GreenWaste Recovery opens single-stream plant in San Jose, California

GreenWaste Recovery has opened a new materials recovery facility (MRF) at its San Jose, California, location. The MRF was designed, manufactured and installed by Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) to process commercial and residential single-stream recyclables at rates in excess of 40 tons per hour (tph).

The new system has been designed to significantly expand the company’s processing capabilities. It uses BHS screening, Nihot air and NRT optical technologies to maximize diversion. The system was designed for flexibility and is able to process a wide range of material streams, recovering more than 95 percent of available commodities, such as plastics, metals, cardboard, paper and glass, according to a news release from BHS.

“GreenWaste Recovery is dedicated to minimizing the amount of waste sent to landfill,” says the company’s Chief Operating Officer Frank Weigel. “By investing in the best technology available, we are able to stay at the forefront of recycling; we are able to capture a very high percentage of incoming materials that will be used to create new products,” Weigel continues. “This system is another step forward as we continue to increase landfill diversion rates, striving towards a goal of zero waste.”

The technology package includes a BHS Bag Breaker to open bags from commercial sources without damaging commodities; a Nihot Single Drum Separator to recover glass; BHS’ 144-inch-wide adjustable-angle screens with rear access; and NRT Pet Boost to maximize the recovery of wet and thin-walled PET plastics.

The system also has been designed to recover plastic bags using air and antiwrap screen technologies.

“Glass and plastic bags have been troublesome for some operators to process,” says BHS CEO Steve Miller. “With this equipment, GreenWaste Recovery will be able to capture these materials at high volumes and uptime for years to come,” adds Miller. “GreenWaste Recovery’s ability to seamlessly process this material is a testament to the company’s commitment to recovery.”

GreenWaste is a privately owned and locally operated recycling and diversion company that specializes in the collection and processing of residential and commercial waste, yard trimmings, curbside recyclables, food waste and construction and demolition debris. The company’s MRF in San Jose is capable of sorting and recovering 95 percent of recyclable materials and 75 percent of trash for a total facility diversion rate of 88 percent for household and commercial materials. (Recycling Today spotlighted the city of San Jose’s efforts to maximize its diversion rates in an April 2015 feature article found here.)