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(Music playing)
Ever wonder what happens to your recycling when it leaves the curb?
In this video, you'll get an inside look at RI's new,
state-of-the-art Materials Recycling Facility
or the "MRF", for short.
All of RI's 39 cities and towns deliver their municipal recyclables
to the MRF at the RI Resource Recovery Corporation's facility in Johnston.
Here your recyclables, which can now be mixed together, are sorted into separate commodities
that are sold around the world as raw materials for new products.
So how do we do it?
Let's step inside and find out.
Trucks from across RI bring mixed recyclables to the MRF
and their journey begins on the tip floor.
The tip floor is where trucks empty out all of their contents.
From the tip floor, recyclables are scooped up in a payloader
and dropped into the first piece of sorting equipment: the drum feeder.
Inside the drum feeder
a very large, fast spinning, steel rotor meters out the material,
allowing just the right amount to pass onto the next conveyor.
It also loosens materials up, maintaining an ideal density
for the next step in the sorting process: the presort.
In the presort area
workers are responsible for removing those items
that have been incorrectly placed in the recycling receptacles
and ALSO have the ability to damage the system they are about to enter.
These items, including scrap metal
large bulky plastics, plastic bags
textiles, chains, pipes
hoses, and rope
can cause damage to the equipment
injury to workers
and a reduction in the quality of the materials we sell to recyclers.
The workers in the pre-sort area
try to remove as many of these items as they can
before the materials get to the next part of the sorting process:
the first star screen.
The facility contains 4 different star screens.
Star screens are wide, steel boxes
containing rows of steel shafts.
On each individual shaft
is a series of star-shaped disks,
and depending on the screen,
these disks will vary in their composition, their size and their spacing.
These factors determine which items will surf over the disks
and which will pass through the space between them.
The first screen uses very large, rubber, widely-spaced stars
to separate out the bigger pieces of cardboard.
Sorters perform quality control on this stream of cardboard
picking out any other items that managed to surf over
and dropping them down a chute that will take them where they need to be.
Across the way on the commingled sorting deck
workers are assigned to the rest of the mixed recyclables
that fell through the first star screen.
They continue to pull out troublesome items like plastic bags and scrap metal
but also pull out the smaller pieces of cardboard
that didn't surf over the top of the stars.
The smaller pieces of cardboard they pick fall to a conveyor belt below
that meets up with the one already carrying the large cardboard,
bringing all the cardboard together
before the mixed recyclables encounter the next set of star screens:
the fiber-container and commingled screens.
The fiber-container screens are much different than the first screen for cardboard.
The stars are much smaller and the entire screen is positioned at an angle.
The screen is also double-stacked
meaning there is a second set of identical screens just below the first.
Here, light, fluffy paper
which we call newsprint
is able to climb up the screens.
What can't make the climb
are those items that have more bulk and dimension to them-
in other words, all of the recyclable containers.
Containers succumb to gravity
and roll backwards to the bottom of the fiber-container screens
where a conveyor belt catches and moves them
on to the next screen -- the commingled screen.
The commingled screen is also set at an angle,
but the stars are extremely close together.
Here, aided by air blowing up from underneath
newsprint and other types of mixed paper
are able to climb up the screens
and the containers roll back once again
and make parting ways with remaining fiber.
The containers are then moved by conveyor belt
to the other side of the facility.
Next up is the fiber sorting deck.
Here, sorters perform quality control
on the paper that has just climbed over one or more of the screens.
Sorters continue to pull out
improperly recycled plastic bags and film
but also try to catch any cardboard or containers that made the climb.
Why would a container make the climb?
When people crush or stomp on containers until they are completely flat
it essentially makes those containers act like paper in the sorting system.
For this reason, we ask our residents to refrain from completely flattening their containers.
Light compaction is OK.
We now we have three separate commodities on the fiber end of things
with lines of cardboard,
the light, fluffy newsprint,
and the smaller scraps of mixed paper,
but before we see how it all turns out in the end,
let's pause and go see what happened to everything else:
all those things that rolled back off the second set of star screens:
the containers.
The first thing that the line of mixed containers encounters
is a large, powerful, permanent magnet
that is suspended over the belt carrying them.
