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Geocycle  has officially opened its pre-processing facility in Cumberland, marking the company’s 197th location worldwide. The new facility will convert unusable waste products into viable fuels, creating local jobs and providing an environmentally sound waste removal option for local and regional manufacturing businesses.

“Geocycle’s investment in Allegany County is a big deal,” shares Jeffrey Barclay, director of Allegany County Economic and Community Development. “They are a multi-billion dollar company with a global presence. Not only does Geocycle bring jobs and living wages to our community, but their status as a key industry player brings attention to Allegany County’s growing notoriety in the circular economy.”

Geocycle is a global leader in co-processing technologies . This practice transforms industrial waste—such as end-of-life tires, wastewater, solvents, and other unusable materials—into alternative fuels using a sophisticated kiln-firing process. Materials are collected, shredded, and prepared in Geocycle’s pre-processing plants and are then sent to a co-processing plant, where they undergo the kilning process to become alternative fuels.

The end product is supplied to manufacturers to replace traditional fossil fuels used in their operations. Co-processing has proven beneficial for repurposing materials in an environmentally friendly way, providing an alternative to incineration.

Geocycle joins a growing community of circular economy-focused businesses in Allegany County, or enterprises dedicated to reusing and recycling materials to reduce waste and conserve resources. Earlier this year, Nexus W2V, a developer of waste-to-value infrastructure assets, announced plans to make Cumberland the site of a plant  for nutrient- and carbon-rich biochar. And Clym Environmental is developing a medical waste recycling plant  in the county in the coming year, which will keep thousands of tons of single use plastics from being incinerated or landfilled.

To continue its investment in the sustainable sector, Allegany County’s economic development office has developed a Cleantech Research and Development Grant Program  in conjunction with the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

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