3. What is a MRF? It's a Materials Recovery Facility

MRFs ("murfs") are where the contents of your recycling bin or cart go after a hauler picks them up.  Your recyclables are then sorted mechanically and by hand. 

There are 3 basic types of MRFs:  Single-Stream MRFs take commingled

materials like paper and plastics. These were developed to make it easier for the public to recycle and increase public participation.

Dual-stream MRFs are where paper goods are brought in separated from glass, tin cans and plastics. In general, dual-stream MRFs can produce cleaner end-products.  Because pre-sorting is done at home, and citizens are more involved, there are fewer contaminates.  

At Dirty MFRs, trash is loaded onto the tip floor and sorters attempt to remove non-contaminated materials.  Example:  A pizza box with leftover pizza is discarded but a clean cardboard box is recycled.  This is a very labor-intensive operation. 

MRFs ship bales of recycled commodities to various markets.  Buyers will reject these products if they are not clean enough.   Rejected or downgraded loads hurt processors and buyers.   

Preventing contamination starts with educated citizens acting responsibly with their recycling and waste materials.   

I'll discuss other types of recycling facilities in future posts.  

Image: MRF, Hume, Australia