Where does recycling really go in Manatee County? Take a look inside the facility
Sorting your recyclable paper, plastic and glass from your regular trash is one of the first steps, but the journey toward an environmentally sustainable future doesn’t end there.
The Waste Pro Recycling Center handles the vast majority of Manatee County’s recycling materials by collecting, sorting and selling more than 3,000 tons every month. The facility is a well-oiled machine that relies on conservation-minded residents who enjoy recycling, operators say.
“We’re high on recycling because it’s the right thing to do,” said Bob ten Haaf, the company’s divisional vice president. “Environmentally, it’s the right thing to do, so we’re going to continue to do it.”
Recycling has been making headlines in Manatee County after the City of Bradenton decided to stop curbside service, instead asking residents to bring their recyclables to drop-off points so the blue bins can be used for yard waste.
Just east of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, Waste Pro’s recycling center accepts the county’s recycling material in a warehouse about the size of a football field.
In order to bundle materials by type, a combination of machines and employees work together to sort the materials into separate piles. The process starts with a bulldozer that scoops up the recycling and puts it on a conveyor belt.
One of the first stops on the conveyor belt is the glass breaker, which filters out glass bottles and containers by breaking them into smaller pieces so that they are easier to recycle. Everything else moves on to the next area.
Next, keen-eyed workers work quickly to yank cardboard boxes from the conveyor belt, along with newspapers, magazines and junk mail.
The sorting system includes some high-tech features, too. An optical sorter machine uses a camera and a computer to scan digital images of what’s on the conveyor belt. The machine is programmed to automatically identify plastic bottles and hit them with a burst of air that knocks them off the line and into a new pile.
Depending on how it’s made, aluminum isn’t always magnetic, but another handy tool solves that problem. Waste Pro’s facility uses a device that generates an electromagnetic field to pull aluminum products off of the conveyor belt.
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Throughout the entire sorting process, workers line the conveyor belt in the warehouse to search for recyclable items that were missed earlier in the process and to remove items that can’t be recycled at all.
“The challenge is when people put in what they can’t recycle,” said ten Haaf. “When in doubt, leave it out.”
“We’ve seen all sorts of items that can’t be recycled here, from bowling balls to garden hoses,” added plant manager Pete Moroz.
Once all of the plastic, paper, metal and cardboard have been sorted into their separate piles, site operators run them through a machine that compacts the material into cubes. Those cubes are stored in the warehouse until buyers are able to pick them up from the facility.
The price of each material varies depending on the market. Aluminum can be sold for around $2,000 a ton, while mixed paper sells for about $140, operators said.
Following a trend throughout the country, Waste Pro says recycling hasn’t been a huge moneymaker for several years. Despite the ever-changing market for recycling goods, the company urges residents to continue doing their part to ensure materials can be repurposed.
“We want recycling to continue to be a habit, and I believe we can get people there,” said ten Haaf.
