New MRF in Monterey County adjusts to new standards

New MRF in Monterey County adjusts to new standards
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Photo courtesy of MRWMD

Trade in recyclables has been difficult this past year, as China enacted stricter standards for the material it accepts. For the Monterey Regional Waste Management District in Marina, California, these changes came at an interesting time – the district had just opened a $24 million material recovery facility (MRF).

“We started processing materials in February of this year,” says Tim Brownell, director of operations at Monterey Regional Waste Management District. “The full impact of changing conditions in China were in full force as we started processing. The impacts of that first and foremost were for us to look at the stream of recyclables coming in and start to make some decisions about what really belonged in the recycling stream.”

Not long after launching the new facility, Brownell says the district had to take time to evaluate the materials it accepts and determine what falls under the nonrecyclable category.

Additionally, he says the facility has been very busy. Originally, it was only intended to receive about 15,000 tons of recyclables per year in the form of single-stream recyclables and the balance would go to municipal solid waste (MSW).

“We will end up processing 80,000 tons per year of MSW once we start a second shift,” Brownell says.

However, no other MRFs are in the area, and Brownell says the district has received closer to 60,000 tons of recyclables per year so far. He says the district is only focused on single-stream processing right now, but it plans to start a second shift to run to MSW by next spring.

Also, more people are working on the new facility’s sorting line than originally anticipated – about 40 to 50 percent more.

Although the standard changes came at a tough time, Jeff Lindenthal, director of communications and sustainability at Monterey Regional Waste Management District, says this has also had some positive impact as it’s allowed the district  to connect with the community more.

“We see it as an opportunity to reset recycling for our community,” he says. “We’re exiting a period when the public was commonly told, ‘When in doubt, recycle and we’ll sort.’ We want to educate and communicate with the community – and the community seems ready to learn.”

Specifically, Lindenthal says Monterey Regional Waste Management District plans to launch a year-long awareness campaign to help educate the community. He says the district is releasing an app called “What Goes Where” as well to help the community better understand what it accepts.

The district is also ensuring that the equipment in its new facility meets quality specifications in China and other markets, and part of that means the district has added more labor to sort lines. Brownell says the district is in the process of evaluating what additional equipment it could install to replace some of the labor to more cost effectively meet new market demands.

Brownell adds that the district is confident for the future of the recycling industry, as the industry is becoming much more transparent with new standards in place.

“What’s truly happening is the industry is becoming much more transparent,” he says. “We’re educating back to the public on what is and can be recyclable. My advice to other MRFs is to speak truth on what you’re able to recycle. Work with your haulers and work with your communities to educate folks on what’s occurring in MRFs to get the right materials running through facilities, so they can remain economically sustainable and environmentally impactful.”

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Source: Recycling Today
New MRF in Monterey County adjusts to new standards
<![CDATA[Photo courtesy of MRWMDTrade in recyclables has been difficult this past year, as China enacted stricter standards for the material it accepts. For the Monterey Regional Waste Management District in Marina, California, these changes came at an interesting time – the district had just opened a $24 million material recovery facility (MRF).“We started processing materials in February of this year,” says Tim Brownell, director of operations at Monterey Regional Waste Management District. “The full impact of changing conditions in China were in full force as we started processing. The impacts of that first and foremost were for us to look at the stream of recyclables coming in and start to make some decisions about what really belonged in the recycling stream.”Not long after launching the new facility, Brownell says the district had to take time to evaluate the materials it accepts and determine what falls under the nonrecyclable category.Additionally, he says the facility has been very busy. Originally, it was only intended to receive about 15,000 tons of recyclables per year in the form of single-stream recyclables and the balance would go to municipal solid waste (MSW).“We will end up processing 80,000 tons per year of MSW once we start…