“Not only are we celebrating the hard work and culmination of a very special project, we’re also making significant steps toward enabling a more sustainable Texas,” Domenica Farmer, WM Texas Oklahoma area vice president said.
Some background
In September 2023, the city of New Braunfels entered into an agreement to partner with WM to build a state-of-the-art recycling plant, something the city had previously lacked. The city’s recycling trucks had been driving to material recovery facilities in San Antonio multiple times a day since 2007, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Construction on the recycling facility began later that year, according to Tara Hemmer, WM’s chief sustainability officer.
About the project
The $72 million recycling facility is equipped with over 16 optical sorters that use cameras and lasers to identify and properly sort materials discarded at the center.
“That technology can help us recycle more material, make it cleaner for our customers and really transforms the experience for our employees,” Hemmer told Community Impact.
Mesquite Creek Recycling can process up to 144,000 tons of material annually and is also equipped with an education center. Cardboard, paper, water bottles, aluminum cans and tin cans are among the materials that can be recycled at the facility.
Mesquite Creek Recycling services the following areas:
- Austin
- New Braunfels
- Victoria
- Live Oak
- Jourdanton
- Buda
- Boerne
- Universal City
- Converse
- Comal County
New Braunfels recycling trucks will unload all of the collected material at the recycling facility. From there, those materials will be sent to a large conveyor belt for sorting. Paper, cans and bottles will be separated before being run through an Eddy current. The sorted materials will then be compacted into bales and shipped around the country to be made into new material, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Notable quote
As New Braunfels continues to grow, so does its need for thoughtful infrastructure that supports sustainable living, Andrés Campos, New Braunfels’ Mayor Pro Tem, said.
“By investing in modern solutions like this here in our community, WM is helping our city prolong the life of our landfills, conserve natural resources and strengthen programs that support both the economy and ecology of our city,” he said. “The Mesquite Creek Recycling Facility provides much better access to recycling services making it easier than ever for residents to participate in building a greener, cleaner city."
