WARREN — Stericycle, the Illinois-based company that provides disposal services for medical and other waste internationally, is investing millions to expand its facility in Warren.

Site work already has begun to prepare for the 35,000-square-foot expansion to the existing incinerator facility on Pine Avenue SE just south of downtown.

Architectural plans filed with the city’s Engineering, Planning and Building Department show the addition is valued at $9 million.

The company paid the $70,610 building permit fee on July 19.

The addition is 26,800-square feet for warehouse space and 8,200-square feet of floor space, according to the company.

“Through this expansion, we’re increasing the footprint of our secure storage vault, expanding our warehouse and dock spaces, and augmenting our office space to meet increasing demands for medical waste management,” said Kelly Hilton, vice president, marketing and corporate communications with Stericycle. “Importantly, we’ll do this while supporting the creation of construction jobs bolstering the business community and the local economy.”

According to the architectural plans, the company is adding 10 docks, giving it 13 when complete. Also, the plans show a 1,960-square-foot DEA vault that will be made of 8-inch reinforced concrete slabs.

The company is targeting the end of 2023 for completion with operations to start shortly thereafter.

According to Hilton, Stericycle Warren has operated its steam sterilizer and hospital, medical and infectious waste incinerator facility since 1998. It treats medical and pharmaceutical waste.

The facility is at 1901 Pine Ave. SE.

It employs more than 60 workers “who do important work to help address the opioid epidemic by safely and compliantly disposing of unwanted or expired medications,” Hilton said.

“We also work behind the scenes in health care to help prevent needlestick injuries, keep pharmaceutical waste out of the nation’s drinking water and help stop the spread of infectious diseases,” Hilton said.

The company’s global corporate headquarters is in the Chicago suburb of Bannockburn, Ill.

It has many locations across the U.S., including several more in Ohio, plus in 16 countries internationally. The company employs more than 15,000 people.

In Warren, Teamsters Local 377 in Youngstown represents the plant workers and route drivers, between 60 and 70 of them.

Drivers earn a starting wage of about $26 per hour and plant workers, about $22 per hour.

Steve Anzevino, Local 377 president, and Rodney Bartlett, Local 377 business agent, said they hope the expansion leads to more jobs.

“Basically, they are trying to add some more docks because they are so limited with space and also, they incinerate drugs and stuff like that, so they are making more for room for that because all of that has to be caged up and locked up …” Bartlett said.

“Of course, we have high hopes that it is going to lead to more employees, but we’ll see how it goes once it is complete,” he said.