Materials recovery facility

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A materials recovery facility for the recycling of domestic waste.

File:Recycling Video.webm
Clean materials recovery facility recycling video.
A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling
facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant
that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-
user manufacturers. Generally, there are two different types: clean and dirty
materials recovery facilities.
Contents [hide]
1 Clean MRF
2 Mixed-waste processing facility (MWPF)/ Dirty MRF
2.1 Wet MRF
3 History
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Clean MRF[edit]
A clean MRF accepts recyclable comingled materials that have already been separated
at the source from municipal solid waste generated by either residential or
commercial sources. There are a variety of clean MRFs. The most common are single
stream where all recyclable material is mixed, or dual stream MRFs, where source-
separated recyclables are delivered in a mixed container stream (typically glass,
ferrous metal, aluminum and other non-ferrous metals, PET [No.1] and HDPE [No.2]
plastics) and a mixed paper stream including corrugated cardboard boxes,
newspapers, magazines, office paper and junk mail. Material is sorted to
specifications, then baled, shredded, crushed, compacted, or otherwise prepared for
shipment to market.
Mixed-waste processing facility (MWPF)/ Dirty MRF[edit]

Manual material triage for recycling.

A mixed-waste processing system, sometimes referred to as a dirty MRF, accepts a
mixed solid waste stream and then proceeds to separate out designated recyclable
materials through a combination of manual and mechanical sorting. The sorted
recyclable materials may undergo further processing required to meet technical
specifications established by end-markets while the balance of the mixed waste
stream is sent to a disposal facility such as a landfill. Today, MWPFs are
attracting renewed interest as a way to address low participation rates for source-
separated recycling collection systems and prepare fuel products and/or feedstocks
for conversion technologies. MWPFs can give communities the opportunity to recycle
at much higher rates than has been demonstrated by curbside or other waste
collection systems. Advances in technology make todays MWPF different and, in many
respects better, than older versions. [1]
The percentage of residuals (unrecoverable recyclable or non-program materials)
from a properly operated clean MRF supported by an effective public outreach and
education program should not exceed 10% by weight of the total delivered stream and
in many cases it can be significantly below 5%.[citation needed] A dirty MRF
recovers between 5% and 45% of the incoming material as recyclables,[citation
needed] then the remainder is landfilled or otherwise disposed. A dirty MRF can be
capable of higher recovery rates than a clean MRF, since it ensures that 100% of
the waste stream is subjected to the sorting process, and can target a greater
number of materials for recovery than can usually be accommodated by sorting at the
source. However, the dirty MRF process results in greater contamination of
recyclables, especially of paper. Furthermore, a facility that accepts mixed solid
waste is usually more challenging and more expensive to site. Operational costs can
be higher because it is more labor-intensive.
Wet MRF[edit]

A wet materials recovery facility

Around 2004, new mechanical biological treatment technologies were beginning to
utilise wet MRFs.[2] These combine a dirty MRF with water, which acts to densify,
separate and clean the output streams. It also hydrocrushes and dissolves
biodegradable organics in solution to make them suitable for anaerobic digestion.
History[edit]
In the United States, modern MRF's began in the 1970s. Peter Karter established
Resource Recovery Systems, Inc. in Branford, Connecticut, the "first materials
recovery facility (MRF)" in the US. [3][4]
See also[edit]
Cradle-to-cradle design
Curbside collection
List of waste treatment technologies
Mechanical biological treatment
Waste sorting
References[edit]
Jump up ^ [1] Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc., American Chemistry Council,
(2015) The Evolution of Mixed Waste Processing Facilities 1970-Today
Jump up ^ ArrowBio Process Finstein, M. S., Zadik, Y., Marshall, A. T. & Brody, D.
(2004) The ArrowBio Process for Mixed Municipal Solid Waste Responses to
Requests for Information, Proceedings for Biodegradable and Residual Waste
Management, Proceedings. (Eds. E. K. Papadimitriou & E. I. Stentiford), Technology
and Service Providers Forum, p. 407-413
Jump up ^ Miller, Chaz (June 2017). "Chaz Miller - Onto the next stage". Northeast
Recycling Council. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
Jump up ^ Mastermind of the MRF Logsdon, Gene. BioCycle. Emmaus: Apr 1993. Vol. 34,
Iss. 4; pg. 49, ff. [2]
External links[edit]
"Coming soon! van der Linde's amazing recycling machine"
The Role of MRFS in Modern Day Waste Management
[show] v t e
Biosolids, waste and waste management
[show] v t e
Recycling
Categories: Environmental engineeringRecyclingWaste treatment technology
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This page was last edited on 20 June 2017, at 04:11.
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