WM Upgrades Germantown Recycling Facility with $39 Million Automation Project

WM announced completion of the nearly $39 million automation update of its Germantown Recycling Facility. The updated facility is expected to process up to 70 tons of material per hour. 

“For decades, WM has played an integral role in making recycling a reality for local communities. This investment represents our ongoing commitment to enable sustainability progress for Wisconsin,” said Frank Fello, WM Upper Midwest Area Vice President. “This upgrade utilizes state-of-the-art equipment that focuses on optical sorting technologies that increases the amount of recycling we can process on behalf of local communities and businesses.” 

These technological advancements are expected to allow the upgraded facility to:

• Capture more types of plastics 
• Utilize intelligent sorting where conveyors and optical sorters communicate with each other and with technicians to improve material quality
• Include a final optical sort line which sends missed recyclable material back for a second chance to be recovered.

This project is part of WM’s previously announced enterprise-wide plans to invest over $1 billion in new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America, which is expected to add approximately 2.8 million tons of incremental annual processing capacity by the end of 2026. 

With the demand for recycled content products anticipated to rise, these planned investments are expected to enable WM to capture more recycled materials and increase access to recycling for its customers.