Republic opens new commercial sorting system at Anaheim Recycling Center in California

Republic Services has announced the opening of its new commercial sorting system at its Anaheim Recycling Center in Anaheim, California. The new system is capable of processing more than 1,000 tons of recyclables per day, or 100-tons per hour (tph), and is expected to double capacity in the marketplace.

"Orange County has been at the forefront of sustainability practices for decades," says Heath Eddleblute, area president of Republic Services. "This community was an early adopter of All-In-One Recycling, at home and work, which made recycling easier and enabled greater participation. Now, with the expanded commercial capabilities, we're positioned to bring durability to local recycling initiatives and help our customers achieve their long-term sustainability goals."

The new commercial sorting system was designed by RRT Design & Construction, Melville, New York, and Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Eugene, Oregon, and has been undergoing testing and optimization in recent months. It replaces older commercial recycling equipment and includes two, 70-foot trommels positioned near the start of sorting operations to increase capacity and improve the recovery rate. The system was engineered to meet future commercial recycling demands in Orange County, and early performance has exceeded expectations, according to the company.

The mixed waste system features five debris roll screens and is integrated with a 50-tph single-stream system completed by BHS in 2012.

“When we designed the single stream system, we built in capacity and design features to process recyclables from the mixed waste system, particularly with our NRT optical line,” says BHS CEO Steve Miller. “Republic has embraced two processing philosophies in tandem to maximize recovery and help the community reach its diversion goals. They have executed on their vision, and it’s fulfilling to see it all come together with the completion of this phase.”

These enhancements are aimed to enable Republic’s customers to achieve their sustainability goals. The 250,000-square-foot complex is located on 35 acres and creates employment for more than 80 quality control personnel. It includes a learning center that offers visitors a view of the recycling process in an observation deck. The learning center is intended to be a special resource for customers and an educational destination for sustainability-minded school and community groups.

In Orange County, Republic has more than 600 employees who serve approximately 200,000 residential and 12,300 commercial customers throughout the communities of Anaheim, Brea, Chino Hills, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra Heights, Placentia, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda. Republic has been serving Orange County for more than 50 years, and operates two hauling divisions, two transfer stations, two natural gas fueling stations and two recycling centers in the area.

Republic Services operates 67 recycling centers nationwide and processes roughly five million tons of recyclable material annually. Republic continues to make significant investments in highly advanced recycling capabilities and technologies, including recently opening the largest and smartest residential recycling center in North America, the Southern Nevada Recycling Center located in the City of North Las Vegas.