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One of nation’s largest recycling plants now open in Pines. Here’s what to know

By Reporting by Isabel Rivera. Produced with AI assistance
Waste Management Recycling South Florida will process 60-plus tons of material per hour and 275,000 tons of material per year, according to company officials
Waste Management Recycling South Florida will process 60-plus tons of material per hour and 275,000 tons of material per year, according to company officials Isabel Rivera irivera@pembrokepinesflnews.com

WM Recycling South Florida, a 127,000-square-foot facility operated by Waste Management, had its grand opening in Pembroke Pines on Feb. 19 and is one of the largest recycling plants in the country.

The $90 million plant will serve as the lead processor of recyclables for Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Collier counties.

FULL STORY: Pines recycling plant with ‘state of the art’ technology opens. Here’s what to know

Waste Management Recycling South Florida is located at 1285 SW 208th Ave. in Pembroke Pines and will serve Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Collier counties.
Waste Management Recycling South Florida is located at 1285 SW 208th Ave. in Pembroke Pines and will serve Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Collier counties. Isabel Rivera irivera@pembrokepinesflnews.com

Here are the highlights:

  • The facility aims to process more than 60 tons of material per hour and 275,000 tons per year, which would make it the highest producer across Waste Management’s 105 recycling plants nationwide.
  • The plant is WM’s first location to use 18 AI-powered optical scanners that sort items by composition — 10 for plastics, six for paper goods and two for glass and metal — reducing the need for employees to handpick materials on conveyor belts.
  • Materials that previously jammed machinery, including pizza boxes, glass bottles, plastic cups and shopping bags, can now be processed at the facility, with a target of 95% recyclable output.
  • Pembroke Pines suspended its residential recycling program in 2022 due to high contamination rates. Whether the city will strike a recycling agreement with WM or another provider remains undecided, though Mayor Angelo Castillo called the plant “a step in the right direction.”
  • The facility includes a glass-paneled “education room” with interactive screens and displays, built to host school groups and community members for tours of the recycling process.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in the Pembroke Pines News newsroom. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by Pembroke Pines News journalists.

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