WM Unveils Upgraded $40+ Million State-of-the-Art Recycling Facility

WM announced today the startup of an upgraded recycling facility to serve communities and businesses across Western Washington. With state-of-the-art technology and WM’s proprietary design, the regional facility in Woodinville is expected to increase overall recycling capacity by 50% with the potential to be able to process up to 650 tons of recyclables per day.

WM's Cascade Recycling Center is equipped with intelligent sorting technology that links advanced optical sorters and volumetric scanners with eddy current separators for maximum efficiency, versatility and automation. The 82,000 square-foot facility is expected to reduce landfill waste and boost the capture rate for the most environmentally significant materials — aluminum cans, paper and cardboard, and plastic bottles.

“Using technology to improve recycling is an important way for WM to help communities and businesses advance sustainability,” said Pacific Northwest Area Vice President Jason Rose.

WM’s investments in new and upgraded recycling facilities, including WM’s Cascade Recycling Center, are intended to:

• Increase overall recycling capacity
• Increase the capture rate of traditional recycling materials
• Allow WM to manage inbound contamination (“non-recyclables”) more efficiently
• Improve the quality, value and marketability of finished recycled bales to strengthen the economics of recycling for commercial and municipal customers

This project is part of WM’s previously announced enterprise-wide plans to invest over $1 billion in recycling infrastructure through 2026, including automating existing facilities and developing new facilities. In Washington, WM’s investment to advance recycling technology at its recycling facilities totaled more than $65 million, including upgrades to WM’s Cascade Recycling Center in Woodinville, upgrades to WM’s Spokane Materials and Recycling Technology (SMaRT) Center in Spokane and upgrades to WM’s JMK Fibers in Tacoma following the installation of additional paper screens, optical sorters and a second plastic sorter.