Florida waste and recycling authority selects BHS for single-stream MRF

The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), based in Pensacola, Florida, has selected Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) to design, manufacture and install its new material recovery facility (MRF).

The system, scheduled for a spring 2016 startup, is designed to process more than 25 tons per hour (tph) of single-stream materials.

The ECUA serves more than 75,000 customers in Florida’s Escambia County and 21,000 in Santa Rosa County, all of which are offered recycling pickup along with regular waste services.

The $7.5-million project is instrumental in helping the ECUA to upgrade its recycling program, the organization state in a news release.

According to BHS, advanced separation technologies, including BHS screens, a Nihot glass cleanup system and NRT optical sorting will recover more than 95 percent of available recyclables.

“The ECUA is taking proactive steps to locally process our recyclables. This state-of-the-art system will create local jobs and allow the ECUA to continue its recycling program and accept additional recyclables from within the region,” says Randall Rudd, ECUA deputy executive director of shared services.

The new MRF is a component of the ECUA’s comprehensive recycling plan. In addition to its voluntary recycling program launched in 2009, the authority also recycles yard waste through a composting operation, provides a bulk waste recycling program and collects household hazardous waste materials free of charge on a call-in basis once per month.

Founded as the Escambia County Utilities Authority in 1981, the ECUA is a local governmental body that provides sanitation, potable water and water reclamation services. The authority's name was officially changed to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority in 2004.

BHS designs, engineers, manufactures and installs sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition industries. Wholly owned subsidiaries include Nihot, based in Amsterdam; NRT, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee; and Zero Waste Energy, based in Lafayette, California.