Dive Brief:

• The new Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) has opened in Pensacola, FL.
• Using equipment from Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), the facility can process 25 tons of single-stream recyclables per hour. Annual capacity is expected to be 40,000 tons.
• Sorting technology allows for a more than 95% recovery rate. Among the features is a Nihot glass cleanup system, which increases profitability from that material, and BHS' Metering Bin Liberator Class that has bag-ripping teeth.

Dive Insight:

This $10.6 million facility will serve approximately 100,000 ECUA customers across two counties and bring new processing stability to the region. The MRF is also projected to save money on tipping fees. The majority of ECUA's recyclables have been going to a landfill since the program was temporarily suspended last year due to the closure of the Infinitus mixed-waste processing facility in Montgomery, AL. 

"Building this facility has been instrumental in eliminating our reliance on outside contractors for the processing of this region’s recyclables," said Steve Sorrell, executive director of ECUA, in a press release. "Now, we can focus on what’s really important: keeping recyclable materials out of the landfills and putting them to good use once again."

The Oregon-based BHS has been involved in multiple high-profile projects this year. Two of the most recent examples are Unifi's Repreve Bottle Processing Center in North Carolina and Republic Services' upgraded Anaheim Recycling Center in California.