Penn Waste announces plans for $3.5 million single-stream retrofit

Penn Waste has announced plans to add technology and capacity to the company's 35-ton-per-hour (tph) Single Stream recycling system housed in the company's 96,000-square-foot Manchester, PA Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) designed, engineered, manufactured and installed the advanced processing line in 2015, and will provide the $3.5 million retrofit.  Expected to be operational in August of this year, the new and improved system will increase throughput to more than 45 tph and improve material purity. 

As part of the planned retrofit, Penn Waste is among the first to invest in Max-AI technology to improve container line performance. The Max-AI Autonomous QC (AQC) unit follows a new NRT SpydIR optical sorter targeting PET plastics. Max-AI technology uses artificial intelligence to identify non-PET items for the AQC to pick and return to the container line's onset. In addition to the Max-AI AQC, Penn Waste is adding three new NRT optical sorters and a NRT MetalDirector, and also just recently added a Nihot SDS 800-i to clean larger volumes of glass. 

The new container line will feature optical detection and recovery of 3-dimensional fiber, such as small packing from online purchases. Recovery and purity rates will increase thanks to the additional technology, including an optical sorter on the ‘last chance' residue line to remove containers and metals. The optical sorters will also enable the automated separation of additional commodities, including PP, HDPE-C and HDPE-N. 

The retrofit is a response to the system's success and Penn Waste's ever-growing and changing material stream. Penn Waste has been very successful at gaining new contracts due to their processing capabilities, which has led to the need for even more capacity, especially on the container line. "Since our grand opening two years ago, we've seen a shift in our material, most notably a sizeable increase in our container volume," said Penn Waste owner Scott Wagner. "The new technology, operated by our exceptional staff, will enable us to stay ahead of our competition, producing the first-class commodities that our customers are accustomed to receiving from Penn Waste. We're an early adopter, embracing the best available technology to maximize our recovery and product quality," Wagner concluded.  

Penn Waste is a locally owned and operated company providing premier residential and commercial waste removal and recycling services to the South Central Pennsylvania region since 2000. Founder, Scott Wagner, has more than 35 years' experience in the waste industry and leads a team of more than 400 dedicated and driven individuals who are committed to providing safe, dependable and courteous service to each and every home and business served. Penn Waste is recognized for its substantial growth over the last 17 years, operating a fleet of more than 125 waste removal and recycling collection trucks that offer the latest in safety equipment and serving over 180,000 customers in 66 municipalities in the counties of York, Lancaster, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry. The waste collected from Penn Waste customers is used to create clean, green energy, fueling local waste to energy sites to support a better future.