. The facility features new optical sorters and upgraded glass recovery and clean-up systems. The facility can process 200,000 tons of material a year. An advanced fire detection system is designed to detect fires before they spread, WM said.
Pratt Industries announced it would recycle some of the cardboard and all of mixed paper generated from the Indianapolis facility, and it will convert the material into 100% recycled packaging. “Pratt is also supportive of including paper cups as an acceptable item for the City of Indianapolis, and paper cups will be recycled in the mixed paper bales,” said Shawn State, Pratt Recycling’s president, in a statement.
The company also opened a $24 million construction and demolition recycling facility in Orlando, Florida, in March. The 53,800‑square‑foot facility can process up to 125,000 tons of C&D material a year, WM says. Advanced processing equipment at the facility can sort scrap metal, concrete, wood, and cardboard.
“WM continues its investment in recycling infrastructure with the opening of our new WM Orlando Recycling facility to process construction and demolition materials, while conserving valuable landfill space,” said David Myhan, WM Florida Area Vice President, in a statement.
Other recent recycling facility investments in Florida include WM’s new $90 million Pembroke Pines MRF in South Florida, which the company expects to be its highest-volume recycling facility with a capacity of 275,000 tons of recyclables a year.
The facilities are part of WM’s ongoing plans to invest $1.4 billion in 39 new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 through 2026.
Other MRF news:
- Harvey Waste Removal and Recycling, a Waste Connections company, has added a range of automation and robotics improvements at its MRF in Westborough, Massachusetts. The robotics, provided by Amp, aim to make sorting more efficient and consistent while also making the facility safer for workers, said district manager Mike Kuzmicz during the MassRecycle conference on March 24.
- Commonwealth Sortation, an affiliate of Amp, has increased the processing capacity at its mixed waste facility in Portsmouth, Virginia. It can now handle 108,000 tons of MSW a year. The company expects to scale its capacity as it brings on additional sortation lines and an organics system to eventually process up to 540,000 tons a year. Amp is working to equip a second sortation facility in Portsmouth to extract recyclables and organics from MSW, expected to come online in late 2027.
