Ecovery, a metal processing and recycling facility in Loxley, received approval from the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission to re-zone their 45-acre facility and add a new, 40,000-square foot building. The re-zoning now goes to the Baldwin County Commission for final approval.

“We’re excited to continue our growth as a company, it’s a family-owned business,” said Brock Norris, president and chief operating officer of Ecovery. “We’ve obviously grown pretty significantly over the past four, five, six years. We’re excited about the future.”

The metal recycling company had drawn the ire of its neighbors earlier this spring, who complained about the constant noise, smoke and dust coming from the facility. Neighbors had also argued that the facility was improperly zoned.

The commission approved Ecovery’s application to rezone from M-1, “light industrial,” to M-2, “general industrial.” In addition, the company received approval of its “planned industrial development” application, to allow for more flexible site planning. In its application, Ecovery listed the reason for its request – to “make clear the intentions for the future of the development.”

As part of the PID, the company announced that 19 acres of land east of the campus would remain rural land, in order to serve as a buffer between the campus and the nearby residents. Residents had been afraid that the land, which Ecovery recently acquired, would be developed to expand the plant.