The new facility, located on Middlemore Lane, is designed to provide increased capacity, improved recycling performance and a more user-friendly experience.
Built on a six-hectare brownfield site formerly occupied by McKechnie Brass, the development forms a central part of the council’s long-term environmental strategy.
Councillor Suky Samra, Portfolio Holder for Street Scene, commented: “This project is a huge development for Walsall. What has been delivered here is the definition of ‘state-of-the-art’.
“The site will prove vital in ensuring we can continue to accommodate the waste demands we face in the borough.
“Our current facilities have served us well, but now is time for a new era, where we recycle and reuse more of our waste.”
Middlemore Lane HWRC
The Middlemore Lane HWRC will offer residents the ability to recycle a wider range of materials, with 38 skips arranged across 19 bays.
The scheme was delivered by Morgan Sindall Construction and includes associated infrastructure such as weighbridges, service yards, odour control ventilation systems, and office and welfare facilities to support staff and visitors and ensure accurate waste tracking.
£1 million was spent on a complex odour control system, which passes air through a bank of six containers to manage smells from operations on site.
Dust is controlled through a high-efficiency filtration system, while fire risk is reduced via an automated water-mist system.
During construction, Morgan Sindall also deployed its GAIA Automate energy management system to optimise power usage on site.
Alongside the HWRC, the site also incorporates a new Waste Transfer Station (WTS), which has been operational since 5 January 2026.
Waste received at the WTS is sorted and prepared for onward transport to recycling and disposal facilities, helping to improve efficiency across the borough’s waste network.
Reuse shop on site
The HWRC will be open seven days a week to Walsall residents and will also host a dedicated reuse shop.
Items that might otherwise be disposed of will be repaired and upcycled in an on-site workshop before being sold at low cost, supporting waste reduction and reuse.
The project generated £753,000 in social value, including donations of winter essentials to Walsall Outreach and around £12,000 raised for Acorns Children’s Hospice through metal recycling in partnership with EMR.
Fryers Road HWRC to remain open
As part of the wider reconfiguration of Walsall’s HWRC network, Merchants Way HWRC, located around half a mile from the new Middlemore Lane site, closed permanently on 1 February 2026.
Fryers Road HWRC in Bloxwich will remain open while plans for its redevelopment are finalised.
The council said arrangements for service provision during any future closure will be considered as part of later decision-making, with further details to be shared in due course.
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