Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in the United States: Operations, revenue, and the impact of scale

An analysis was conducted using nationwide survey data to evaluate how material recovery facilities (MRFs) operations vary regionally and with scale. The survey characterized materials, processes, and energy use involved with operations, and revenue for recyclables. This is the first nationwide analysis of MRFs in the US that accounts for mass processed, energy consumed, and revenue. Of a population of 521 MRFs, 48 responses representing MRFs from five US regions were received and analyzed (9.2 % response rate). Responses were analyzed by size according to yearly mass of inbound materials (small: <1,000 Mg/year, medium: 1,000-10,000 Mg/year, and large: >10,000 Mg/year). Most MRFs identify as single-stream; source from residences; utilize tipping floors, picking lines, baling and warehousing; and are powered by electricity. Most revenue and inbound mass (>50 %) came from fiber (cardboard and paper). Glass had little revenue, and plastics were difficult to transition to market. Percent residue ranged from 1-39 %, averaged < 20 %, and increased as the mass of inbound material increased. Large MRFs reported more sources of material, employed advanced sorting technology, had greater plastics revenue (33 % versus 5 % for small MRFs), and had more market access for plastics compared to small MRFs. Large MRFs had two orders of magnitude less annual electricity consumption per Mg recyclables than small MRFs (5-90 kWh/Mg versus ∼ 300-550 kWh/Mg). Results demonstrate environmental and economic benefits of larger-scale MRFs, which could be implemented more broadly in the US through regional hub-and-spoke arrangements for collecting and processing recyclables, lowering energy consumption and increasing revenue for recyclables.