Why It Matters Who Runs Your Material Recovery Facility
MRFs, or material recovery facilities, play a key role in the recycling ecosystem. But not all MRFs recycle all products, and just because a product is recyclable doesn’t mean your local collection facility will process it. In this article, we explore what MRFs are, how they work, why so much material ends up in the landfill, and how cities are working to improve recyclability rates.
TSS Thermalist
July 12, 2023 | Sustainable Leadership
MRFs, or material recovery facility, play a key role in the recycling ecosystem. But not all MRFs recycle all products, and just because a product is recyclable doesn’t mean your local collection facility will process it. In this article, we explore what MRFs are, how they work, why so much material ends up in the landfill, and how cities are working to improve recyclability rates.
What is an Material Recovery Facility?
A material recovery facility (MRF) is a facility that sorts and processes mixed recyclable materials into new products. A material recovery facility employs a combination of machinery, equipment, and human effort to sort and prepare the materials. MRFs play a crucial role in the residential and commercial recycling programs of cities, particularly as an increasing number of cities and municipalities in the United States adopt single-stream recycling.
There are two types of materials recovery facilities: clean and dirty. A clean material recovery facility exclusively handles recyclable materials from residential or commercial single-stream recycling collections, specifically the materials placed in curbside recycling bins that are collected on a regular basis. Clean MRFs generally have higher recovery rates compared to dirty MRFs. However, determining precise recovery rates can be challenging due to the reluctance of facility owners to share this information. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to ascertain the exact recovery rates at MRFs.
A dirty materials recovery facility specializes in processing waste from residential or commercial sources with the aim of retrieving recyclable materials that were mistakenly discarded as trash. When used alongside clean materials recovery facilities, dirty MRFs offer the advantage of enhancing the overall recovery of recyclables. However, they typically incur higher operational costs due to the extensive manual labor required to remove trash and eliminate any soluble recyclables that can become contaminated.
There’s one more type of materials recovery facility, a wet material recovery facility, which is very similar to a dirty MRF. A wet MRF, however, uses water to separate and clean recycling streams.
How do MRFs work?
Step 1:
Haulers drop off materials on the tipping floor at the MRF.
Step 2:
Materials are transferred to a conveyer belt, where workers remove non-recyclable materials.
Step 3:
A machine moves cardboard to a separate holding area.
Step 4:
Paper products are moved onto a paper sorting line.
Step 5:
Metals are removed by large magnets.
Step 6:
Aluminum cans and foil are separated by an eddy current separator.
Step 7:
Glass bottles and jars are separated and grinded.
Step 8:
The remaining plastics are separated by resin code.
What do MRFs sort?
Plastics
Cardboard
Paper
Glass
Metal
Cartons
Why material ends up in the landfill
In order for materials to be successfully recycled, they need to be clean and free from contamination. However, MRFs’ inefficient processes contribute to low recovery rates. For instance, the unloading of materials onto the tipping floor leads to significant glass breakage and contamination. When valuable recyclables are mixed with solid waste and broken materials, contamination levels rise considerably.
While machines play a vital role in MRFs, manual labor is still needed to distinguish recyclable materials from the extensive volume of non-recyclable or contaminated items. Due to the intricacies involved in identifying certain recyclables, a significant quantity of recyclable items is inadvertently lost during the sorting process and ultimately disposed of in landfills.
The majority of conventional waste haulers utilize single-stream recycling, but contamination poses a significant challenge in this recycling approach. Various factors contribute to contamination, such as plastic bags, solid waste (trash), residues from food and beverages, and large objects.
Because of all of these factors, less than half of the materials processed at MRFs are successfully recovered for recycling, while the remaining portion is sent to landfills.
All MRFs are different
There is a significant variation in residue rates among different MRFs. This can happen either because those materials were mistakenly included in the recycling cart or due to imperfections in the MRF’s sorting process. Nationally, some single-stream MRFs encounter remarkably high residue rates, reaching as much as 30%. Typically, MRF residue is either disposed of in landfills or incinerated.
In addition to materials becoming residue, there are instances where certain items are mistakenly sorted. For example, sorting machinery might mistakenly classify flattened plastic as a paper product, resulting in plastic being mixed with paper and sent to mills. Eventually, the plastic is separated from the paper and becomes residue in the end-market. As is often the case, this residue is typically disposed of in landfills or incinerated.
Current shortcomings
The U.S. recycling system has several major shortcomings that result in only 32.1% of waste being either recycled or composted. Some of these shortcomings occur in MRFs, which make their own decisions about which products to accept, based on the market for recyclables, available equipment and labor, and the scale of potential materials that can be collected.
MRFs don’t accept products with volatile demand or price, relegating these materials to landfills regardless of recyclability. In addition, consumers are often confused about what can be recycled and throw recyclable products into the garbage or garbage into recycling bins, which contaminates loads and are sent to landfills.
The lack of geographic consistency in accepted recyclable products within the U.S. also plays a role. Inconsistent recycling practices contribute to consumer confusion, leading to costly contamination.
