Woman found dead on conveyor belt at Summit County recycling facility identified

TWINSBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WOIO) - An investigation is underway after a woman’s body was found at a Summit County recycling facility Tuesday morning, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to Kimble Recycling, located at 8500 Chamberlin Rd., around 11 a.m. after receiving a report of a human body discovered, the sheriff’s office said.

According to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, the woman was identified as Billie Jo Douglas, 55, of Akron.

Douglas was found on a conveyor belt during the processing of delivered recyclable materials, the sheriff’s office said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:19 p.m., and the medical examiner’s office said her cause of death has yet to be determined.

Douglas’ daughter, Brooke Harris, said her mother had been experiencing homelessness and sleeping on the street. Harris said she offered her mother opportunities to stay with her, but Douglas never did. Harris believes her mother climbed inside a dumpster to sleep before it was emptied into a collection truck and brought to the facility.

Remembering Billie Jo Douglas

Harris received the news while working Tuesday.

“My mom was a very good woman. She cared for everybody. When her parents died, she helped everybody with that money... but she was a good mother to me,” Harris said.

Harris, the youngest of three siblings, said her father passed away in 2024.

“It was very traumatizing. It was a lot to deal with cause, now I have no parents, so it’s hard,” Harris said.

Harris said she last saw her mother two days before her body was found.

“I feel guilty. I feel very, very guilty because I feel like I should have protected my mother,” Harris said. “I saw her Sunday before I went to work at the bus stop... and I waved at her, and that was the last time I seen her. I should have gave her a hug, and I didn’t.

Calls for safety protocols

Harris said she wants to see policy and safety changes to prevent similar deaths.

“These abandoned buildings that Akron has out here, I understand they don’t want people sleeping in them, but I feel like it would be more safer for them to sleep in abandoned buildings instead of finding dumpsters,” Harris said. “I think the trash people or recycling people should look into the dumpsters before they empty them or have the company’s mandatory put locks on them and the only person that has keys or access to them is the facility of the companies.”

Douglas’ family has created a GoFundMe to help cover final arrangements.

Kimble Recycling released the below statement on Thursday:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual’s family and loved ones. At this point, we have limited information to share, but we can confirm that the individual was not a Kimble employee or a visitor to the facility. The individual was discovered on the morning of November 3, 2026, at our recycling facility during the processing of recyclable materials. Upon the discovery, our employees immediately contacted 911, and recycling operations were shut down to allow law enforcement to conduct its investigation. The recycling facility reopened on November 4.”

A Kimble spokesperson added they are cooperating fully with law enforcement and at this time it does not appear the death happened at the Kimble facility.