Dive Brief:

• Phoenix Recycling will open a materials recovery facility on a 30-acre site in Durango, CO after receiving unanimous approval from La Plata County Commissioners.
• The project, funded largely through a $260,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, will provide a cheaper option for handling recyclables, and will open job positions. Until now the region has had to ship materials to Albuquerque or Salt Lake City for processing.
• The proposed facility is tentatively slated to open by July 1 and would operate from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Dive Insight:

The well-received new recycling resource is among many recent projects to improve Colorado’s solid waste management operations. Others include an upgraded recycling plant in Denver and expanded single-stream recycling in Golden. 

Calling the site proposed for the La Plata operation the "only vacant, decent property with industrial designation," County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said to the Durango Herald, "I’m pleased it’s in La Plata County and excited about what it can do for regional recycling."

The addition will also have economic benefits for the community. Phoenix owner Mark Thompson plans to hire two additional employees initially, then add more. "We want to take that material and process it here. That means those blue collar jobs come back here. I don’t want to send profits out of state," he explained.