The curbside recycling system in the United States is further hampered by a combination of factors, including disaggregated decision-making and underperformance. Curbside programs across the country are facing significant challenges, including shifting commodity economics, stresses on taxpayer-funded collection services and a general inelasticity of collected supply to market forces. Further, access to recycling is unequal for many residents across the country.
If all of the 37.4 million tons of single-family recyclables were put back to productive use instead of lost to disposal, what would that do?
What cities are doing to help
Cities need predictability and MRFs need profitability. The agreement between a local recycling program and a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) can help both entities succeed in their goals. Similar to any contractual arrangement, an effective MRF processing contract is one that duly acknowledges and safeguards the interests of both parties involved. It should result in an agreement that is deemed fair by both sides. Cities are working with MRFs to develop transparent and balanced recycling processing contracts that provide stability, long-term vision, clear communications, and material quality.
The Bridge to Circularity Initiative
The Recycling Partnership, in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, released a report called “The Bridge to Circularity” in 2018 to help catalyze a circular economy for packaging in the United States. Inspired by the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which unites more than 400 businesses, governments and organizations around the world to address plastic waste and pollution, the report shows that America’s recycling system is unable to deliver on several core aspects of this agreement in its current form.
How more PET can be recovered
In the United States, the recovery rate for PET used in bottles and jars is below 30% and only 6% is reused as rPET in the production of new bottles. Despite this low recycling rate, PET remains the most widely used resin for plastic packaging and is accepted in municipal recycling programs across the country.
An analysis conducted by Closed Loop Partners, a circular economy-focused investment firm and innovation center, identified seven interventions that would have the greatest impact on the cost structure of producing rPET and effectively improve yield from residential curbside collection by more than 20% and lower costs of rPET processing by 10%.
Closed Loop Partners is working with RRS, a sustainable material and resource consulting firm, to support innovative recycling projects in Colorado, Michigan, and Washington.
| INTERVENTION | IMPACT ON rPET SYSTEM | CAPITAL EXPENDITURE (Type of Capital) |
PROOF OF CONCEPT | TIMELINE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRF sorting and quality control, incl. installing optical sorters and robotics equipment, and implementing best management practices | 10+% capture rate increase at MRF; 5% yield increase at reprocessor; 10% savings from lower operating & disposal costs | $0.5MM, avg. per MRF (Equipment loan) |
Widely deployed | 1-5 years |
| Flake to Resin, i.e., installing equipment that would bypass the pellet stage, going from flake directly to blend with virgin resin. | 15% cost savings vs. PCR pellet; 10% flake content to reactor would increase rPET to bottle markets from ~23% to 30%; better quality product (less discoloration) | $2-3MM per 25MM lbs. (Equipment loan) |
In production at both DAk & Indorma | 1-5 years |
| Flake to Preform, i.e., installing equipment that can bypass the pellet stage, going from flake directly to preform. | 15% cost savings vs. PCR pellet; allows high % of food grade recycled flake (up to 100%); better quality product (less discoloration) | $1.3MM per 80 mm lbs. (Equipment loan) |
8 locations worldwide; 1 in development in CA | 1-3 years |
| Brand Commitment to APR Design Guidelines, implemented by end users/brand owners | 5% yield increase at reprocessor | NA | Already in the market | 1-3 years |
| Brand Procurement Strategies, incl. pricing to minimize volatility and long-term purchase agreements, negotiated between the end-user and reprocessor | Increased stability, access to financing for reprocessor; potential stabilizing effects further upstream | NA (Contract) | Already exists in the market for virgin and other PCR commodities (e.g., paper); less so for rPET | 1-3 years |
| Chemical Depolymerization, i.e., installing / operating a new plant to produce like-virgin PTA and MEG monomers | Minimal cost savings (est.) | NOT MODELED (Incl. venture capital, equipment loans) |
Very early; Loop Industries pilot completed and first commercial scale facility in development | 2-5 years |
| Byproduct Market Development, for non-PET materials (e.g., PP, PE) would incentivize MRFs to improve quality of PET bales, and other commodities | Reduces yield loss; improves and diversifies MRF revenues | NOT MODELED (Could include contracts, venture capital, equipment loans) |
Recent example: APR Demand Champions initiative | 1-5 years |
“Each state, through its NextCycle initiative, will identify projects that develop recovery infrastructure solutions for post-consumer recyclable materials with a focus on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and aluminum, optimize innovative collection systems for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and divert from landfill back into the supply chain. Over the next three years of partnership, Closed Loop Partners will closely collaborate with the various NextCycle initiatives, identifying investable opportunities that advance collective circularity goals.”
PET and MRFs
Polyethylene terephthalate, PET, is 100% recyclable, and when it’s properly recycled, it can be used to make new products an infinite number of times. That’s why we chose PET for our Renewliner, and that’s why it’s important to know if your local MRF recycles PET. TSS is currently working to get all MRFs to recycle Renewliner so that we can help brands reduce emissions and create a more sustainable business.
Before
Processing
