Montgomery announces temporary shutdown of IREP recycling facility

MONTGOMERY (Scrap Monster): Montgomery’s advanced recycling facility-Infinitus Renewable Energy Park (IREP) has temporarily shut its operations. A good majority of the 110 workers at the facility has been laid-off upon the condition that they could come back to work if the facility reopens. Meantime, the City of Montgomery and IREP officials are scheduled to meet on Oct 22^nd to discuss the possible ways by which the facility can be put back in operation.

The high-tech recycling facility which opened in April last year was boasted as the first-of-its-kind recycling facility capable of separating and converting city’s trash into commodities like paper and glass. The facility had been accepting trash from May 2014. The recyclable materials like cardboard, mixed paper, metals, aluminum cans, and plastic were being sold to private companies, while the rest of the trash was disposed in city’s landfill.

The business model started incurring costs due to the recent crash in commodity prices. According to the company, it intends to propose a detailed plan for reopening of the facility when it meets the City officials on October 22^nd. The pricing mechanism should be reworked so that recycled materials are sold at a price that supports the expenses incurred for the recycling process.

According to sources, the $35 million facility located on Louisville Street off the Northern Boulevard had been offering easy recycling for Montgomery residents by allowing them to drop it into the curb without separation.

Meantime, City spokesman Griffith Waller stated that the city’s trash trucks will divert trash into its landfill until a decision is arrived at to resume operations at IREP. People could also take recyclables to McInnis Recycling Center at 4341 Norman Bridge Road or Mount Scrap Material at 824 N. Decatur St.