The City of Newport has announced that River Metals Recycling will install a custom sound barrier to reduce noise that is a part of its daily operations.

The state-of-the-art sound barrier is designed to reduce noise emanating from the Newport recycling facility by up to 85 percent based upon pre-installation modeling. More definitive pre and post-installation sound testing is planned.

The sound barrier will also reduce the neighborhood impact associated with infrequent combustion events. The sound barrier is now under construction and is expected to be completed in the coming months.

River Metals Recylcing off Licking Pike in Newport (Photo from RMR)

“River Metals has been working with the city on various operational issues,” said Newport City Manager Tom Fromme. “They have expressed a sincere desire to be a valuable part of our community for many decades to come. The sound barrier development indicates their commitment to work with both the city and our residents.”

Neal Coulardot, general manager of River Metals Recycling added, “Being a good corporate citizen and responsible neighbor has been essential to how River Metals Recycling has done business in Newport for decades. We share the commitment of the mayor and the rest of our city’s leadership, on behalf of its residents, to ensure that Newport remains a great place to live, work and play. We appreciate the opportunity to work with Newport’s leaders to develop and implement this innovative solution.”

RMR will install, at its expense, a custom sound barrier to reduce noise that is a part of its normal, safe course of business. Designed in consultation with nationally recognized acoustic engineering experts, the barrier will also reduce the noise impact of infrequent combustion events that have recently been raised as concerns by neighbors to the facility.

The custom-built apparatus will stretch to 44 feet tall and has been designed to reduce noise from the shredder, the main processing equipment, by as much as 85 percent. The barrier will complement RMR’s prior and ongoing operational changes designed to reduce both ambient industrial noise as well as further mitigate the infrequent combustion events.

Recycling scrap metal into new steel products is the primary production method used to make steel in the United States. The production process has much lower emissions than traditional blast furnace steel production making the U.S. the cleanest place in the world to produce steel.

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