​Monterey's new facility uses BHS recycling system to support compliance with California's 75% recycling goal

The Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) has started up its new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Supplied by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), the technologically-advanced recovery system processes up to 80-tons-per-hour (tph) on two lines. The multi-material line processes 30-tph of commercial and residential Single Stream or 40-tph of commercial Mixed Materials, while the Construction and Demolition line handles 40-tph. The $24mm project occupies 100,000 square-feet of the District's campus, which also includes the country's first SMARTFERM anaerobic digestion (AD) system. 

"This system is a key component supporting our mission of ‘Turning Waste into Resources,' said District General Manager Tim Flanagan. This first-of-its-kind system on California's Central Coast will provide the regional building industry with compliance for the CalGreen 65% diversion mandate for new construction. It will also provide the incremental diversion necessary for our community to meet the State 75% recycling goal by 2020. We're very proud of what we've achieved and hope the community is equally excited to see first-hand the new world-class technology that makes ‘MRF 2.0' special." 

The material mix - the materials that enter recycling systems - continues to increase in diversity while also becoming less predictable. To recover the maximum amount of materials, this system is built for flexible and effective processing. The recycling line features BHS bag breaking and screen technology to present liberated and consistently sized fractions to Nihot Single Drum Separators which remove contamination from the fiber and container streams. To ensure recovery of high quality paper, an NRT FiberPure optical sorter positively sorts either plastic film or paper, depending on the material stream and the operator's discretion. NRT's patented In-Flight Sorting technology is employed to accurately recover various types of plastics, production decisions that the operator can change based on marketability. All recyclables are baled with a Kadant PAAL Konti baler. PAAL balers are Europe's market leader and were introduced to North America last year through an exclusive partnership with BHS. 

"The MRWMD has been a longtime partner to BHS and we are honored to have once again delivered a state-of-the-art solution," said BHS CEO Steve Miller. "Processing 80-tons-per-hour is an achievement for any operator, but the District really stands out in its deep commitment to high levels of both recovery and product quality. Their leadership has committed to the technology necessary to achieve their desired results as they continue on their path to a zero waste future."

THE MRWMD serves an 853 square-mile area and nine member agencies in Western Coastal Monterey County. In 2013, it opened the country's first SMARTFERM dry AD facility to convert organics into electricity and compost. As the new centerpiece of the District's publicly owned infrastructure for recycling and reuse, the new MRF supports community compliance with a several California State recycling requirements, including a 75% recycling goal by 2020. Processing curbside recycling from homes and businesses locally will lower greenhouse gas emissions and provide local control over where recyclables go and what they are recycled into.