Pratt Opens New MRF

The paper and packaging company Pratt Industries, Conyers, Ga., has officially opened a new material recovery facility (MRF) in Columbus, Ga. The facility replaces a smaller plant that the city of Columbus previously operated.

The city of Columbus paid for and built the $8.5 million, 54,000-square-foot facility and is supplying the labor for the facility from a nearby state prison. Pratt supplied the sorting equipment for the plant, which is its 13^th facility nationwide.

"This represents a new chapter in the evolution of the recycling program in the city and the state," says Myles Cohen, president of Pratt's Recycling Division. "By raising awareness and educating the residents of Columbus about the benefits of recycling, Pratt and the city have proven that a facility nearly five times the size of the original MRF is not only justified but a sound investment for Pratt and the citizens of this region."

Cohen notes that Pratt has had this public/private partnership in place with the city of Columbus for the past several years. The new MRF and equipment “simply takes the prior model to a new level, enabling more tonnage, from surrounding areas, to be processed in the state-of-the-art facility,” he says.

At capacity the MRF will be capable of processing 200 tons per day of single-stream recyclables, including 150 tons of paper and old corrugated containers, which will be used as furnish for Pratt's 100-percent-recycled paperboard mill in Conyers.

The new plant will process all types of residential and commercial single-stream material, including all grades of paper, cardboard, aluminum, steel and plastic. In addition, it can handle recyclables from industrial and retail businesses.

The building also includes a 10,000-square-foot Sustainability Center with interactive tools to educate adults and school children about the benefits of recycling.