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Controversial Plant Moving in Glass Recycler Now in Hayward

Posted on: Friday, 4 November 2005, 18:00 CST

By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER

HAYWARD -- A glass-recycling plant that moved out of Union City after a furor over pests and foul smells has quietly relocated to Hayward.

The regional director of Recycle America Alliance, a subsidiary of Houston-based Waste Management Inc., confirmed Wednesday that the company will open a new recycling facility on Hayman Street within a few weeks.

Most members of the Hayward City Council said Wednesday they knew nothing about the new plant. When the facility was on Western Avenue in Union City, it stirred controversy among neighboring business owners.

Hayward City Manager Jesus Armas could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The plant's opening comes just as Armas and other City Hall officials are deep into exclusive negotiations with Waste Management about the company's contract for citywide curbside trash pickup, said David Tucker, Waste Management's municipal affairs manager for Alameda County.

Ken Morford, a regional operations director for Recycle America Alliance, said some Hayward officials already have toured his new plant and approved a use permit, though he did not know which officials.

Morford and Tucker both said Waste Management's ongoing contract negotiations for Hayward's curbside services are unrelated to the glass-recycling operations.

The plant will be one of three Recycle America Alliance facilities in California that take in glass products and recycle them. The others are in Vernon and in Madera.

Source: Oakland Tribune

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