POST-CONSUMER RECYCLING; IT'S A FANCY EXPRESSION FOR THE
MATERIALS THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC SEPARATES FROM ITS
GARBAGE, AND PUTS INTO THE RECYCLING STREAM.
CONNECTING POINT'S BRIAN SULLIVAN VISITED
THE SPRINGFIELD MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY,
AFFECTIONATELY REFERRED TO AS THE "MURPH," TO LEARN ALL ABOUT
POST-CONSUMER SINGLE STREAM, DUAL STREAM, AND THE BUSINESS OF
RECYCLING.
>> HERE IN MY APARTMENT THIS IS MY VERSION OF DUAL STREAM
RECYCLING.
PAPER AND CARDBOARD IN THIS BOX, EVERYTHING ELSE IN THESE OTHER
TWO.
THAT INCLUDES PLASTIC, METAL AND GLASS.
IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT LONG AGO THAT WE HAD MULTISTREAM
RECYCLING WHERE METAL HAD ITS OWN BIN AND GLASS WAS SEPARATED
BY ITS OWN COLOR AND PAPER BASED PRODUCTS HAD SEPARATE BINS AND
MY TRIP TO THE DUMP HAD SEVERAL BOXES AND BAGS AND IT WAS
ORGANIZED.
NOW IT ALL GOES IN TWO BAGS.
THIS ONE FOR PAPER.
THIS ONE -- EVERYTHING ELSE, AND DEPENDING ON WHO PROVIDES THE
PICKUP SERVICE ALL THAT SEPARATION WORK I DID IN MY
KITCHEN COULD BE NEGATED IF IT ENDS UP BEING IN A SINGLE STREAM
FACILITY.
SO INSTEAD OF PUTTING ALL OF THAT HARD WORK TO WASTE, WE
HEADED TO ONE OF THE LAST FEW DUAL STREAM OPERATIONS AROUND,
IN SPRINGFIELD.
THIS PLACE IS KNOWN AS THE MURPH OR MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY
WHICH OFFERS PAPER PROCESSING ON ONE SIDE AND PLASTIC, METAL AND
GLASS ON THE OTHER.
>> WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT PROCESSES.
ONE JUST FOR COMMINGLE SO WHEN THE TRUCKS COME IN THEY JUST
HAVE BOTTLES AND CANS AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER TRUCK -- THEY'LL
BRING IN JUST THE FIBER, THE PAPER, THE NEWSPAPER, OCC, WHICH
IS CARDBOARD AND SINGLE STREAM, EVERYTHING GOES IN THE SAME
BUCKET SO EVERYTHING GOES IN THE CONTAINER.
THE TRUCK COMES UP AND THEY TAKE EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE AND IT
GOES TO A FACILITY THAT WILL PROCESS EVERYTHING.
>> EVEN THOUGH DUAL STREAM RECYCLING IS JUST ONE STEP UP
ABOVE SINGLE STREAM, IT IS STILL BETTER.
ON THE FIBER SIDE OF THE BUILDING WE SEE FEWER
CONTAMINANTS AS A RESULT AND THERE'S A NEED FOR SOURCE
SEPARATION AND QUALITY CONTROL.
CARDBOARD MAKES ITS WAY FROM THE HOPPER UP TO THIS CONVEYER BELT
TO THIS ONE HERE AND THANKS TO SOME HELP FROM THE LU ABOUT EO
SYSTEM, AND SOME KEEN EYES AND FAST HANDS THE MAJORITY THAT
GETS IN HERE IS CARDBOARD OVER HERE AND WITH MORE EYES AND
HANDS TO GUARANTEE A CLEAN PRODUCT WHICH WHEN ALL IS SAID
AND DONE LOOKS LIKE THIS.
WITH MORE RECYCLABLE MATERIALS FLOWING THROUGH THE STREAM ON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE, THE PROCESS BECOMES A LITTLE MORE
INVOLVED.
>> ON OUR COMMINGLE SIDE, IT DOES -- IT GOES UP IN A CONVEYOR
BELT AND IT GOES INTO -- IN THE FIRST PART OF THE SYSTEM IT'LL
PULL ANY OF THE METALS OFF THE -- OFF THE FIRST CONVEYOR
BELT AND THEN IT GOES INTO A SORT ROOM WHERE WE HAVE SORTERS
WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY HAND-SORTING A LOT OF THESE
PRODUCTS.
>> WHILE THE SORTING ROOM MAY BE CONSIDERED THE CENTRAL ARTERY OF
THE COMMINGLE OPERATION THE MURPH TAKES IN ROUGHLY 2,000
TONS OF MATERIAL IN A MONTH.
THE OVER 70 CONTRIBUTING COMMUNITIES RUN ALL THE WAY FROM
ADAMS AND WESTFIELD.
IT'S ONE OF THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SINGLE AND DUAL STREAM
RECYCLING.
MORE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTING MEANS MORE RECYCLABLE MATERIALS IN THE
STREAM.
IDEALLY THAT'S GOOD BUSINESS FOR PLANTS LIKE THIS ONE BECAUSE
ONCE EVERYTHING IS SORTED, IT GETS PROCESSED AND CUBED INTO
THESE BALES WHICH ARE THEN SOLD AND TRADED ON THE OPEN MARKET
JUST LIKE ANY OTHER COMMODITY DEPENDING ON ITS DEMAND.
>> WE SELL IT AS A COMMODITY.
IT COULD BE STEEL, IT COULD BE ALUMINUM.
HDE NATURAL.
WE'LL SEPARATE THEM AND SELL THEM AS COMMODITIES.
>> PLASTICS IN PARTICULAR HAVE BEEN DOWNTURN.
POST-CONSUMER PLASTICS HAVE A LOW CONSUMER RATE WHICH COULD BE
9 AND 30%.
THIS MEANS A MAJORITY OF IT ENDS UP IN OUR LANDFILLS AND
ELSEWHERE AND NOT BEING RECIRCULATING.
NOW, WITH STRICTER REGULATIONS BEING ENFORCED BY FOREIGN
MARKETS TO WHICH THE MATERIALS ARE NORMALLY SENT COMMODITIES
ARE STAY STANDSTILL, AND IT'S A NEGATIVE REFLECTION OF SINGLE
AND DUAL STREAM RECYCLING WHERE RECYCLER WE'RE SEEING A HIGHER
RATE OF CONTAMINANTS AND GARBAGE IN THE STREAM AND AS A
THROW-AWAY SOCIETY MANY ARE SKIPPING TO THE REDUCE AND REUSE
AND GOING STRAIGHT TO THE RECYCLING BIN WHICH FOR THE MOST
PART IS JUST AS EASY AS THROWING THINGS AWAY.
THE PROPER BE IS, GARBAGE DOESN'T CUT IT HERE AT THE MURPH
OR ANY RECYCLING CENTER.
>> WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO REJECT A LOAD IF THEY'RE BRINGING IN A
LOT OF STUFF, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO SEE IN A
RECYCLING PLANT IS TRASH.
SO IF ANY KIND OF TRASH COMES IN HERE, THAT'S A DO NOT IN OUR
FACILITY.