Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
A leader with AMP Robotics says artificial intelligence has changed how robotics can be incorporated into MRFs. | Courtesy of AMP Robotics.
A recycling facility operator and a robotics company say artificial intelligence is providing materials recovery firms with much-needed data to analyze changes in the recycling stream. That’s in addition to sortation improvements.
A recycling facility in West Babylon, N.Y. installed a large optical sorter that has increased OCC throughput and quality. | Courtesy of Van Dyk
Several materials recovery facilities across North America and the U.K. recently announced upgrades or other major projects. The initiatives include optical sorter installations targeting fiber and plastic, advanced artificial intelligence plans and more.
MRF executives have noted staffing and procedural changes to deal with the coronavirus.
As the coronavirus continues to spread, recycling facilities are increasing distance between employees, sanitizing common areas and, in at least one case, halting the practice of punching in and out on a time clock.
Industry group SWANA is working with the federal government to supply free face coverings for the waste and recycling industry. | beton studio/Shutterstock
Coronavirus infections among workers have caused a MRF to shutter and delayed collection of recyclables elsewhere. The federal government and one state are working to provide masks and funding to help programs cope.
A leader with Waste Connections said that his company has seen increased collection volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Resource Recycling file photo.
Two large publicly held waste and recycling companies are taking in higher residential volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they say contamination has been flat. Recently, they’ve also started seeing critical upticks on the commercial side.
The Glass Recycling Coalition’s MRF glass certification program recognizes sorting facilities that invest to improve glass quality. | sirtravelalot/Shutterstock
MRFs that are early participants in a glass certification program recently described the benefits of the new initiative.
The Coastal Resources of Maine (CRM) facility in Hampden, Maine launched last year to handle mixed waste from numerous municipalities. | Screen shot from company video
Higher-than-expected costs, recycling market turbulence and other factors led to the recent shutdown of a Maine mixed-waste processing plant. Stakeholders are hoping a new operator can restart the plant, which had run for just one year.
In 2019, Republic Services opened a tech-heavy MRF in Plano, Texas that uses a positive-sorting approach to produce clean bales.
Republic Services spent $34 million on equipment upgrades at its recycling facilities last year, and it closed 12 MRFs in a consolidation effort.
Crossroads Paper CEO John Sasine speaks at an event July 10 announcing the paper mill. | Credit: Brenden Brunnette.
A containerboard mill using entirely OCC and mixed paper is in development in Utah. The project stands as a rare case of a recycling company expanding into the end market sector.
Scott Montgomery of RePower spoke recently at the Resource Recycling Conference and Trade Show. | Resource Recycling Conference/Brian Adams Photography
The leader of mixed-waste processor RePower South recently spoke on why recovering recyclables from the trash stream is a good option in certain cases.