Packaging World: The largest recycler in North America, WM, is making critical investments in AI, automation, and innovative technology to modernize its recycling facilities and expand recycling access to communities in a more than $1 billion planned investment through 2026. How is that money being distributed?
Brent Bell: First, we’re going into new markets where there's not really a lot of recycling processors today. We know that there's a demand for more consumers to get access to recycling, so we want to give them the processing infrastructure to do that. One great example is Fort Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle. During COVID, there were a lot of folks that relocated to that part of the country because they could work remotely. They came from areas that had strong recycling programs and arrived to find there was little recycling infrastructure there. So WM is there and in other new markets to unlock supply material that is currently going to the landfill.
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