Source: Resource Recycling
The City of Memphis, known as the final resting place of the King of Rock and Roll, the home of Sun Studios and Stax Records, as well as savory southern cooking, is also the home to Resource Recycling’s July 2013 MRF of the month. ReCommunity Memphis opened in 1996 and recently received a single-stream processing retrofit completed in January.
The new equipment was designed, manufactured and installed by San Diego, California-based CP Group. At full capacity, the 20-tons-per-hour processing line is capable of managing upwards of 90,000 tons of material annually. In 2013, the MRF is expected to process 20,000 tons of material, up from from 2012’s total of 15,000 tons. The material mix for the facility is approximately 65 percent fiber and 35 percent commingled containers.
The MRF handles recycables from over 850,000 residents participating in single-stream curbside collection and drop-off programs in the City of Memphis and the surrounding communities of Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Hernando, Lakeland, Olive Branch and Southaven. ReCommunity Memphis also processes many hard plastics, including large plastic toys, plastic lawn furniture and 5-gallon or larger plastic pails or containers. In addition, small plastic containers, Nos. 1-7, aseptic cartons and metal pots and pans are processed at the plant.
ReCommunity Memphis also collects and processes commercial recyclable materials, leveraging its client-tailored collection programs, which have strengthened ties to the Memphis business community.
The system managing that material includes CP-manufactured screens to handle OCC, newsprint and for separating fibers from containers. It also includes two MSS Aladdin optical sorters for separating and recovering plastics and cartons and a glass cleaner.
The most common obstacle the MRF faces is the dreaded plastic bag, particularly in keeping the sacks separated from fiber. The 40,000-square-foot facility currently has a residue rate of 7 percent.
ReCommunity currently has 31 employees working one shift, five days a week, but the facility has the capacity to run two 10-hour shifts per day. Read More
Technical Specifications
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Start-up date: Originally opened in 1996, retrofit to single-stream in January 2013
Number of processing lines: One
Throughput: 20 tons per hour
Tons of material processed in 2012: 15,000 tons, expected to process 20,000 in 2013
Residue rate: 7 percent
