Installation has begun on what is considered to be the largest and most extensive multi-material processing system in the world, according to Bulk Handling Systems (BHS ), Eugene, Ore. Republic Services’ Newby Island material recovery facility (MRF) and composting operation in Milpitas, Calif., selected the company to design, manufacture and install the highly automated processing system.
Installation of the 110-ton-per-hour system began earlier this year at the facility, with operations slated to start later this year, BHS reports.
The system will process commercial material from the city of San Jose, Calif., recovering recyclables and using organic material as feedstock for further waste-to-energy processing. In addition, the system includes capacity for up to 120,000 tons per year of residential single-stream material.
The expansive system consists of four processing lines: a residential single-stream line, a commercial single-stream line, a commercial dry recyclables line and a commercial wet recyclables line. The system also features a glass cleanup system and a shared container line with seven optical sorting units, according to BHS.
According to BHS, the recovery rate of the highly automated system is expected to exceed 75 percent on the commercial lines and 95 percent on the residential line. The system incorporates screening, optical and air separation technologies.
“Republic is pleased to be working with BHS on this extraordinary project,” says Mark Buntjer, Northern California recovery and recycling general manager at Republic. “This facility is the first and largest of its kind, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of the industry, setting the pace globally for multi-material recovery.”
“All of us at BHS are extremely honored to be working with the team at Republic Services on this unique and unprecedented facility,” says Steve Miller, BHS CEO. “It truly is the first of its kind and is a fantastic example of how the scope of our industry is expanding to recover materials from a wide variety of waste streams.”