How Technology Can Help Divert Waste From Landfills

SEATTLE (Waste 360): China’s ban restricting particular kinds of waste entering the country has presented many challenges for the U.S., which exports a significant amount of recyclable materials overseas for processing and reuse in the manufacturing of other goods.

The ban on the import of certain plastics has been particularly challenging, and in response to lack of processing capacity, an overwhelming number of plastic bottles make their way to either a landfill or the ocean, making new technologies more important than ever.

Leveraging technology to combat this problem, companies like Sewell, N.J.-based Gold Medal Environmental employ a High Efficiency Biological Treatment (HEBioT) process to advance the recovery of bio-mass, plastics and other carbon materials.

More than 100,000 tons of mixed waste collected annually is broken down in their facilities and converted to an Environmental Protection Agency-recognized (EPA) solid recovered fuel (SRF)—achieving as much as 80 percent landfill diversion while reducing logistics, minimizing carbon impact and extending the life of existing landfills.

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantage.com