Totally 23 plants nationwide will use the new technology, which Rumpke Recycling plans to add at its Dayton, Columbus and Louisville, Kentucky, sites over the next several years.
The machines can sort 50 tons of materials an hour, compared with 15 to 20 tons an hour by current machines.
Although the price it receives for recycled materials has reduced, the company wants to be ready when prices rebound, new markets open and cities offer incentives for residents to recycle.
As landfill rate continue to go up, our challenge is to process a ton of recyclables at a cheaper rate than trash, Rumpke Recycling director Steve Sargent said. We’re getting close. Recycling is this company’s future.
The process of receiving new landfill sites and permits can take years, and taxes on dumping trash in Ohio could also increase by nearly 25% in 2009.
Rumpke Recycling has 37.7 million yards of landfill airspace in Colerain Township, west of Cincinnati, which is enough to last through 2024. It’s battled with the township since late 2006 for approval to expand on 206 acres, enough land to keep the landfill open another 30 years.
Without an expansion, Rumpke Recycling would be forced to find a new site or haul trash to one of its other regional landfills, which would drive up costs.
The new optical sorting machines will allow the company to double the amount of material it can collect, and the company expects demand for recycled material to rise as manufacturers redesign products and packages.
The more items that people can recycle, the more willing they are to do it, said Becky Haltermon, solid waste education coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Solid Waste Management Area.
Cincinnati companies such as Procter & Gamble, Macy’s and Kroger have asked how to make containers that can be sorted more easily. Rumpke Recycling also expects incentive programs like RecycleBank, a national program under pilot in suburban Montgomery, to grow recycling rates locally.
