NERC Conference Highlights the State and Future of Northeast MRFs
Waste Management sees a contamination rate of about 25 percent of everything coming into its facilities right now.
SEATTLE (Waste 360): Recyclables are the single largest export commodity from the United States by weight and by volume, noted Susan Robinson, federal public affairs director and director of public sector services at Waste Management. To put that in context, recycled exports are bigger than agriculture, bigger than timber, bigger than automobiles and bigger than food.
Robinson pointed this out during a keynote panel, “The State & Future of Northeast MRFs,” at the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) 2018 Conference in Rocky Hill, Conn., on October 30. Panelists discussed what has been going on one year into China’s National Sword, as well as the challenges materials recovery facilities (MRFs) across the country are facing.
“I think all MRFs need to get together and form a support group,” Robinson quipped. “There are limits to what we can expect [from our MRFs]. I think we ask a lot of our MRFs. We are all investing in technology. There is a lot that a MRF is designed to do, but, unfortunately, there is a limit.”
Robinson was joined by fellow panelists Bob Cappadona, vice president of Casella Recycling, and Frank Chimera, area senior manager of municipal sales for Republic Services. Industry veteran and NERC board member Chaz Miller facilitated the discussion.
All three panelists agreed that contamination and the quality of materials processed at MRFs remained a top priority and would continue to be moving forward. They also pointed to various technologies that their facilities have invested in to improve labor demands, operations and the quality of the inbound stream.
Cappadona also pointed out that slowing down the lines has created some capacity issues, and slower lines mean tons of materials are left without a home. He added that plastic bags are listed as a top contaminant because they continue getting caught in the old corrugated cardboard (OCC) screens.
And then there’s the issue of lithium-ion batteries, which end up dispersed across the inbound stream. “With lithium batteries, it seems like it’s every other week that we have a smoldering item on our tip floor,” he stressed. “It’s really amazing how that has accelerated over the last few years.”
Chimera explained that one of the most significant changes Republic has seen is the types of plastics coming in.
In addition, MRFs were initially designed to process newspaper, cardboard, mixed paper, cans and bottles. But since the Amazon effect and the demise of various community newspapers, things have changed.
Robinson noted that Waste Management sees a contamination rate of about 25 percent of everything coming into its facilities right now.
Panelists pointed to the industry-wide labor shortage and aging workforce. They also suggested many residents have become accustomed to the convenience of their wheeled recycling carts. And they questioned the quality of the material coming in and whether it would be worth it fiscally from a hauling standpoint and processing perspective.
Courtesy: https://waste360.com