LRS Chicago MRF wins top NWRA honor

Rosemont, Illinois-based waste and recycling services provider LRS has announced that its LRS Exchange material recovery facility (MRF) in Chicago, featuring technology from CP Group, has been honored with the 2024 Recycling Facility of the Year Award by the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA).

According to San Diego-based CP Group, the award earned “recognizes the facility's groundbreaking advancements in sustainability, innovation and operational efficiency, setting a new benchmark for the recycling industry.”

CP Group describes LRS as the nation's fifth largest independent residential and commercial waste and recycling services provider.

The LRS Exchange MRF, located in the Stockyards neighborhood of Chicago, “represents a $50 million dollar investment in the future of waste diversion,” states CP Group.

Opened last year, the MRF has been designed to divert 1 million pounds (500 tons) of recyclable materials daily, “playing a pivotal role in enhancing waste diversion efforts for both the city of Chicago and surrounding communities and businesses,” says the equipment provider.

CP Group describes the LRS facility as currently having a processing capacity of 25 tons of recyclables per hour but poised to expand to 35 tons per hour in the near future.

“Equipped with cutting-edge sorting technology, including a CP Auger Screen, advanced screening equipment, six MSS optical sorters and three Fire Rover units, the Exchange is poised to safely divert 224 million pounds [112,000 tons] of recyclables annually,” states the equipment company.

Regarding community engagement efforts, LRS says it has an open-door policy at The Exchange MRF, welcoming community stakeholders and partners.

Since the LRS Exchange MRF opened in 2023, LRS says it has hosted more than 800 guests to visit and tour the facility, with those visitors including university professors and students, package designers, government leaders, businesses and community groups.

States CP Group, “LRS builds advocates for recycling when the veil is lifted, and visitors are shown the complexities and challenges of the operation.”

According to CP Group, earning the 2024 NWRA Recycling Facility of the Year Award “is a testament to the LRS Exchange MRF’s unparalleled commitment to advancing the recycling industry.”

LRS, founded in 2013, provides service to several million residential and commercial customers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas and Arkansas. The company owns and operates more than 70 facilities and employs nearly 2,300 full-time people.

CP Group describes itself as a designer and manufacturer of material sortation and recovery equipment used in the waste and recycling sector worldwide.