SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Marking its 75th year of business, Marin Sanitary Service has acquired two new pieces of equipment to prevent tons of food waste and paper recyclables from ending up in landfills. From establishing the first countywide curbside recycling program in the country in the 1980s to acquiring the new technology, the company continues to lead the way toward a goal of zero waste, said Patty Garbarino, president and chief executive of the family-operated business.
“We’re just very proud to be living in a community that has helped us foster the kind of work that we do and really has put Marin County on the map for waste reduction, diversion and renewable energy,” Garbarino said. One machine will prevent thousands of tons of expired packaged food from grocery stores and food distributors from entering the landfill each year, said Justin Wilcock, the company’s general operations director.
Installed late last year at the company’s San Rafael center, the new Tiger food depackager separates large loads of prepackaged foods from their containers, using the green waste to produce energy and allowing the service to recycle the packaging. The machine is a giant centrifuge, spinning rapidly while metallic teeth tear through the cans and packaging to release the food. The food is then filtered through a screen while the cardboard, plastic or metallic packaging comes out of the top.The green waste is then ground up and shipped to the nearby Central Marin Sanitation Agency to be placed into anaerobic digesters that produce biogas energy. About 20 tons of packaged foods can be processed every hour, Wilcock said. The company receives about 10 tons from grocery stores and distributors per day.
Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com
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