COM 0272.003 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A new study examines material recovery and mixed waste processing facilities. By Eileen Brettler Bereny4 A.D. aterial recovery facilities have doubled in number since 1993, as mixed waste processing facilities only increased marginally; MRFs are currently processing less tonnage per facility than they were a few years ago, but are handling more types of materials; and finally, MRFs have not embraced technological advancements in sorting as previously expected. These arejust some of the findings in an updated survey to be published as part of the 1995-96 Materials Recovery and Recycling Yearbook: A Directory, Atlas, and Guide" by Governmental AdvisorvAssociales.IIIc., Westport, Corm. This article discusses the results of that national survey on :MRFs and MWPFs, which allows for comparisons and the analysis of trends. It is the third such study conducted since 1990. But before discussing the findings in more detail, it is useful to define what is meant by a MRF and MWPF. The GAA study focuses on the municipal solid waste stream. Thus, to be included, a facility had to process some degree of residential recyclables. Projects that handled exclusively industrial or commercial wastes were excluded. In addition, construc- tion and debris facilities were not included. Finally, recycling centers and drop-off centers where recyclables were returned, but not sorted, were not a part of the study. A MRF is defined as an installation that separates some portion of commingled recyclables into individual streams of marketable materials. The marketing of the recycled materi- als to brokers or end users is also an important function of the facilities. MRFs typically use both machinery of various degrees of complexity and human labor to separate the various materials. The processing that occurs at a MRF may be as complicated as separating a single stream of many types of recyclables (paper included) arriving at the facility, or as simple as separating various colors of glass from a pre-sorted glass stream and ferrous metal containers from a commingled metal container stream. The one characteristic that all MRFs in the study share is that they are receiving only recyclable material - they are not processing unsorted municipal solid waste. The complexity of material recovery facilities is increasing in relation to the types of materials that are being accepted and marketed. 38 AUGUST 1995 HECYCUNG TGGAY I