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BHS Systems Win SWANA Gold, Silver Excellence Awards

GreenWaste Recovery and the ECUA honored by solid waste association

August 23, 2017

GreenWaste Recovery's single-stream MRF, located in San Jose, California, and designed and built by BHS, was named the Gold Award recipient by SWANA for 2017.

Eugene, Oregon - The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Excellence Awards for the best recycling systems built in North America. Taking home the top honors are two systems designed, manufactured and installed by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS). GreenWaste Recovery's Single Stream Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), located in San Jose, California, was named the Gold Award recipient by SWANA. The Silver Award went to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) for the agency's 25-ton-per-hour (tph) Single Stream MRF in Pensacola, Florida.

Increased demand to process both commercial and residential single-stream with increasing purity requirements prompted GreenWaste to add the company's newest recycling system. Designed to process 35 tph, the system has consistently over-delivered. In 2017, the plant averaged more than 50 tph with exceptional process uptime. According to the application: "The system has exceeded all expectations, including throughput, recovery, purity and uptime. GreenWaste companies maximize value and diversion of the entire waste stream, processing C&D, organics through A.D. and composting, mixed materials and single-stream. This single-stream MRF, GreenWaste's newest and highest performing system, has redefined excellence. Featuring state-of-the-art technology, it's recovering 98% of recyclables while operating at 143% of its designed capacity."

This is the second SWANA Gold Award for GreenWaste, having previously won the same award in 2008 for the company's 40-tph Mixed Waste MRF, also built by BHS. The company has hired BHS to provide a major overhaul of that facility in 2018. The new system will double throughput and includes new technology to increase recovery and quality, including NRT and Max-AI™ technology for autonomous container sorting.

The ECUA partnered with Escambia County to go from planning to completion of their $10.7 million project in only 18 months. The undertaking included construction of a 53,460 square-foot building and advanced single stream recycling system. The partnership's approach featured a dynamic process in which, according to the application, "the equipment, site development, and operations schedules were compressed by overlapping the design, permitting, procurement, negotiations, and construction. According to the ECUA, the MRF, operated by BHS subsidiary Zero Waste Operations is performing at a high level and exceeding financial targets: "The MRF is generating revenue that exceeds expectations and costs have been below the approved budget. The operational and economic performance of the MRF has exceeded the planned expectations."

"We truly believe that our customers' success is our success," said BHS CEO Steve Miller. "We're proud that our systems are exceeding expectations and providing positive financial results for our customers. GreenWaste and the ECUA are organizations that offer exemplary recycling programs and it's exciting for us to see them awarded for excellence by their peers. Congratulations from all of us at BHS; the recognition is well deserved!"

BHS customers Zanker Recycling and Athens Services won the SWANA Gold and Silver Excellence Awards in 2016.