Dive Brief:
- Redwave says its XRF system, initially used for glass sorting, can be used in the metal and aluminum recycling industry to sort nonferrous metals that were not previously considered sortable.
- The technology is combined with a new machine design to be superior to camera or X-ray transmission sorting techniques, Redwave says. It uses X-ray fluorescence technology, which is not affected by moisture, coloring, or surface contamination. The resulting high-purity metal fractions can be sold "directly and profitably."
- The company says the machine including labor and operating costs should pay for itself in less than a year, assuming that current revenues for the recovered metals for the sorting of ZORBA — a mix of shredded nonferrous metals made mostly of aluminum — are consistent.
Dive Insight:
As recycling rates suffer, new advancements in sorting technologies are important to ensure that recyclable materials are being reused to their full potential. Other improvements in sorting are also being made, including advancements in recovering more flexible packaging. Additionally, Catawba Baler & Equipment created a "free jam two-ram" baler, which Burlington, NC-based Green Life Waste Solutions installed back in July to improve sorting at its facility.
Outside of sorting improvements, efficiency at MRFs can be improved with consumer education. An online poll showed that 65% of respondents do not understand which recyclables are accepted in curbside collection, and this lack of knowledge can create unnecessary backups at materials recovery facilities.
"Part of the reason for contamination [at facilities] is what I call 'aspirational recycling' — where people with the greatest intent believe you should be able to recycle this, so the logic is, (the processors will) figure it out. It just unfortunately doesn't work that way," said NWRA President and CEO Sharon Kneiss.