The largest material recovery facility (MRF) in the United States has opened at the Newby Island Resource Recovery Park in the city of Milpitas, California.
The new $55 million (£35.2m) MRF, owned by Republic Services, Inc. and designed, manufactured, and installed by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), will recover 80 per cent of commercial waste produced in the San José area and can process over 100 tonnes of waste per hour in its multi-stream system.
San José’s commercial waste used to be managed by 20 different companies, but the new facility will now single-handedly serve over 8,000 San José businesses and 85,000 households, with the capacity to process 380,000 tonnes annually.
“In San José we are dealing with four distinct streams: organics, commercial dry waste, commercial single-stream, and residential single-stream”, said Rich Reardon, Director of Sales and Marketing at BHS. “Reaching a level of 80 percent meant recovering commodities that have traditionally been discarded. Breaking down the material stream and supplying processes to address each fraction ensures recovery optimization. Designing the entire process around this principle allowed us to help Republic Services meet its goal.”
BHS CEO Steve Miller added: “This advanced facility is ahead of the curve. It’s the first of its kind and is a fantastic example of how the scope of our industry is expanding to recover materials from a wide variety of waste streams.”
The Newby Island facility will process plastics, mixed paper, mixed metals, wood and cardboard for recovery and will also channel organic material as feedstock for further waste-to-energy processing.
San José Mayor Chuck Reed welcomed the opening of the MRF, saying: “Our businesses and community will benefit from this new approach to commercial waste recycling.
“The new service will include the recycling of organic waste which will help businesses and the city alike achieve their sustainability goals. The investment in advanced waste processing facilities generates new green jobs, turns waste into energy, and once again demonstrates San José’s innovative leadership toward a sustainable future.”
Mark Buntjer, General Manager at Republic Services added: “Republic is pleased to be working with BHS on this extraordinary project. This facility is the first and largest of its kind and we’re excited to be at the forefront of the industry, setting the pace globally for multi-material recovery.”
The company expects the recovery rate to exceed 75 per cent on the commercial lines and 95 per cent on the residential single-stream line.
Further information can be found on the Newby Island Resource Recovery Park website.
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