The magnet itself is surrounded by a circular belt
that continuously spins around,
attracting those containers that contain iron - steel and tin cans.
The overhead magnet essentially pulls steel and tin cans
off the conveyor belt running below,
and then releases them at its non-magnetized end,
away from other mixed recyclables
and onto their own conveyor belt.
The remaining mix continues on its way until it reaches the glass breaking screen.
The broken glass is then transported by conveyor
to the glass processing deck
where a hammer-mill smashes them down to even smaller pieces.
Now back to the remaining containers that surfed over the glass breaking screen.
The next piece of sorting equipment is the Eddy current separator
used to mechanically sort out aluminum recyclables from the mix.
While containers containing iron, like steel or tin cans,
were picked up by our permanent overhead magnet,
all the aluminum cans, foil, and pie plates that do not contain iron
passed under that magnet untouched.
Now they meet their match with the Eddy current separator
which rotates to create a changing magnetic field.
This changing magnetic field creates an electric current,
called an Eddy current, in the aluminum,
causing it to repel away from the conveyor belt,
while other materials drop off at the end.
After some quality control to remove hitchhikers-
those items that were swept up by the sheer force of the cans repulsion-
it's time to get them to the opposite side of the facility.
Space is tight,
so a large rotary fan
produces a high velocity flow of air
to carry the aluminum cans through a network of steel pipes,
all the way across the plant to their storage bin.
So what's left in the container stream?
We've sorted out the steel, tin, glass, and aluminum.
What we have left is a mix of plastic containers.
But along with those plastic containers,
there is still some film and some paper
and we need to clean that up.
That brings us to our first optical sorter.
There are 4 optical sorters in the facility.
Using their ability to judge how light reflects off various materials differently,
these devices can distinguish between different materials
based on their type, shape, and color,
all depending on how we set our controls.
Once a targeted item is recognized,
an instantaneous blast of air will move it to where it needs to go next.
At this first optical sorter,
paper is targeted
and removed from the plastic container stream.
Remaining plastic containers will then drop below
and into the ballistic separator.
Though it cannot be seen in action,
this large machine is used to remove remaining plastic bags and film.
It contains a series of side-by-side, rectangular paddles
that are stationed at an angle
and move in such a way
that plastic film walks forward
while containers roll back
and continue on to the remaining optical sorters.
These optical sorters will sort out the plastic containers
into 3 separate commodities:
clear bottles, natural plastic jugs, and colored jugs,
leaving a 4th container mix.
One of the best features of the optical sorting system
is our ability to change what it sorts for,
depending on how recycling markets change over time.
Now we're almost to the end!
And, if you can recall,
the containers are now in the same position where we left the fiber.
The final step in the sorting process is the last line of quality control.
Sorters on both the fiber lines and the container lines
make sure everything is where it needs to be
before each of these individual commodities
falls into its own storage bunker.
Here, the recyclables remain
until the bunker fills
and we are ready to make the finished product.
Once ready,
the storage bunker's door will open
and its contents will move on yet another conveyor belt.
which brings us to the last machine in the process
before materials are shipped to markets around the globe-
the baler.
There are 2 balers in total --
one used for the fiber
and one used for the containers.
The balers compact recyclables at very high pressures
to produce large, dense cubes of material,
which are then wrapped with wire so they stay intact while they travel.
Each bale can weigh anywhere between 1/2 and 1 full ton.
The bales are then moved to their waiting area
so they are ready for pick-up and delivery to recyclers.
The sale of recyclables often results in a profit,
and that profit is shared back
with each of RI's 39 cities and towns,
according to how many tons they deliver to us each year.
The more you recycle,
the more your city or town earns
and can reinvest back into recycling programs.
Recycling makes sense!
So there you have it.
Our state-of-the-art MRF
uses a combination of manual,
mechanical,
and optical sorting technologies
to produce separate bales of each product we sell.
The MRF is a technological marvel.
That means you don't have to lose sleep over making a recycling mistake;
however, the more you know about what can and cannot be recycled,
and the better job each of us does
in correctly preparing our recyclables for pick-up,
the better it is for keeping our system working efficiently,
keeping our workers safe,
and producing a higher quality product.
