Puente Hills RHRF

STEPS

Recycling Process

For efficiently segregating, sorting and preparing recyclable materials, this RHRF uses a combination of mechanical and manual operations recycling process, including a high-level series of conveyor belts, screening equipment, and AI-enabled equipment. The process begins at the materials drop-off area, where the trucks unload all the recyclables. These materials are then moved onto the conveyor systems with the help of a material handler, which carries them to the drum feeder, which spreads the materials evenly on the conveyor belt. The materials then enter the pre-sort area. In this phase, manually trained sorters remove heavy, bulky non-recyclable materials, tanglers, large contaminants, etc., which might cause equipment failure and impact processing accuracy. This stage is crucial for delivering high-quality materials in subsequent stages.

Recyclables usually enter the facility in sealed plastic bags, which need to be opened before processing. An equipment called the “bag breaker” tears open the bags, enabling materials to proceed for further processing, and all the plastic bags are removed for disposal. Once the unbagged materials enter the materials screen, lighter materials are separated from heavier materials. This screen is comprised of rotating discs and belts, which segregate two-dimensional items such as paper, cardboard, from the three-dimensional items such as containers, cans and bottles. Lighter items glide over the screens, whereas bulkier objects drop down for continued processing. In this stage, glass (one of the heaviest items) drops to the bottom layer. It is then fragmented, cleaned and conveyed for further sorting.

To improve the separation efficiency, materials flow through air separators that utilize targeted airflow to elevate light materials such as paperboards, whereas the denser materials, such as fluid-filled containers, fall onto a different conveyor belt. This system ensures that distinct materials are effectively separated before the next phase of processing. The polishing screen segregates the materials into two separate main streams. Within the three-dimensional stream, metals are recovered using magnet-based and electromagnetic sorting methods. Ferrous metals (iron and steel) are separated using an overhead powerful magnet. Non-ferrous metals (aluminum) are segregated using an eddy current. After the metals are removed, the remaining materials, mainly paper and plastics, go through optical sorting. Optical sorters utilize infrared technology to detect items based on their shape and chemical makeup. After detection, directed air streams divert certain materials onto a separate conveyor belt. On the three-dimensional line, different types of plastics, such as PET bottles (water bottles), detergent containers, and HDPE (milk containers), are sorted using optical sorters (OS). On the two-dimensional line, OS helps in segregating different grades of paper and helps in removing contaminants such as dark cardboard.

Along with the manual Q/C, the recycling facility also includes an AI-powered sorting robot. These robots are integrated with cutting-edge machine learning technology and are programmed to detect and eliminate unwanted materials from the sorted streams with exceptional speed and precision. The robot removes any non-PET items. Contrary to manual sorters who can handle 12-15 picks/minute, an AI robot sorter can manage up to 45 picks/minute. Once the sorting is completed, the materials are then sent for baling, where they are compressed, baled, and ready to be shipped.