GreenWaste Recovery opened a materials recovery facility (MRF) at the firm’s operation in San Jose, Calif.

The MRF for the San Jose-based company will process both commercial and residential single-stream recyclables at a rate of more than 40 tons per hour. The new system significantly expands the company’s processing capabilities, according to a news release.

Eugene, Ore.-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) designed, manufactured and installed the MRF, which uses BHS screen, Nihot air and NRT optical technologies to maximize diversion. BHS designed the system for flexibility and to be able to process a wide range of material streams and recover more than 95 percent of available commodities such as plastics, metals, cardboard, paper and glass.

“This system is another step forward as we continue to increase landfill diversion rates, striving towards a goal of zero waste,” said Frank Weigel, chief operating officer at GreenWaste Recovery.

One of the system’s features is that it can recover plastic bags using air and anti-wrap screen technologies. “Glass and plastic bags have been troublesome for some operators to process,” said BHS CEO Steve Miller. “With this equipment, GreenWaste Recovery will be able to capture these materials at high volumes and uptime for years to come.”

In May BHS designed, manufactured and installed one of the largest MRFs in the nation, for Penn Waste Inc. in Manchester, Pa. The 96,000-sq.-ft. single-stream facility more than tripled the company’s processing capabilities and improves recovery rates.

There’s been a slow but steady expansion in recycling infrastructure. Also in May solid waste firm Hamm Inc., Perry, Kan., expanded its MRF in Lawrence, Kan., to add a single-stream recycling operation. The new operation has the processing capacity of 10 metric tons per hour, with a planned further expansion to 20 metric tons per hour.

Late last year Lycoming County, Pa., opened a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility in Montgomery. City of Industry, Calif.-based Athens Services added an 80,000-sq.-ft. facility in Sun Valley, Calif. A public-private partnership expanded a MRF in Quebec City to double its capacity and efficiency. A year ago Recology Inc. opened a new 75,000 sq.-ft. MRF in Seattle.

The economic challenges of recycling was one of the prime topics at this year’s WasteExpo Investor Summit. Much talk focused on restructuring contracts. Republic Services Inc. wants to move toward a more waste-centric measure as a basis for contracts, as opposed to the standard Consumer Price Index. Waste Management Inc., meanwhile, would like to shift to a service fee model to charge for recycling.