For everything you need to know about RI's program,
please visit us at www.recycletogetherri.org.
(sound of truck driving by)
Ever wonder if you can recycle more than what goes in your bin?
In this video you'll learn about special recycling programs at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and around the state.
From time to time, everyone is faced with disposing of something while feeling unsure if they can recycle it or not.
Household items that we go through with regularity
are accepted in the Recycle Together program,
can be collected curbside,
and are processed at the Materials Recycling Facility—
but not all items can be collected or processed in this manner.
Items that are too big to run through the system
or too difficult to sort
may be eligible for recycling when delivered separately.
At the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
we accept these special items from all RI residents in our Small Vehicle Area.
In the Small Vehicle Area, residents can drop off the following items for free:
antifreeze, motor oil and oil filters, cooking oil,
books, donatable CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes,
dry, odorless textiles,
bulky, rigid plastics
large, coolant-free appliances like washers and dryers,
scrap items that are 100% metal
TVs, computers, and devices that hook into computers like keyboards, mice, and printers.
You can also drop-off regular recyclables here for free
if you don't have access to collection,
or if you have a lot of recycling built up
and don't want to wait for pick-up.
For a fee, residents can also drop-off automotive batteries,
clean wood with no paint or stain,
tires,
mattresses,
and appliances with a coolant like refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners.
There is also a place to bring trash.
That's a lot to remember, so luckily you can find a list of everything we accept on our website,
and there is always an attendant on duty to help you.
The Small Vehicle Area is open during normal operating hours.
And while all RI residents are welcome to use this drop-off facility,
many cities and towns have similar set ups at their waste transfer stations,
recycling centers, or departments of public works.
Some also have pick-up options for one or more items,
though often on a special schedule or by appointment.
Always contact your Department of Public Works first, to see what your local options are for these items.
You can find their contact information at www.rirrc.org/local.
If there isn't a convenient option, you are always welcome here.
Now you're ready to go beyond your recycling bin!
For a list of everything we accept in our Small Vehicle Area,
please visit us at www.rirrc.org/sva
(sounds of truck driving by)
Ever wonder what to do with a substance labeled with words like "flammable", "combustible", "toxic", or "poison"?
In this video you'll get an inside look at RI's Eco-Depot collection program for Household Hazardous Waste.
Substances such as oil-based paint, rechargeable batteries, poisons,
pesticides, fertilizers, propane tanks, cleaning chemicals, and mercury
should never be poured down the drain or disposed of in the trash.
Most people would be horrified to find out a vandal was pouring toxic substances into Narragansett Bay,
but too often people put these substances into their trash or down their drain without thinking twice.
In fact, every year it is estimated that Americans improperly dispose of about 192 million gallons of used motor oil.
This is nearly the same amount that was left by the BP oil spill in 2010.
Luckily, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation provides a free and easy way
to help Rhode Island residents do the right thing with hazardous materials generated in their home.
Never been to an Eco-Depot collection event? Let's visit one to find out how it works!
Eco-Depot collections are held on about 45 Saturdays each year.
About half of the collections are held at our facility in Johnston
and the other half in cities and towns across the state.
Household Hazardous Waste is the only material residents need to make an appointment for, to drop off.
Appointments are used to avoid having everyone arrive at the event at the same time. We try to serve about 25 people every 15 minutes.
When you make an appointment, either online or over the phone,
you'll be sent an inventory sheet to fill out listing the items you are bringing.
Your appointment time will be confirmed, and you will also get directions to your collection event.
When you arrive that day, a friendly face will greet you and direct you to where you need to be.
After handing over your inventory sheet, a trained professional will take the hazardous materials from your vehicle and send you on your way.
You won't even need to get out! It's that easy!
Once your hazardous waste has been removed from your vehicle, it will be separated or consolidated, stored, and labeled appropriately.
Depending on the substance, hazardous waste is repurposed, converted to energy, or disposed of properly.
For example, paint and mercury are reclaimed and reused,
while flammables and other combustibles are used to make electricity.
Anything that can't be recycled or repurposed is safely disposed of in landfills designed to take hazardous waste.
None of the hazardous waste we accept is put into the Central Landfill.
