Serving Our Planet
Plainfield Material Recovery Facility
The Issue
The suburban Chicago area has strong recycling rates and substantial demand for recovered fiber with numerous regional mills utilizing recycled feedstock. Waste Connections operates a recycling facility in the suburban Chicago area, but the volume of tons collected exceeds processing capacity, resulting in the need to dispose of excess tons with a third party at a high cost.
Our Solution
Construct a new recycling facility utilizing the most advanced technologies to vertically integrate and de-risk our collection operations while also benefiting from the excess demand for processing in the market. The Plainfield MRF opened in April 2024, featuring nearly a dozen optical sorters, robotics, a dual baler system, and eight levels of fire protection, making the plant one of the most advanced recycling facilities in North America.
The Benefit
In addition to offsetting the cost of third-party disposal, the technology leveraged in this facility results in a substantial cost per ton savings as compared to legacy single-stream recycling facilities, lower residual rates and enhanced safety. Importantly, the site adds significant processing capacity, positioning us to expand the volume of beneficially recovered tons and further our commitment to increasing recycled tonnage by 50%.
