A revolution in organics separation

As the diversion of organics across North America continues to gain in popularity and cities, counties and solid waste districts take action to divert these materials, developing methodologies is top of mind for the environmental services industry.

Recently, Quebec City implemented a progressive plan that is proving remarkably effective. Technology is at the heart of its new Organic Material Recovery System. That solution was developed by Machinex Technologies.

The program calls for residents across the city to source separate their organic materials and place them into specially supplied collection bags. Citizens then simply include those bags in their solid waste carts for regular collection. This allows the organics collection to piggyback on existing collection routes and trucks, reducing the program’s carbon footprint through maximized collection efficiency.

How the magic happens

The trick to making the organics recovery work lies in effective post-collection separation of the organic collection bags. While this has been previously attempted with a range of technological solutions, challenges often have developed as programs have scaled up and the volumes of incoming organics to separate have grown.

The system requirements for this plant were substantial. It had to be capable of processing 240,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste (MSW) and effectively separate 86,600 tons of organic material.

Due to Machinex’s deep experience in processing organics in the United Kingdom and Europe, they were keenly aware of the challenges the system would face. “We knew that the system would be required to separate a large and growing volume of organic collection bags and that they would have potentially significant weight” says Jonathan Ménard, vice president of sales and strategy at Machinex.

The novel approach Machinex took was to modify and retrain a MACH Hyspec® Optical Sorter equipped with a high-speed, short wave infra-red (SWIR) hyperspectral detection system. This was possible because the engineering team at Machinex had designed the unit from the ground up. Significant adjustments were made to transition from sorting single-stream recyclables to collection bags filled with organic material.

This is a unique application of an optical sorter, a first-of-its-kind in North America. The unit seamlessly identifies the organic collection bags. Once detected, the bags are swiftly propelled onto another conveyor for further processing.

Importantly, the ejection system had to be reengineered to handle the organic collection bags, which can have weights up to 55 pounds.

Success delivered

Once separated from the solid waste stream, the organic collection bags pass through a depackaging system and their contents are converted to an organic slurry. The slurry is pumped to an anaerobic digester on a nearby campus, where it is converted to create renewable natural gas (RNG) and digestate which can be used as a fertilizer product.

The integration of the MACH Hyspec® Optical Sorter into the system showcases Machinex’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology for efficient resource recovery and waste management. This innovative solution optimizes organics recovery, fostering a circular economy and reinforcing Quebec City’s position as a leader in sustainable waste management practices.

To learn more about organics and recycling system development to create a greener, cleaner and more environmentally responsible community, visit the Machinex website for case studies and your local contact.