Garbagé

Today marked the first of our technical visits regarding the reason why we're all here: trash. We boarded the bus this morning to visit a waste sorting facility on the western side of the island. Stepping out at the plant, the smell made it obvious where we were. We started off our tour with a video about the facility, translated by Professor Onnis-Hayden as we went along. We learned that there were three sections to the sorting center.

• The dry section processed non-organic materials that weren't recyclable. They were sorted and then shredded and baled for transportation to an incineration plant. We weren't allowed to enter this area without proper protective equipment, so we just poked our heads in from the doorway.



Catching a glimpse of all the action

• The composting section consisted of food and yard waste that was shredded and composted to produce fertilizer. The plant engineer explained that there are not enough solids that naturally occur in the waste brought in, so they supplement it with wood chips. The ratios of food and yard waste must be very precise, and the mixing times and internal temperature need to be monitored to ensure that the final product is safe to handle. This area was not in operation today, so we didn't go in.
• The last major part of the plant was the plastic and metal recycling. Here, a variety of machines sort all types of plastic refuse- plastic bags, containers, and many varieties of bottles and jugs. Once plastics are separated into the same types, they are baled and sold to manufacturers who can recycle them.

Bales of plastic await removal to a storage area.

Walking around the plastics and aluminum area was honestly overwhelming. There are conveyor belts that automate the whole process, so forklifts only move around the final separated plastics. We walked the system from start to finish, and there are so many little steps to sort everything out. The video below shows some clips of all the different steps throughout the process (shout out to Google Photos for automatically making compilation videos).

Although most of the process was done by machines, there were workers picking out plastics that didn't belong after initial sorting, and right before the end when all like plastics were together. I couldn't help but to feel bad for the workers. The smell was terrible, the machinery was loud, and it seems like dirty, monotonous work. I can't imagine how much worse the work was before automation took over the large majority of the sorting. 

A worker performs final checks of plastics at the end of the sorting process. 

I'm sure by this point you're tired of hearing about trash, and I'm just plain tired so I will wrap up with a few tidbits that I found interesting about the plant. 

• The plant engineer said that the region they collect waste from has about a 70% recycling efficiency. This is very good, but they still sort the 'dry waste' (first section) for any metals or plastics that can be removed.
• The entire plant employees about 35 people. I was extremely impressed by this, as it really was a massive facility with so much going on. Thank goodness for industrial engineering majors and automation!
• The facility is only about 5 years old, and was funded partially by money from the EU. As we examine European waste management legislation in class, I can't help but wistfully think that one day the U.S. will devote funds to resource recovery facilities such as this.
• The plant is extremely sustainable. All of the roofs have solar panels, and the plant engineer said that their next plan was to add an anaerobic digester for the compost. The digester would allow them to capture methane to burn and produce more energy. The facility also captures rainwater and uses it to dampen compost, water biofilters, and provide water to bathrooms. 

Although I was disappointed we didn't get to see the composting and dry waste sections, this will not be the last of our trash excursions! This was my first time ever seeing a facility of this sort. It was really cool to see the automated systems and just how efficient the whole process was. A few more trips and maybe I'll get used to the smell. 

BONUS: in the plastic and aluminum section, I spotted what I thought were rats. As our group got closer we realized they were baby kittens. The mom ran off but the babies hid in between the bales of aluminum cans. Life finds a way I guess?

One of these things is not like the others