WM Detroit Recycling Facility

This facility is part of WM’s enterprise-wide plans to invest more than $1.4 billion in 39 new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America from 2022 to 2027, which is expected to add approximately 2.8 million tons of incremental annual processing capacity by the end of 2027. These planned investments seek to increase WM’s ability to manage more recycled materials and potentially enhance access to recycling for its customers.

$60 Million Toward Your Community

WM has invested approximately $60M to help drive circularity in the State of Michigan by investing in a state-of-the-art single-stream recycling facility in the City of Detroit.

This facility features optical sorting scanners for both fibers and plastic that work to optimize the recovery and quality of recycled materials. Additionally, the operation includes system upgrades to support glass recovery and clean-up, as well as an advanced fire detection system designed to detect fires before they spread. The WM Detroit Recycling Facility is capable of processing 144k tons a year of material, potentially giving materials a second life, and providing greater opportunity for local solutions for single-stream recycling.

To learn more about our environmental efforts, visit our Sustainability Report.

With this investment, WM intends to reinvent what's possible for Sustainability in Michigan - as recycling is perhaps the most important service WM provides to help our customers reduce emissions and environmental impact.

Who We Are

WM is North America’s leading provider of integrated environmental solutions. We collaborate with our customers and communities to manage and reduce waste from collection to disposal while recovering valuable resources and creating clean, renewable energy. We are on a quest for environmental performance, a mission to maximize resource value, while minimizing – and even eliminating – environmental impact so that both our economy and our environment can thrive.

Operating the largest network of recycling facilities across North America, WM runs 49 single stream recycling facilities that sort and prepare recyclables for end markets. WM has over three decades of experience in creating and implementing single stream recycling initiatives and was the first major solid waste company to focus on residential single stream recycling.

What is Single Stream Recycling?

Mixed recyclables are collected curbside by a truck.

Trucks travel to a material recovery facility, where recyclables are unloaded onto a tip floor.

Material is unloaded, inspected, and stored until it’s ready to be transferred to a conveyor.

Sortation equipment separates cans, containers, and bottles from paper. An eddy current and magnets work to sort aluminum and tin cans into a metals-only stream.

Sorted materials are baled and shipped to customers, where they are used as feedstock for new products.

How Recycling Works

We all know it’s a good idea to recycle — but have you ever wondered what happens to that aluminum can or cardboard box after you put it in the recycling bin?

What happens next? What does it become in its second life?

Let’s find out.

Community Benefit & Sustainability

  • Creation of 50+ new careers, including administrative, technician, operator, exempt and general labor roles, with a focus on local employment and engagement.
  •  Increased recycling participation and capacity.
  •  Recycling supplier for Michigan manufacturers, making Michigan manufacturing more sustainable.
  •  Community recycling education.
  •  Expanded recycling services.
  •  Position Detroit as a leader in single stream recycling.

Hiring Today, For Tomorrow®

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WM Detroit Recycling Facility

"The WM Detroit recycling facility provides impactful recycling infrastructure to Southeast Michigan, capable of processing up to 144,000 tons of recyclables per year," says Frank Fello, Area Vice President of the WM Great Lakes Area. Watch to learn more about how the facility is working to give materials a second life.