Excel Recycling gets shredder yard license reinstated

Excel Recycling's operating license for its shredding facility in Freetown, Massachusetts, has been restored following a multi-year legal battle with town officials.

Freetown was ordered by the New Bedford Superior Court on 3 October to reinstate the Massachusetts-based metal recycler's license after the board of selectmen denied renewal of it in December 2018 because of complaints from residents about sound and emissions from the facility.

Excel argued that the board of selectman ignored scientific documentation showing its compliance with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's noise and emissions guidelines when it denied renewal of the license.

Excel Recycling operated out of the facility during the multi-year litigation.

The company operates shredder and downstream recovery facility at the Freetown facility, which sits on a 4.93-acre site.

Construction of the facility began in 2015 with it officially coming online in the fall of 2016.

The company primarily serves the southern New England region with facilities in Westport, Charlton and Freeport, Massachusetts.

Excel Recycling briefly operated an export yard at the port of New Bedford outside of Boston, but it annulled the lease in November 2017.