Waste Disposal expands recycling capacity with new materials management center

Western Disposal, a family-owned waste hauler located in Boulder, Colorado, has completed its new materials management center. The center will be a hub for recycling and waste diversion built to serve Boulder and surrounding communities. 

According to a news release from Western Disposal, the facility features two new infrastructure assets to increase landfill diversion. It also has expanded public recycling services designed to make meaningful contributions to the community’s sustainability and zero-waste goals.

The company says the expansion was possible with grant assistance from Colorado’s Front Range Waste Diversion program. The company invested in a semi-automated construction waste sorting system that will help with aggregate, cardboard, metal and clean wood recovery and recycling. A second system will be used to screen cardboard out of trash loads. Combined, these assets are projected to increase Boulder County landfill diversion by 10,000 tons annually.

The facility also features a dedicated public drop-off plaza where residents and businesses will recycle a wide range of hard-to-recycle materials. This includes electronics, tires, ferrous and nonferrous metals, as well as yard and wood waste. The company has also added curbside collection and recycling for some of these hard-to-recycle materials to its suite of curbside collection services.

“The new materials management center is three times the size of our existing facility,” says Kathy Carroll, community relations manager for the company. “The larger footprint enables us to accept a wider range of items and materials, delivering the accessibility and convenience critical to successful recycling programs, while also creating jobs and contributing to growing our local economy.”

The opening ceremony for the facility was held on Nov. 19 during Colorado Recycles Week, which was established by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in 2019.