Dive Brief:
- During the 2014 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, panelists discussed the challenges of single-sort collections facing operators of material recovery facilities (MRFs).
- Hurdles include collection systems that encourage disposing of large non-recyclable items into recycling bins, automated trucks that don’t allow workers the opportunity to see the materials inside the bin, and insufficient public education about recycling.
- Collectors regularly find textiles, footwear, baby gates, garden hoses and automotive parts mixed with recyclables in residential bins.
Dive Insight:
Carl Tigchelaar of Resource management Cos., a MRF located in Chicago Ridge, IL, said that parallel sorting lines at the facility are operated at speeds no faster than 10 tons per hour, so that workers can do an “effective presort” to eliminate foreign materials.
Mark Neitzey of Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, an equipment manufacturer, agreed - and said a “renewed emphasis” on sorting is commonplace at MRF. Miami Waste Paper’s Ron Novas said the facility doesn’t accept co-mingled residential recycling at the facility, which helps maintain a low amount of claims.