Materials recovery facility
A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers. Generally, there are two different types: clean and dirty materials recovery facilities.
Industry and locations[edit]
In the United States, there are over 300 materials recovery facilities.[1] The total market size is estimated at $6.6B as of 2019.[2]
As of 2016, the top 75 were headed by Sims Municipal Recycling out of Brooklyn, New York.[3] Waste Management operated 95 MRF facilities total, with 26 in the top 75. ReCommunity operated 6 in the top 75. Republic Services operated 6 in the top 75. Waste Connections operated 4 in the top 75.
Business economics[edit]
In 2018, a survey in the Northeast United States found that the processing cost per ton was $82, versus a value of around $45 per ton.[4] Composition of the ton included 28% mixed paper and 24% old corrugated containers (OCC).[4]
Prices for OCC declined into 2019.[5] Three paper mill companies have announced initiatives to use more recycled fiber.[6]
Glass recycling is expensive for these facilities, but a study estimated that costs could be cut significantly by investments in improved glass processing.[7] In Texas, Austin and Houston have facilities which have invested glass recycling, built and operated by Balcones Recycling and FCC Environment, respectively.[8]
Robots have spread across the industry, helping with sorting.[9]
Types[edit]
Clean[edit]
A clean MRF accepts recyclable materials that have already been separated at the source from municipal solid waste generated by either residential or commercial sources. There are a variety of clean MRFs. The most common are single stream where all recyclable material is mixed, or dual stream MRFs, where source-separated recyclables are delivered in a mixed container stream (typically glass, ferrous metal, aluminum and other non-ferrous metals, PET [No.1] and HDPE [No.2] plastics) and a mixed paper stream including corrugated cardboard boxes, newspapers, magazines, office paper and junk mail. Material is sorted to specifications, then baled, shredded, crushed, compacted, or otherwise prepared for shipment to market.
History[edit]
In the United States, modern MRFs began in the 1970s. Peter Karter established Resource Recovery Systems, Inc. in Branford, Connecticut, the "first materials recovery facility (MRF)" in the US.[13][14][15]