Utilizing Technology to Clean Up Recycling Streams

Recycling facilities across the globe are undergoing upgrades and expansions in an effort to better manage materials and make materials cleaner. From integrating new technologies to utilizing new and improved equipment, these facilities are stepping up their game to meet current demands and prepare for the needs of the future.

One company creating efficient and effective equipment and systems for these recycling facilities is San Diego-based CP Group, which specializes in innovative material separation technology, innovation and equipment durability.

Waste360 spoke with Tony Bonds, marketing manager of CP Group, about what recycling equipment is currently on trend, what role technology is playing in recycling facilities and what CP is exhibiting at WasteExpo, held May 6-9 in Las Vegas.

Waste360: What is CP Group’s main focus heading into this year’s WasteExpo?

Tony Bonds: Our main focus is to connect with our current and potential customers. We also are very excited to have our newest mechanical separation equipment on display that focuses on anti-wrapping. We are looking forward to the many discussions about the new equipment.

Waste360: What will CP Group be exhibiting at the show?

Tony Bonds: We will be showcasing three pieces of equipment in our booth (#1836) at WasteExpo—the most we’ve ever done. We will have our CP Auger Screen running, so people can see the unique cantilevered auger rotors in action. We also will have our new CP Anti-Wrap Screen on display, so people can see how the oversized rotors and other design features help reduce material wrapping in materials recovery facility (MRF) applications. And, finally, we will have our CP Disc Screen demo unit showing disc patterns for our CPScreen and CP Glass Breaker.

Waste360: What role is technology currently playing in recycling facilities?

Tony Bonds: Technology is huge in MRFs. At CP Group, our focus is on providing selective sorting with our advanced MSS optical sorting units. When designing systems or retrofits, we find that optical sorting units can often replace screens, several manual sorters or both, providing the best possible return on investment to the customer. We also use technology to look at historical trends and data in real time—to give operators the information they need to make proactive decisions.

Waste360: What recycling equipment trends are you seeing right now?

Tony Bonds: Our customers are voicing the need for cleaner fiber. We have responded to this by developing the MSS FiberMax with selective sorting capabilities that provides the purest end product of any fiber separation technology on the market today. It is also the only optical sorter running at 1,000 feet per minute, which we have seen has huge benefits like higher purity and recovery while replacing more human sorters and keeping OPEX lower.

Waste360: How is CP Group adapting to the demands/changes within the recycling industry and helping to ensure facilities are equipped with the most efficient equipment possible?

Tony Bonds: The demands are for higher purity with lower OPEX. That’s why we have focused on optical sorting and low-maintenance mechanical equipment to meet the current demands of the market and anticipate future market demands.

As materials and markets evolve, our customers need to be prepared to adapt and change with the markets. This is why selective sorting is so important. We have installed more than 48 MSS FiberMax optical sorting units worldwide, and demand for them is only growing.

Additionally, we are designing new systems with our CP Auger Screen, which acts as a powerful presort screen, diverting material like old corrugated cardboard and rigid plastics upfront in order to increase efficiency and maximize material recovery at all other stages in the system. We developed the CP Anti-Wrapping Screen with oversized rotors designed to mitigate wrapping and other design features to ensure it can be cleaned quickly and easily, resulting in minimal downtime.

Waste360: What can we expect to see from CP Group in 2019 and beyond?

Tony Bonds: Continued innovation to meet our customer demands, as well as design flexibility, low OPEX equipment and improvements in data used at MRFs for proactive decision-making.