WM is planning a new MRF in the Portland, Oregon, metro area. | Ken Wolter/Shutterstock
WM is planning a new $35 million MRF in the Portland, Oregon, area that will process up to 140,000 tons of residential materials annually and come on-line as early as December of this year.
The proposed Portland Recycling and Technology Facility will receive materials including paper, OCC, plastic, metal and glass, as well as some added items under the Recycle Plus program, such as household lightbulbs, batteries and commercial-grade film, according to WM’s facility license application.
WM owns the property, and the site is already zoned for MRF use. It currently uses the property to store and repair recycling containers. WM anticipates almost 80 vehicles accessing the site per day, all commercial trucks. Residual materials would go to two local landfill sites, Columbia Ridge and Hillsboro.
The company “believes this facility, in partnership with the State of Oregon, is a vital component” to achieve the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s 2050 Vision and Framework for Action, WM said in the application.
After arriving at the facility, recyclables will be deposited onto a conveyor belt “using heavy equipment for processing through a state-of-the-art mechanical, automated system generally consisting of screens, separators and optical sorters,” the application noted. Other WM documents on the facility added that artificial intelligence, robotics, optical sorters and volumetric scanners will also be used at the MRF, along with fire suppression technology.
Following a pre-application meeting in September 2022, WM applied for several needed permits, and will also undergo public comment periods.
Overall, WM is planning to invest more than $1 billion in about 40 new and upgraded recycling facilities from 2022 through 2026, adding 2.5 million incremental tons of capacity. The company said it upgraded six existing facilities and opened two new facilities in 2023 and is on track to complete automation upgrades at 10 recycling facilities and add three recycling facilities in new markets by the end of 2024.