Construction is underway at what the city of Fort Worth, Texas, is calling a “state-of-the-art” material recovery facility in that city of nearly 1 million people.
The 110,000-square-foot MRF will be operated by Houston-based WM and has been designed to have the capacity to process up to 144,000 tons per year of recyclable materials.
“WM is committed to environmental stewardship, supporting local communities and increasing access to recycling in North Texas and beyond,” says Domenica Farmer, WM TexOma area vice president. “Construction of the new WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility is an important part of our investment in innovative recycling solutions that will help fuel a circular economy.”
On its website Fort Worth’s government refers to it as a city that “continues to grow,” adding that as it does to, “there is a continued focus on sustainability in its long-range planning, particularly through reuse and recycling.”
In 1972, Fort Worth had fewer than 400,000 people while now it is home to nearly 980,000, according to United States Census Bureau data.
According to the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership agency, Fort Worth “now ranks as the 12th largest city in the U.S., ahead of Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. Among the top 25 largest cities in America, Fort Worth experienced an impressive 5.9 percent growth [rate], adding 54,866 people, from 2020 to 2023, earning it the top spot in percentage growth.”
The city government says its planned new MRF is intended to allow the city to collect more types of plastics for recycling and “improve material quality for end users through the use of intelligent sorting technologies, where conveyers and optical sorters communicate with each other and with technicians.”
Another anticipated result, says Fort Worth, is to “increase the capture of recyclable material through the inclusion of an additional optical sort line.”
“This project leverages technology to promote resource recovery with recyclable material as a resource,” says Cody Whittenburg, environmental services director for the city of Fort Worth. “Having a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Fort Worth will have numerous positive impacts for the community. The project also serves to highlight the importance of being mindful of recycling, recycling education and long-term sustainability.”
The city of Fort Worth says approved WM’s request-for-proposal bid for recycling processing services in 2023. WM is currently processing recyclables for the city at its Arlington Recycling Facility in that Texas city about 15 miles away.
“This project is part of WM’s enterprise-wide plans to invest over $1 billion in new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 to 2026, which is expected to add approximately 2.8 million tons of incremental annual processing capacity by the end of 2026,” says the city.
The city says it anticipates the WM Fort Worth Recycling Facility will be operational by the end of next year.
Courtesy : recyclingtoday.com
