South Carolina-based packaging products firm Sonoco has begun operation of a fully automated Material Recycling Facility (MRF) to process kerbside collected dual stream residential and commercial waste materials from the Raleigh and Wake County, NC area.
This new, 45,000 ft2 facility which uses a computer-automated reclamation processing system is operating under its wholly owned subsidiary, Paper Stock Dealers.
The machine automatically separates, stores, compacts and bales reclaimed newsprint, old corrugated containers and other recycled paper and packaging, aluminium, steel, glass and plastic using customised conveyors, an elliptical sorter, large storage hoppers and a fully automated horizontal baler.
After processing, the materials at the facility are transported by the company to domestic and international basic material manufacturers for the production of recycled products.
Waste Management World quoted Sonoco Recovered Paper Division, vice president and general manager Myles Cohen as saying: "Sonoco has invested nearly $5m in developing a fully automated materials recycling facility. We have been operating Raleigh's MRF for the past 10 years, and the company was recently awarded a new contract to continue reclaiming the community's kerbside recyclables.
"This new facility is replacing two older, less sophisticated facilities that were unable to meet the growing residential and commercial reclamation needs of the Raleigh and Wake County area."
Sonoco also said that the new facility will provide easy access to trucks carrying locally gathered recyclable materials.
