Waste Management Closes Washington State C&D Plant

Waste Management (WM), based in Houston, has closed its construction and demolition recycling facility in Auburn, Wash. The facility, formerly Glacier Recycling, was acquired by Waste Management. The facility that serviced customers throughout western Washington in King County was shuttered on Sept. 20 due to slumping markets and a difficult regulatory environment, according to Robin Freedman, a spokeswoman for WM.

One local report notes that the Environmental Health Services Division of Public Health for Seattle and King County sent WM a notice over several environmental issues.

When WM purchased Glacier Recycling in 2010, “the marketplace was good. We undertook a number of upgrades in the area,” Freedman says. “Markets were strong. Unfortunately, market conditions have changed so it doesn’t make financial sense to remain open.”

However, after completing the upgrades the company determined that the improvements were not enough to satisfy local government officials. Additionally, the economic conditions in the area also started to turn more unstable. Ultimately, this led the company to decide to close the facility. 

With the company shuttering its C&D facility, WM is working with other recyclers in the area to take over the recycling of C&D material from the region.