Over 50 years ago, the Arnold Chantland Resource Recovery Center in Ames redefined the nation’s recycling process. The center successfully reduced the amount of waste reaching the landfill through a waste-to-energy innovation. However, as of late, the facility has faced technical, economic and regulatory changes. 

A new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus (R3C) will begin construction soon, with plans to have the facility up and running in the summer of 2027.  On Thursday, the Ames City Council, city staff and members of the community attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the site at 220 Freel Drive, Ames, IA. 

“For the past 50 years, Ames has been the leader in the solid waste industry,” Justin Clausen, the public works director, said. “In the 1970s, one of my predecessors, Arnold Chantland, had an idea to use our waste stream as a resource, out of which came the Arnold Chantland Resource Recovery Center, which has been in operation since 1975. There, we remove recyclable metals from the waste stream and then use it to supplement the fuel in our city’s power plant.

In 2025, the Arnold Chantland Resource Recovery Center processed over 40,000 tons of municipal solid waste, while recovering more than 1,300 tons of metal, 236 tons of glass and 218 tons of additional cardboard, paper and plastics for recycling: not including any of the food waste, diversion totals, great pumpkin disposal, rummage rampage and other electronics. 

The new facility will include modern equipment to convey and process solid waste, shred materials and recover both ferrous and non-ferrous metals for recycling. 

“This project represents a major step forward in how we manage solid waste and recyclable materials in our community,” Mark Peebler, resource recovery plant superintendent, said. “The layout has been designed with a future in mind, allowing room for growth, improving customer flow, enhancing safety, creating space for education and expanded waste diversion efforts.”