According to research, each person in China produces about 492 kilograms of waste in a year.
With such a high waste production, authorities and companies need to develop proper management strategies.
One ideal method for managing waste and reducing pollution is using a waste sorting plant.
These facilities support the recycling process by separating waste more economically.
Are you wondering how a sorting plant works and how it helps the environment?
Here, we explain more details about the waste sorting process.
We’ll also discuss its benefits and help you understand how it helps increase the use of landfills and reduces costs.
The Waste Sorting Process
The primary function of a sorting plant is grouping waste materials based on the material and recyclability.
While the process may vary from one firm to another, there are several basic steps.
First, garbage porters pick waste from homes and companies, then take it to a material recovery facility .
The personnel in the location then weigh the waste loads and record them. This process allows easier garbage tracking and record keeping.
After weighing, the bin lorries empty the waste to undergo a pre-sorting process.
This step helps remove all the non-recyclable materials simplifying the grouping process.
The next stage involves placing the debris on a conveyor belt to start sorting.
If the amount of waste is high, the sorting plant may use advanced machines for most tasks.
Still, some sorting stages may require combining the use of various devices and manual labour.
Some of the machines used in a waste sorting plant are ballistic separators and trommels.
The facility can also use scanners and magnets to separate metallic and plastic items.
After the sorting process, the next step is to categorize the waste into types.
For example, the plant may group recyclable metal as scrap meaning that it is reusable.
During this stage, the plant will also subject the items to a detailed quality check.
This will help detect any impurities that may render the recyclable material unusable.
The test also allows separating the items into different quality grades.