Ever Wonder What Happens to Your Recyclables?

At the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)

When you put plastic jugs, newspapers, metal cans and glass bottles into your recycling bin, they are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF, pronounced murf) where a combination of machines and people sort the recyclables so that they can be made into new products we all use daily.

 

Introducing Single Stream Recycling at the New Recycling & Education Center

A very exciting change happened in Kent County, though. A new technology, called 'single stream recycling', arrived in the summer of 2010 that enables you (the recycler) to mix all your clean plastic jugs, metal cans, glass bottles and paper products together in one container.

The container will be given to you by your recycling company (whoever you have hired to pick up your recycling). Check with your hauler to see if they plan to make these changes, and when they will do so! Kent County is making these changes because a new facility has been constructed that will have new equipment and technology that makes sorting all these products possible. Kent County's Recycling & Education Center is an important feature of our community and makes recycling just a little bit easier!

The Kent County Recycling & Education Center earned LEED certification in 2011. LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Facts About the new Kent County Recycling & Education Center

  • Located at 977 Wealthy Street SW in Grand Rapids, MI
  • Processes up to 18 tons per hour (compared to 4-6 tons per hour at the previous facility)
  • Processes recyclables 6 hours per day (vs. 13 hours per day previously)
  • Processes 108 tons of recyclables per day (vs. 40 tons per day previously)
  • Features a 5,000 square foot education area that offers public meeting and classroom areas and a 125-foot long viewing platform to allow safe overhead viewing of the machinery processing recyclables.
  • Features state-of-the-art technology that allows residents to mix their recycling together at the curb because the new sorting process includes a combination of conveyors, shakers, blowers and magnets and requires little hand sorting

 

These new products go back into the economy!

Once we sort the recyclables at the Kent County MRF, they are baled and sent to the next processor where they may be cleaned, shredded or melted (depending on the material) to become new products.

These new products go back into the economy! While it's important to recycle, it's also important to buy recycled products. The more demand for recycled products, the more products will be made from recycled materials.
Plastic milk jugs can be made into park benches and playground equipment. Clear plastic juice & water bottles can be made into carpeting, clothing, and other textiles. Glass can be made into architectural and structural building blocks.
Aluminum can actually be recycled into new aluminum cans and foil! Steel is used to make car parts and construction materials Paper can be made into insulation for your home, newsprint, paperboard packaging or tissues.