Waste Management of Spokane, a subsidiary of Houston-based Waste Management Inc., says it plans to build a $12 million recycling facility just west of Spokane that it claims will reduce waste and boost recycling across the Inland Northwest.

Ken Gimpel, Waste Management's municipal relations manager for Eastern Washington and North Idaho, says the company envisions constructing a 40,000- to 45,000-square-foot facility that would be built in the Spokane International Airport Business Park.

The city of Spokane and Waste Management recently entered negotiations for the lease of 8 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the waste-to-energy plant on Geiger Boulevard, Gimpel says.

The recycling facility would create 50 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs, Gimpel estimates.

Barring unforeseen delays, the facility could be in operation in about a year, he says.

Waste Management will act as its own contractor on the project and likely will hire local subcontractors, Gimpel says. Melville, N.Y.-based RRT Design & Construction is providing engineering services for the project. The company hasn't sought building permits yet.

Gimpel says Waste Management also is negotiating with the city of Spokane and the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System to implement a uniform, expanded curbside recycling collection system countywide, he says.

Under such a curbside system, wheeled carts would be used instead of the blue picnic-cooler sized bins, Gimpel says.

In addition to the newsprint, certain plastics, cardboard, aluminum, steel, and glass that's collected now, at curbside, the proposed recycling facility would allow a broader assortment of recyclables to be collected.

Materials that would be accepted include most paper products, such as junk mail and cereal boxes; all plastics with recycle ratings of No. 1 through No. 7; and scrap metals such as pots and pans, foil, and pie tins, he says.

Recyclables would be sorted at the planned facility and sent to the appropriate mills and manufacturers for further processing, Gimpel says.

The additional recycling capabilities are expected to result in a 40 percent increase in the collection of materials, he says.

Waste Management says it provides recycling service to 55,000 households in Spokane Valley, Millwood, Liberty Lake, Deer Park, and portions of unincorporated Spokane County. It also serves portions of Coeur d'Alene. The city of Spokane operates its own recyclable collection service.

Waste Management opened an $8 million, 39,000-square-foot operations center, at 11321 E. Indiana Road, in Spokane Valley last year. It employs 80 people at that site.

The company also owns Hampton, N.H.-based Wheelabrator Spokane Inc., which operates the waste-to-energy plant and employs 30 people there. Waste Management has 40 additional employees throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

The company owns and operates 29 recycling facilities nationwide.