Calgary has a new recycling plant outside of city limits

On March 1, GFL Environmental Inc.'s new recycling plant will being processing recyclables from the city of Calgary.

A new facility that's expected to handle 55,000 tonnes of recyclables each year is ready to open starting Friday.

The facility, which is more than 6,500 square metres (70,000 square feet) in size, is owned and operated by GFL Environmental Inc., and is located just outside the city of Calgary, in Rocky View County.

Officials say the plant is equipped with "cutting-edge technology" that will improve the handling of recyclables from community recycling depots, commercial collection and the city's blue carts.

"This is a remarkable achievement, not just for GFL Environmental Inc., but for our entire city," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek in a news release.

"This state-of-the-art materials recovery facility represents a significant leap forward in our recycling processing capabilities and will help divert more waste from our landfills."

The facility has a tipping floor, pre-sort area, fiber sorting and container sorting areas.

It's also equipped with AI robotics, optical sorters and ballistics separators to properly sort and categorize recyclable waste.

The new facility employs 50 staff and can process 27 tonnes of material per hour.