So there you have it! RI's program for dropping-off household hazardous waste is free and easy to use,
and you can be sure that your waste is being handled safely and reclaimed, recycled, or disposed of properly.
For a list of the materials we accept, a calendar of collection dates, and an online form for making an appointment,
please visit us at www.rirrc.org/ecodepot.
(sound of truck driving by)
(Music playing)
Ever wonder what happens to your leaf and yard debris when it leaves the curb?
In this video We'll explore the leaf and yard debris composting operation at the Rhode Island Resource Corporation.
Many of RI's cities and towns, and private landscapers, bring leaf and yard debris
to our facility in Johnston.
While some compost locally, each year, we take in about 40,000 tons of material and turn it into compost.
So how do we do it?
Let's visit the compost operation and find out!
RIRRC accepts brush and branches less than 2" inches in diameter,
and leaves, twigs, and grass clippings that are free of any trash
We can accept it either loosely,
or in paper yard waste bags.
Leaf and yard debris should never be placed in plastic bags, as these end up in the trash.
Once materials arrive they are fed into a grinder.
The grinder is a very large chipper, that runs the debris through blades
before sending it back out by conveyor.
This process reduces the size of individual debris pieces and provides the initial mixing of materials.
The ground-up debris is then placed in long rows, called windrows, for decomposition.
Decomposition is the breaking down of organic material so it can be useful once again.
Using specialized vehicles and machinery, the windrows are kept moist
and are turned regularly to provide necessary oxygen.
When organic materials break down in the presence of oxygen,
they do so because of the microbes that also thrive in oxygen-rich environments.
These microbes essentially eat the debris, leaving behind finished compost.
When the compost has stabilized - meaning it is no longer in active decomposition -
it is screened using a trommel.
A trommel is a spinning, cylindrical screen that separates materials by size.
Finally, the finished product is tested for things like heavy metals and toxic organics,
and the results determine how the compost is classified.
Our process produces a Class "A" compost with unlimited uses
that is also approved by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for use in organic farming.
It takes 4 to 6 months for us to produce compost. And what becomes of it?
Some compost is used onsite, some is used in municipal projects, some is sold to residents,
and the remainder is sold wholesale for things like turf farming, sports field construction, wetlands restoration and rooftop gardening.
In addition to this large scale composting operation,
we also encourage local composting of leaf and yard debris and additionally, of food scraps.
All RI residents can purchase a backyard compost bin from us at a discount.
So there you have it!
The RI Resource Recovery Corporation composts much of the state's leaf and yard debris,
makes a high quality compost from it,
and sells backyard bins so you can compost even more materials at home.
For information about our compost programs, please visit us at www.rirrc.org/compost.
(sound of truck driving by)
Music playing
Ever wonder what happens to your trash when it leaves the curb?
In this video you'll get an inside look at RI's Central Landfill.
Sanitary landfills, like RI's, are environmental engineering structures,
where trash is buried in such a way that it has little contact with the surrounding environment,
and this design contrasts greatly with the trash "dumps" of the past.
Trash dumps required little planning and were not regulated the way landfills are today.
Both the RI Department of Environmental Management and the United States Environmental Protection Agency heavily regulate our landfill.
So how is the Central Landfill engineered and operated to keep the surrounding environment safe? Let's take a look and find out!
First some facts: At the very top, the Central Landfill is about 250 feet tall from existing ground and about 570 feet as measured from sea level.
Contrary to urban legend, it is NOT the highest point in RI.
The disposal footprint of the landfill is currently around 250 acres, and once filled to capacity, will have grown to about 350 acres, total.
If trash levels remain the same, we project to be at capacity in 20-25 years;
however, if trash levels decrease from waste reduction, reuse, and recycling,
the landfill can serve the next generation of Rhode Islanders for longer.
Landfills are built in sections, called "phases", and the construction of each phase begins when we excavate an area approved for such use.
The highest recorded groundwater level below this area must be determined,
and a distance of at least 5 feet must remain between this level and the bottom of the landfill.
Groundwater protection is essential.
Before any trash can be deposited,a landfill must also be lined.
Layers of clay, sand, stone, and thick plastic are constructed to separate the trash from the environment below.
