Adapting with new technology

In recent years, several trends are apparent at material recovery facilities (MRFs).

First, MRFs built only eight to 10 years ago were constructed and designed to sort newsprint. Today, newsprint makes up a much smaller portion of the inbound material stream at MRFs, and there are dozens of materials MRFs need to sort compared with only eight to 10 materials a decade ago.

Second, the physical size of packaging is getting smaller, so the sizes and shapes of materials MRF operators need to sort is different than it was a decade ago.

End markets also have changed for MRF materials. China used to be a major buyer of recovered paper from MRFs, but that nation will no longer be an end market starting in January. Remaining end markets are demanding higher quality materials, so this has prompted MRFs to invest in technology as a solution.

During a session titled “Improving MRF Efficiency and Productivity Through Technology” at the MRF Summit, which was jointly hosted by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the Silver Spring, Maryland-based Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), several panelists discussed how MRF technology is adapting to match these trends. The MRF Summit took place online Nov. 18-19.

Brent Hildebrand, vice president of recycling at Canada-based GFL Environmental, said technology can be used to help MRFs adapt to changing material streams, but he noted that a few things need to be in place first before making those investments. He said it’s essential that MRFs have strong safety programs and good maintenance programs first before considering investments in technology to boost efficiency.

“The safety side of this business for me is one of those things that keeps me up at night,” Hildebrand said. “I think if we had safety programs in these facilities that really show the people that we care about their safety, I think that really helps the efficiency of the MRF. When [employees] understand that we’re concerned about them, then they’ll take more pride in what they do, and that’s been my mentality with the people.

“The second piece of that is maintenance,” he continued. “None of these facilities are going to run very efficient if they don’t have an outstanding maintenance program. Before we even get going to the technology side of things, I think if you have those two areas covered, I think you can make your business a little more predictable in how efficient your system is going to run.”

From there, he added, it’s important that MRF operators evaluate their inbound material streams to determine what kind of equipment can help boost efficiency.

“Knowing the breakdown of the stream transitions into what kind of technology you are going to use,” he said. “Knowing the inbound stream will allow you to also utilize existing technologies better.”

During the panel discussion, which was moderated by Resource Recycling Systems’ Michael Timpane, Hildebrand and fellow panelists Will Herzog of Machinex and Rob Writz of Amp Robotics talked about ways to apply new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics at MRFs.

Writz said AI and robotics have evolved since he began working at Amp Robotics a few years ago. He noted that the company’s first robots deployed in the waste and recycling space could only achieve about 10 to 20 picks per minute. Today, he said, single robotic arms achieve about 70 to 80 picks per minute.

“Most likely that’s twice the speed of a human sorter,” he said. “Humans, at best, achieve 30 to 40 picks per minute—and it’s hard to sustain that over eight hours. The robots are more successful in those single-arm applications on container lines where they’re picking out desired plastics or containers. And on residue and last chance, they pick out anything of higher value that might have been missed. Then there are dual-arm configurations deployed into fiber lines to pull out contamination in those applications. In summary, robots are really increasing throughput at stations, helping with worker safety and helping to keep operations going to keep MRFs resilient.”

Writz also estimated there are probably several hundred robots deployed in single-stream, dual-stream and C&D waste and recycling applications across North America today. “That’s probably two to three times the number of robots as there were at this time last year.”

Herzog said he has noticed that more MRFs certainly are investing in automation and high-tech equipment, adding that technology has significantly evolved in the past few decades. He stressed that it’s important for MRFs to apply a variety of technologies and to use different tools for different jobs.

“What we regularly hear about robots is they are a good tool in the right place at the right time,” Herzog said, adding that there are instances in facilities where an optical device may perform better than robotics or vice versa. “You have to have the right tool in the right place at the right time.”

Hildebrand echoed Herzog’s sentiment regarding robotics. “I’m pretty bullish on robotics. But all of these facilities, like Will mentioned, are different. There are applications that are perfect [for robotics], and there are applications that just won’t work. But I can’t stress enough, like Will said, it has to be the right application. I’ve got a facility where I want to put more [robotics] in, but there’s not quite the right application. That’s where other technology comes into play, like optical sorting.”