Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM), North America’s leading environmental services company, announced on Wednesday the grand openings of four new recycling and renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities across the U.S.

These openings are part of WM’s $3 billion sustainability growth initiative, which runs from 2022 to 2026 and aims to develop or upgrade 39 recycling centers and build 20 new WM-owned RNG facilities.

In celebration of Earth Month, WM is unveiling over $323 million in new and upgraded recycling and RNG facilities across Texas, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia. So far, the company has completed 8 of the 20 planned RNG facilities and 27 of the 39 recycling centers. Once fully implemented, the expanded network is expected to add 2.8 million tons of annual recycling capacity and generate 25 million MMBtu of renewable natural gas annually.

The new facilities are equipped with artificial intelligence and automation to improve efficiency and increase material recovery. In parallel, WM continues to enhance its ability to monitor and mitigate landfill emissions through technologies like Blue Sky Resources and the AirLogic analytics platform.

WM emphasizes technology and innovation as core pillars of its sustainability strategy. “Technology and innovation underpin our sustainability strategy, and we are adding optical sorters, intelligent sorting equipment and more at our recycling sites to help capture more material, including in areas that lack recycling access today,” said Tara Hemmer, chief sustainability officer at WM.

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“We’re also proud to turn landfill gas captured at WM landfill sites into a renewable energy source, which could power up to 1.7 million homes by 2026 and support our objective of maximizing the allocation of RNG to WM’s natural gas collection fleet,” she added.

Price Action: WM shares were trading higher by 0.12% at $234.07 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.

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