Following the Current

With less newspaper, higher contaminants and more old corrugated containers (OCC) in fiber streams these days, material recovery facilities (MRFs) are considering retrofitting their operations to respond to these changes. However, retrofits can be expensive, and, with the number of outside factors at play, whether to make such an investment is not always the easiest decision.

Johnny Gold, senior vice president, The Newark Group, Salem, Mass., has found it is not necessarily a good idea to jump on the technology bandwagon and invest in the so-called latest and greatest equipment and expect it to solve every problem a MRF has. He says running a MRF is an ongoing process that must be revisited daily.
 

Ch-Ch-Changes
From less newspaper to more plastic bottles, the material streams many MRFs are seeing do not look the same as they did a decade or so ago.

In regard to curbside recycling programs, Keith Ristau, president and CEO, Far West Fibers Inc., Portland, Ore., says he does not see the same fiber stream he did five to 10 years ago. Less fiber is coming into MRFs in general through curbside programs, he says.

"I think everyone in our industry would agree that ONP (old newspaper) has been declining dramatically. Consumers, especially younger consumers, are getting their news from the Internet and other sources," he says. "The commingled stream, over the last 10 to 12 years, has seen ONP decline from 65 percent to as low as 30 percent.

"On the increase are plastic water bottles. How many people drank water from bottles 15 years ago?" Ristau adds, "Now the MRFs are dealing with the lower weight of the PET bottles, so that every positive pull has a lower net effect."

Gold also reports seeing a dramatic decrease in the amount of paper being used in most households today compared with 10 years ago, and not just newspaper, either. What he is seeing is more white ledger and more office grades commingled with the community newspapers in residential collections, as well as much more corrugated material and contaminants. Because of this, he says, "The quality out of single-stream [programs] can be highly contaminated with up to 20 percent out-throws."

He continues, "It is something that we are looking at every day and working with differently than before."

Ristau asks, "Can you remember when contaminants in No. 8 ONP were one-quarter of 1 percent?"

Another change that Gold says he finds rather annoying is the increase in single-use plastic shopping bags entering the fiber stream.

To properly handle the changing material stream, Gold says processors know they need to retrofit their facilities at some point. MRF operators know they cannot keep processing material the same way and continue to stay in business.

According to Ristau, the largest change comes down to the growth of single-stream collections. "As processors, we have been forced to adapt to the ever-changing dynamics of single stream," he says. "There have been varying degrees of successful introductions of new technologies to sort commingled materials," Ristau continues, "but none have been truly effective."
 

Proper Introductions
When considering MRF retrofits, Ristau warns that it is not always beneficial to be swayed by the technology of the moment. Instead, he says, he prefers to see positive results before committing to new equipment.

"We have been hesitant to invest in the new technology simply because it does not show a good return on that kind of investment," he says.

Ristau and Gold say they have seen an increasing number of optical sorters and automated sorting screens being incorporated into facilities.

"We have a number of sorting facilities," Ristau says. "The retrofits I see are some optical sorters, which at this point we have not utilized, and some other air systems."

Where a MRF can best incorporate a retrofit is also an important consideration. Gold suggests adding new technology "at the beginning of the process to attack the stream before it hits the fiber line."
 

Risky Business
Anyone in the recycling industry knows all too well how expensive equipment can be, and an acceptable return on an investment is not necessarily guaranteed. Optical sorters and automated screening equipment costs a lot of money, plain and simple. Ristau says, "The basic problem with single-stream recycling is the return on investment. It is extremely expensive to invest in the most state-of-the-art equipment, with unreliable results."

Ristau adds, "That coupled with ever-increasing competition between foreign and domestic markets makes for a very volatile recycling industry."

The extent of a facility's retrofit also will affect the degree of investment required. Obviously, starting from scratch costs more than adding to or modifying the current equipment used at a MRF.

Gold says, "[It] all depends. Optical sorters and screens can be very expensive. If you have none and you are going to modernize, you are looking at investment of $3 million to $6 million." He continues, "Any way you look at this, it will cost you millions to do it correctly."

However, as Gold sees it, the more a company invests in a MRF retrofit, the greater potential that company has to see a higher return on its investment.

"The ROI also depends on how many tons you are processing on an hourly basis, not to mention the commodity markets for what you sort," he says. "For a one-piece retrofit of $300,000 to $500,000, you could get ROI in 12 to 16 months, but the more you spend, then the higher the [return on investment will be]."

The author is assistant editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at kstoklosa@gie.net.