News

June 25, 2012 - RethinkWaste was recently selected by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) to receive the 2012 Gold Excellence Award for Recycling Systems, the top national award for a recycling facility.   

The award recognizes Rethink Waste’s  $46 million project to redesign and construct an innovative recycling and transfer facility at the Shoreway Environmental Center, which features a 70,200-square-foot Material Recovery Facility (MRF) built by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS). The single-stream recycling system became fully operational in May 2011, and includes a 30-tph residential line and 20-tph commercial line. According to BHS, the system recovers more than 98 percent of available recyclables while achieving uptime in excess of 95 percent while also minimizing landfill waste. Less than 10 percent of material is sent out as residue.   

 “It is a real honor and a privilege to receive the top award in the country for our efforts to transform the outdated Shoreway Recycling and Disposal Facility into the Shoreway Environmental Center,” remarked Kevin McCarthy, Executive Director of RethinkWaste.

BHS CEO Steve Miller shared the excitement. “It is terrific to see RethinkWaste recognized for this world-class facility. It is a truly great achievement and a testament to all of the hard work that went into the planning and development and continued operation of one of the most efficient systems in the industry.”   

The SWANA Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities for their commitment to utilizing effective technoliges and processes in system design and opeations, among other factors. BHS systems says they have been awarded the SWANA Gold Excellence Award for Recycling Systems three out of the last four years, including every year that a MRF has been awarded the top honor.

Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), headquartered in Eugene, OR, is a worldwide leader in the innovative design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy, and construction and demolition industries. The company says they have built some of the biggest and most durable MRFs in the world – and that they are achieving the highest throughput, recovery, and purity rates in the industry.