Subscribe to Email List »

 Fred and Brian told us how they recently converted the plant from “comingled” (separated plastic/glass/metal from paper) to “single stream” (everything all mixed together).  Community members love single stream recycling due to its ease and simplicity.  FCR and other single stream processors use high tech equipment based on the low tech concepts of physics and geometry to sort the material.  Ari, Steve and I donned our protective glasses and reflective vests and headed into the plant.  It was fascinating!  There was surprisingly little odor, but lots of loud noise and dust as we made our way through the process , following  the recycled material.  A series of screens bounced the material up and down to separate out the three dimensional bottles/cans from the one dimensional cardboard and paper.  We watched as the lighter paper made its way up the ramps as the heavier bottles and cans dropped down below.  At one point, the bottles and cans pass through a high tech optical scanner which analyzes the type of material the item contains and sorts it accordingly!  Although the process is fully automated, all along the way were diligent workers pulling out pesky plastic bags (they can wrap around the belts and ruin the machinery) and pulling out items that were not recyclable.  It was unbelievable to watch the machines and workers gradually produce separate piles of tin, aluminum, different types of plastics, paper and cardboard.  The resulting piles were so pure that you had to really search to find items that didn’t belong.  They even have piles for rigid plastic that doesn’t fit into other categories, like the stray big wheel or even the old CH white recycling can.   Glass bottles end up being ground into tiny shards which can be used as drainage in landfills and other projects.  Fred and Brian told us that Temple Univ just purchased a bunch of the shredded glass to use in a construction project in Philly. FCR seems to be able to find uses for every thing that passes through their plant! 

The recycling collected through Recycle Bank from our CH residents is considered top quality and very clean by FCR.   I learned that it’s ok to occasionally throw non 1 & 2 plastics into my bins bc FCR even finds a way to keep those out of the landfill!  The one thing never to put in your recycling bin is plastic bags for the reason I stated previously.  

We left FCR a little dirty, but with a lot more knowledge about recycling and waste in general.  While we would love to offer tours of the plant to the public, we’ll have to settle for the informative DVD that Brian and Fred gave to SCH.  We are planning a whole “Trashy” evening in September with a panel of experts from Camden County, CH Township, Recycle Bank and FCR.  Stay tuned for more information on this great evening!  What a great experience it was to spend the afternoon at FCR.  A huge thank you to FCR , Fred and Brian for taking time out of their busy day to meet with us!

One Response