Recycling

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Upgraded $60M recycling facility plays key role in Indy’s universal curbside plan

May 8, 2026

Taylor Wooten

In 2012, WM had just 30 optical sorters across 100 facilities, he said. The Indianapolis facility alone has 13.

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Illinois-based trash collector acquires Indianapolis company ahead of 2026 city contract

August 5, 2025

Taylor Wooten

Approximately 60 employees from the locally owned and operated company will join Lakeshore Recycling Systems as part of the deal, officials said.

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Republic Services opens $180M recycling facility in Indianapolis

March 18, 2025 | Taylor Wooten

The new complex spans two buildings that can separate, grind down and sanitize plastic waste and then shape it into recyclable food-grade containers such as milk jugs or water bottles.

Contract reshuffle, planned $63M facility upgrade set stage for 2028 curbside recycling rollout

March 14, 2025 | Taylor Wooten

City officials have said they will need until 2028 to educate Indianapolis residents about what they can and can’t recycle and how to use recycling bins.

Indianapolis approves 10-year contract with new trash, recycling service

March 12, 2025 | Taylor Wooten

The company will also be involved with the city’s transition to universal curbside recycling, expected to begin in 2028.

Indianapolis commits to incinerating municipal trash through 2035

January 8, 2025 | Taylor Wooten

The Indianapolis Board of Public Works voted narrowly Wednesday to continue sending the bulk of Marion County’s waste to an incinerator that burns trash to create steam energy through 2035.

Indianapolis won’t begin universal curbside recycling until 2028

January 3, 2025 | Taylor Wooten

In November, a Department of Public Works staffer revealed to the Board of Public Works in a public meeting that the Hogsett administration is now planning for a rollout three years later than the original target.

Cooking oil recycler cleans up at IMS, Gainbridge

May 24, 2024 | Sam Stall

Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions filters customers’ used cooking oil for reuse. It also cleans customers’ fryers and carts off used cooking oil to be recycled into biodiesel fuel.

Republic, Blue Polymers seek $9.9M in tax breaks on south-side recycling complex

March 5, 2024 |

Mickey Shuey

Together called the Polymer Recycling Complex, the two side-by-side buildings are expected to work together to recycle plastics from curbside collection and then use that recycled plastic to create new products.

IBJ Podcast: RecycleForce founder on new HQ, hiring ex-offenders and his own story of second chances

January 29, 2024 |

Mason King

Here’s how a kid from Winchester got involved in the drug trade, moved to Jamaica and became a straight-laced business leader, and then returned to Indiana to help ex-offenders restart their lives and make an honest living.

Fishers surveying residents about trash collection preferences

December 28, 2023 | Daniel Bradley

Fishers is trying to learn if residents want the city to contract with a single trash-collection company or continue to let residents and homeowners’ associations choose who collects waste in their neighborhoods.

Republic Services to build plastics recycling operation on south side

November 9, 2023 |

John Russell

Republic Services called the development the “nation’s first integrated plastics recycling facility,” designed to address increasing demand from consumers and packaging manufacturers for recycled plastic.

Canadian chemical firm plans recycling facility, 125 jobs in Indiana

July 18, 2023 | Alex Brown, Inside INdiana Business

Nova Chemicals Corp., a producer of sustainable polyethylene based in Calgary, Alberta, announced plans Tuesday to establish its first mechanical recycling facility, in Connersville, Indiana.

Pilot project to boost Marion County’s low recycling rate getting mixed reviews

March 31, 2023 |

John Russell

In 2020, the city diverted only about 15% of all residential, commercial, industrial and construction waste from landfills, through a combination of recycling and composting. That was far below the U.S. rate of around 35%.

Curbside recycling could bring jobs, business

December 23, 2022 | Taylor Wooten

Moves to finally rid Indianapolis of its distinction as the nation’s largest city without universal curbside recycling will benefit current recycling-focused businesses and could spur economic development.

Indy 500 waves green flag on sustainability with lofty goals

May 28, 2022 | Associated Press

IndyCar’s latest push to go green includes T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles. The shirts are the centerpiece of “The Penske Initiative,” which hopes to hold carbon-neutral races by 2050.

U.S. plastics recycling rate slumps below 6%, analysis finds

May 4, 2022 | The Washington Post

Though plastics use fell in the early days of the pandemic, consumption has rebounded along with economic activity. Meanwhile, plastic waste exports have plummeted in the wake of import bans by countries such as China and Turkey.

Italian firm opens $30M plastics recycling plant in Anderson

March 28, 2022 | Alex Brown, Inside INdiana Business

SER North America has hired 25 employees at the plant with the goal of adding 15 more by the end of the year.

Indiana Recycling Coalition rebrands as Circular Indiana

November 15, 2021 | Alex Brown, Inside INdiana Business

The not-for-profit said with the rebranding, it is expanding beyond recycling by aligning itself with “the changing landscape of sustainable materials management.”

Reentry not-for-profit RecycleForce breaks ground on new headquarters

October 15, 2021 |

Leslie Bonilla Muñiz

RecycleForce says the 102,500-square-foot facility will allow it to recycle 12 million pounds of electronic waste and employ 600 people annually, doubling its capacity.

JUNE 5-11, 2026

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Upgraded $60M recycling facility plays key role in Indy’s universal curbside plan

Illinois-based trash collector acquires Indianapolis company ahead of 2026 city contract

IBJ Podcast: Indy’s fast-rising chief of community outreach on potholes, curbside recycling, rural roots

Republic Services opens $180M recycling facility in Indianapolis

Contract reshuffle, planned $63M facility upgrade set stage for 2028 curbside recycling rollout

Indianapolis approves 10-year contract with new trash, recycling service

Indianapolis commits to incinerating municipal trash through 2035

Indianapolis won’t begin universal curbside recycling until 2028

Cooking oil recycler cleans up at IMS, Gainbridge

Republic, Blue Polymers seek $9.9M in tax breaks on south-side recycling complex

IBJ Podcast: RecycleForce founder on new HQ, hiring ex-offenders and his own story of second chances

Fishers surveying residents about trash collection preferences

Republic Services to build plastics recycling operation on south side

Canadian chemical firm plans recycling facility, 125 jobs in Indiana

Pilot project to boost Marion County’s low recycling rate getting mixed reviews

Curbside recycling could bring jobs, business

Ray’s Trash Service acquired by Waste Management

Indy 500 waves green flag on sustainability with lofty goals

U.S. plastics recycling rate slumps below 6%, analysis finds

Italian firm opens $30M plastics recycling plant in Anderson

Indiana Recycling Coalition rebrands as Circular Indiana

Reentry not-for-profit RecycleForce breaks ground on new headquarters