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Rumpke Trip: XGL+
Material separation is a detail oriented and fast task (the conveyor belt does not stop) and there is continuous background noise.
As they sort through the trash on the conveyor belt, the workers throw what does not belong down this shaft.
this is where the plastics are sorted
File:Rumpke JJS conveyor belt.jpg From the complex single process of recycling, one of the most noticeable things is the never-ending conveyor carrying different material "sorted" or "to sort" (where you go you will see it).
File:Rumpke JJS paper pile1.jpg
File:Rumpke JJS paper pile2.jpg This mountain of paper is continuously loaded into trucks to be transported to recycling plants. Paper is a high volume material and it is fairly easy to sort.
File:Rumpke XGL+ nature vs. technology.JPG One of the heavy duty Rumpke trucks. Please notice the front wheel is in a frozen pool. Working outdoors in the winter is not an easy task for Rumpke.
File:Rumpke XGL+ final product aluminium.JPG These are compacted aluminum cans, maybe one of the most profitable and recyclable materials but also one of the ones with the lowest volume.
File:Rumpke XGL+ final product plastics.JPG This is how plastic looks once it is sorted and compacted. It will soon become something else (maybe a pipe/tube used in construction).
File:Rumpke XGL+ recycling the recycling bin.JPG Rumpke is completely consistent with its mission and recycles its own bins.
File:Rumpke XGL+ pastic bags destiny.JPG This is "no man's land". As we were informed, plastic bags are the most difficult material to recycle and one of the most dangerous elements to the ecosystems. This pile of bags is "unproductive".
File:Rumpke XGL+ where everything begins.JPG Everything begins as an amorphous mass of "to be recycled trash" that goes into a single stream and throughout the process is sorted according to the material (plastic, paper, aluminum).
File:Rumpke XGL+ work environment observations.JPG
File:Rumpke JJS trash bales.jpg a look at the recyclable material after it has been sorted and compacted |
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