Grand Junction is preparing to open a new, advanced material recovery facility by late December, located in a repurposed warehouse at 365 32 Road in Clifton. This facility will introduce an automated plastic sorting system, which municipal officials say is the first of its kind in the United States. The project is designed to transform Grand Junction into a regional recycling hub, significantly boosting processing capacity and streamlining the local transition to city-wide single-stream recycling for residents.
The new center will vastly outperform the city's current facility. According to Grand Junction General Services Director Jerod Timothy, the existing plant processes about 1,500 tons of material annually. The new Clifton facility, however, will be able to handle that same volume in approximately two weeks, operating at a rate of 12 tons per hour. This exponential increase in capacity is largely due to robust automation programs, including an AI system that differentiates between various types of plastic. This machine-learning program uses visual indicators, heat sensors, and compressed air, a technology referred to as an “autonomous belt system,” successfully implemented previously in Canada. During a September 23, 2026, tour with elected officials and city staff, Timothy explained that the system is designed to become more efficient as it learns, continually improving itself.
Director Timothy emphasized that the higher capacity will establish Grand Junction as a destination for recycling services across the Western Slope. He called the facility "a critical piece of infrastructure in western Colorado," which will extend recycling opportunities to rural communities that might otherwise find such services unaffordable or inaccessible. Once operational, the center is expected to receive materials from neighboring communities such as Montrose and the town of Ouray starting early next year. Bruin Waste Management has partnered with the city on the center and will supply the 12 quality-control employees needed to run the largely automated facility.
The new facility will facilitate a city-wide switch to single-stream curbside recycling, eliminating the need for residents to pre-sort cardboard, paper, glass, and metal. Timothy reported that about 50% of Grand Junction customers already use single-stream recycling, and the city plans to roll out the service to all residents at the beginning of the year. He stated, “Once this comes online, we’ll be delivering cans as fast as we can. We finally have all the trucks, we finally have the staff, so we’re really gearing up for this moment.” Much of the project’s funding comes from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws. These state programs rely on taxes paid by manufacturers of recyclable materials, which are then distributed as grants and reimbursements to local governments like Grand Junction to build necessary recycling infrastructure. These EPR funds also ensure that residential single-stream recycling services can be offered free of charge to any Colorado resident whose hometown utilizes the Grand Junction facility.
The total cost for the in-progress material recovery facility, including renovations to the former warehouse and equipment installation, is $29 million. Director Timothy anticipates that the plant will eventually pay for itself through a combination of EPR reimbursements and fees collected from commercial haulers dropping off materials. These revenue streams are expected to cover operational costs and pay down the project’s debt over time.
