Rumpke Waste & Recycling is funding a $50 million-plus construction project further positioning Columbus as a national leader in the green economy. The builder for Rumpke’s Recycling & Resource Center is Elford, Inc. Machinex is building the recycling equipment and the architect is Moody Nolan. The Rumpke Recycling & Resource Center is a 200,000 square foot facility being built in the heart of Columbus in the American Addition Neighborhood on Joyce Ave. The interior of the building will feature the most technologically advanced sorting equipment such as ballistic separators, optical scanners and artificial intelligence to sort the recycling collected from 36 counites in Ohio at a rate of 55 tons per hour. This is a project that will create more high-tech jobs in the environmental industry.
Beyond construction of one of the largest and most modern recycling facilities, the Rumpke campus will also include community meeting space, a research and learning center, career development and training and an environmental education space with hands-on exhibits to bring the recycling process to life for guests that will visit and tour the facility. COSI is a project partner and is helping with exhibit design. The Ohio State University is also collaborating with Rumpke to ensure research and learning opportunities for students.
Interior demolition began on November 8, exterior shell demolition started November 10 and is expected to continue over the next 4-6 weeks. In total, demolition will involve the main building currently onsite, the pre-engineered building on site and the existing fence. Elford has a diverse network of vendors that are bidding on distinct parts of the project. Groundbreaking is expected in early 2023, with building completion set for summer 2024. Before starting demolition for this project, Rumpke used the site for container maintenance. Rumpke has relocated those operations.