Home / Environment / Armourdale Residents Resist New Waste Processing Facility
Armourdale Residents Resist New Waste Processing Facility
21 Aug
Summary
- Recycling company Reworld seeks permit for new facility in Armourdale
- Residents and activists raise concerns over health, safety, and environmental risks
- Planning commission delays decision, requires company to address community concerns
As of August 21st, 2025, a global recycling company, Reworld, is facing fierce opposition from the Armourdale community in Kansas City, Kansas, over its plans to open a new waste processing facility in the area.
Reworld, formerly known as Covanta, has applied for a special use permit from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County's planning commission to establish the facility. The company argues that the new facility would bring economic development and divert waste from aging landfills. However, Armourdale residents, neighboring property owners, and environmental justice advocates have raised a host of concerns, including inadequate community outreach, potential traffic hazards, excessive noise and odors, flood risks, and Reworld's track record in other communities.
Beto Lugo Martinez, a local environmental justice activist, has stated that the health and safety of the Armourdale community are at the core of the issue. Reworld has attempted to assuage these concerns, claiming that all waste activities will be contained within the nearly 94,000-square-foot building and that no incineration will take place on-site. The company has also committed to bringing in 25 new jobs with a $55,000 annual base salary.
Despite these assurances, the planning commission has delayed its decision on Reworld's permit application by 30 days, requiring the company to meet with community groups and conduct an environmental study. Lugo Martinez has made it clear that there is nothing Reworld could do that would make him support the project, underscoring the deep-rooted opposition within the Armourdale community.
