Texas Disposal Systems Builds Material Recovery Facility Inside Q2 Stadium for Austin FC to Effectively Pursue True Certification

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) announces the brand new, custom Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is complete and operating inside Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX, home of Austin’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team, Austin FC. As part of TDS’ and Austin FC’s ongoing commitment to making Q2 Stadium the greenest stadium in all of MLS, TDS created a custom sorting system for Austin FC inside of Q2 Stadium that meets the needs of the stadium. With this new system, all materials discarded throughout Q2 Stadium are now being processed and properly sorted into the correct recycling, compost, and waste streams through a mini MRF.

The mini MRF creates an efficient way to decrease contamination and ensure recycling and compostable materials are diverted from the landfill. The mini MRF has the capability of processing approximately 1.5 tons per hour of materials such as glass, food waste, cardboard, paper products, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and more. “The Austin FC fans are fantastic and do a great job at keeping materials in the right container; however, to truly maximize recovery of organics and recyclables it was necessary to create a system that enables Austin FC staff to look at each stream and sort for quality control,” says Adam Gregory, Vice President of Texas Disposal Systems and Okapi Environmental Services. “The automated conveyor and compaction system we came up with accomplishes that as efficiently as possible in a small footprint. I commend Austin FC for going the extra mile and working with us to create an innovative solution.”

The mini MRF is given its name not by the amount of material it’s capable of sorting, but by the size of the system itself. While Materials Recovery Facilities are doing the same process, sorting waste into different streams and ultimately diverting as much waste from the landfill as possible, they can range in sizes. For example, the MRF at Texas Disposal Systems spans more than 160,000 square feet. But with this MRF being built inside of the stadium service area with very limited space, it had to be a very compact system, and for this reason, is referred to as a “mini MRF.”

“As Austin FC’s official waste and recycling partner, TDS has been the biggest help I could possibly imagine, not just with this project but since the existence of our stadium and our club. Their team has helped us form our zero waste goals, develop our Eco Stations and our hauling systems,” said Nick Otte, Senior Director of Stadium Operations at Austin FC. “I think this mini MRF project in particular is way above and beyond what we could have expected and it’s going to help us meet our goals.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com