Republic Services’ Southern Nevada Recycling Center features equipment from CP Group

San Diego-based CP Group, in partnership with Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc., unveiled what they describe as a “state-of-the-art” recycling center in a November 2015 grand opening ceremony. The grand opening welcomed more than 450 attendees to tour the facility and education center.

The 110,000-square-foot Southern Nevada Recycling Center has been dubbed by Republic Services as “the largest and smartest residential recycling center in North America.”

Site development constructed by Cambridge Cos., Griffith, Indiana, and equipment installation by CP Group was completed in a remarkable 12 months, from the groundbreaking in November 2014 to the grand opening at the end of 2015, CP Group says. CP Group engineered the residential and commercial single-stream processing system, capable of processing 2 million pounds of recyclables daily, or 70 tons per hour. This capability is expected to double recycling capacity throughout Clark County, Nevada, the company says.   

The facility features two 35-tons-per-hour sorting lines for operational flexibility, according to a news release issued by CP Group. Republic is able to process material on one or both lines and can bypass certain parts of the system when processing different material types.

While the center largely will process residential recyclables, it also has the ability process commercial and industrial streams. This built-in flexibility allows the system to adapt as the composition of the recycling stream evolves, according to CP Group.

“There are scales through the system,” Terry Schneider, president and CEO of CP Group, says. “[The incoming tonnage] can be calculated on a constant basis.”

He adds that shaft speeds and screen angles can be modified based on this information. “It gives you a lot of flexibility.”

The system also can process material very quickly. “In 30 minutes, we can process as much recycling as 155 households will generate in a year,” says Len Christopher, general manager for postcollection at Republic Services. “And, we can process [a route truck that travels through the neighborhood] faster than you can order a latte at your favorite coffee shop, in about 2-and-a-half minutes.”

The system features two OCC (old corrugated containers) screens, three scalping screens, two glass-breaker screens, two NEWScreens and four CPScreens for separating 2D from 3D material. These screens ensure maximum separation efficiency and provide other flexible sorting capabilities for Republic Services as the ton evolves, according to the equipment provider.

The Southern Nevada Recycling Center includes five MSS Cirrus optical sorters to maximize the recovery of containers, including PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and aseptic containers/cartons. The system’s first Cirrus optical sorter negatively separates remaining fiber materials or particles. The remaining optical sorters recover plastics, CP Group says.

A key feature of the system is the new CP glass cleanup trommel, which the company says is the first installed in the industry.

“The testing has been fantastic,” Schneider says. “We believe we will be able to recover somewhere in the 90 to 95 percent range at the back end. It’s the cleanest we’ve ever gotten glass.”

The system also features highly automated data acquisition and system control solutions provided by Advanced MRF, the electrical and controls division of CP Group and a Siemens Solution Partner. Key features include five touch-screen human machine interface (HMI) control panels, as well as two wireless control panels, supervisory control, data acquisition monitoring and remote access to continually monitor operations for optimal performance. The Office Interface System (OIS) allows users to monitor MRF production in real time from any smart device using a secured network, CP Group says.

The operators are able to reset screens, adjust sorters and change the speeds of motors from a wireless tablet. Preprogrammed equipment settings, or “recipies,” also can be selected based on the material being processed.

“It’s convenient for the supervisor to have this information in front of them,” says Republic’s Christopher. “Previously, you had to do things like send employees with walkie-talkies on each side of a screen to adjust them. Now we will be able to adjust those needs through a hand-held device from anywhere in the facility.”

Safety also was a major consideration in the facility’s design. The system was designed to exceed American and international standards for safety, including OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) compliance, CP Group says, adding that whether the system is running at full or reduced capacity, all safety circuits throughout the facility remain active.

The supplier says the system design allows easy access to maintenance areas. CP equipment includes safeguards, such as trap key systems, hydraulic platforms and lanyard connections, built in to protect workers. All sorters are on the same platform level for safety and operator supervision.

A single emergency stop system provides 100 percent equipment control while maintaining maximum uptime, CP Group says. Intelligent controls know exactly when and where an e-stop is triggered, allowing quick identification and correction to resume production. The operators can see where the system was stopped on their HMI or tablet, pull up a live report and be able to reset the system, the supplier says.

CP Group—comprising CP Manufacturing, Krause Manufacturing, MSS Inc. and Advanced MRF—provides a variety of sorting solutions worldwide, including MRF (material recovery facility) manufacturing, retrofits, audits, consulting and engineering services. CP Group designs, installs and services custom turnkey systems for residential recycling, commercial and industrial recycling, municipal solid waste, engineered fuel, construction and demolition recycling and electronic scrap processing.