The first STADLER Single Stream Sorting and Recycling Plant has been installed in Hamm Inc’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in the city of Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Installed by STADLER Anlagenbau, German parent company of South Carolina based STADLER America LLC, this installation indicates that the USA is starting to look further afield in its search for high tech, excellent quality sorting systems and components for the waste disposal and recycling industry.
Trevor Smart, International Sales Manager at STADLER UK said: “Europe has blazed the trail for the waste management industry globally, setting fine examples of high quality engineering and helping our customers achieve environmental excellence. The USA industry is growing and improving steadily and we are pleased that they are recognising that Europe can supply advanced sorting technology. Our cutting edge recycling equipment is one of the technologies that sets Europe’s recycling systems apart from the rest of the world. The knowledge and advice we can supply is also a huge asset to American firms looking to follow in Europe’s footsteps. “
The new operation, which sorts residential single stream material in Lawrence, the sixth largest city in the state of Kansas, which has a population of approximately 90,000 people, roughly equivalent to that of Lincoln in the UK. The waste consists mainly of paper and cardboard (OCC), PET and mixed plastics, glass, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, has a system with a capacity of 10 metric tonnes per hour, and there are plans to expand this to 20 metric tons per hour.
At the centre of the state-of-the-art single stream line is the large capacity
STADLER Ballistic Separator STT5000/101 which effectively sorts the materials stream into 2D (paper), 3D (containers) and fines. Its screening paddles, which are made of 10mm thick steelplates, separate the rolling and heavy materials such as plastic bottles, stones, wood, beverage and food cans and from flat and light materials such as films, textiles, paper, cardboard and fibrous products. The screening paddles have 45mm apertures to create a fines fraction. The ballistic separator effectively separates material in order to present the material the NIR (near infrared) sorters will work at maximum efficiency. The ballistic separator also features hydraulic adjustment for easy alteration of the angle of the paddles (in order to optimise its performance depending on the material it is processing) and doors for easy access.
Other key components of the plant are a DB Technologies OCC Screen, glass breaker and windshifter, a STEINERT optical sorter, magnet, and eddy current separator, and a JOEST flip flop screen.
In 2013, Lawrence established the single stream collection system to reduce the landfilling of recyclables and awarded Hamm the contract. STADLER’s planning period started in 2014, and the system was installed in the same year. The final start up took place in 2015.