Sandwiched within the layers are perforated pipes
designed to capture and remove any water that manages to flow through the trash,
so it can be removed and treated appropriately. This dirty water is called leachate.
Once the protective liners and leachate pipes are in place,
one day's trash can be deposited in a small area, which we call a "cell".
Trucks from across RI (and only from RI) bring trash to us each day.
They are weighed on their way in and out, so we can determine the amount of trash going to the landfill and the fee.
RI's cities, towns and commercial entities are charged to dispose of trash, but we do not charge them for their recycling.
After being weighed, trash trucks are directed to tip out their contents into the day's cell.
Trash is inspected for prohibited items, and once it is deemed safe,
a large compactor will run over the trash,
crushing it, and ensuring we are getting the most trash into the smallest space possible.
Surrounding this active area where trucks are tipping trash,
portable litter fences are set up to maximize the amount of litter they can catch, before it escapes the working area.
Empty plastic bags and film are frequent culprits.
With the exception of cling wrap which must go in the trash,
we ask all residents to bring any clear or translucent and stretchy plastic bags and film,
back to any large store in RI for recycling.
Each day, about 400 trucks bring us trash and this process of tipping,
inspecting,
and compacting, takes place for each.
By the end of the day, all the deposited trash must be covered by material such as gravel,
soil,
or a stucco-like substance.
No trash can be left exposed overnight.
Day after day, this process repeats.
Once all of the cells in the open phase of the landfill are full,
the phase needs to be covered more permanently, in a process called "capping".
Much like the layering system that lined the landfill underneath, a similar layering system must cover it.
Soil and plastic are used once again, and in addition, compost tops off the cap.
Grass is then planted to prevent erosion.
Along with the liner, the cap now seals the trash inside, like a giant Zip-loc bag,
preventing rainwater from coming in contact with the trash in that specific area.
Instead, rainwater (which we call runoff) rolls off capped areas and away from the trash.
With the assistance of engineered drainage benches and chutes,
the runoff is guided into a series of detention ponds that surround the landfill.
Runoff can carry sediment along with it,
so the ponds are designed in such a way that as it moves through each one,
the sediment can settle, and we can periodically dredge the bottom to remove it.
Let's look again at a capped phase of the Central Landfill.
You'll notice that many vertical pipes are jutting out.
We know how pipes embedded at the bottom of the landfill serve as a collection system for leachate;
however, these pipes are a part of a different matrix of pipes
that also serve as a collection system - this time for landfill gas.
When trash decomposes in the absence of oxygen,
it does so because of the presence of tiny microbes that also thrive in such an oxygen-depleted environment.
These microbes, which essentially eat our trash,
produce gas as a by-product of their digestion.
This gas is composed of nearly half carbon dioxide and half methane,
with trace amounts of other gasses, such as hydrogen sulfide.
The gas produced through the decomposition of trash in the landfill needs to be captured
and at a minimum, we are required to burn or "flare" the methane gas off.
Why is this important? Both methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gasses
that trap heat in our atmosphere
however methane is about 21 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide.
Flaring methane turns it into carbon dioxide and water
and reduces the impact that landfill gas has on the environment.
At RI's Central Landfill, we go beyond required flaring,
and transport the gas through both the vertical pipes you see jutting out
and horizontal ones you cannot see.
Through this system, gas is sent to an energy plant that uses the gas as fuel to make electricity.
This energy plant, operated by Broadrock Renewable Energy,
annually generates the equivalent of what it takes to power about 28,000 RI homes
and this electricity is put onto RI's energy grid.
In addition to all the physical structures we must design, build,
operate and maintain,
we must also rigorously test the surrounding air, soil, and water
to ensure we remain in compliance with environmental regulation.
In some ways we go beyond regulation to protect and enhance the surrounding environment.
One example of this is our Wildlife at Work certification,
awarded to us by the Wildlife Habitat Council for enhancement of habitat on our property.
So there you have it. Much planning, design, engineering,
and skillful operation goes into running RI's Central Landfill each day,
in order to properly manage your trash, while also keeping the surrounding environment safe.
To find out more about the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation,
please visit us at www.rirrc.org.
This video has been brought to you by the RI Resource Recovery Corporation.
Working together to recycle more.