The Role of Our Material Handling Systems in the Circular Economy of Recycling

If you have found your way to today’s Karl Schmidt Mfg. Inc. blog post, it is more than likely you already know a thing or two about material handling systems like our belt-and-chain conveyors.

That said, a lot of people think of our material handling systems as giant mechanized sorting, fluffing, and conveyor systems. While they aren’t wrong when they say that our material handling systems move and sort materials, but what we think of when talking about our material handling systems we think of the integral role that they play in recycling.

Recycling is a difficult thing to do. After all, it is not as simple as gathering the glass, metal, plastics, and paper from the recycling bins that people leave at the end of their driveway every other week. Instead, collecting the recyclables is the easy part — the real difficulties begin once the recyclables have been collected, and it is time to efficiently sort them.

Continue reading as we discuss how our material handling systems play a support role in the recycling industry.

Our Material Handling Systems & Recycling

When people think of the lifetime of a recyclable product like a plastic soda pop bottle, they think of a brand new resource that will become waste once they have finished their drink and recycle the bottle. In reality, it is possible that the full bottle in your hand is a repurposed waste. So while it is new to you, it is not a new raw material.

Recycling is an interesting industry. Everyone knows that there are benefits to recycling and repurposing waste instead of throwing it into a landfill, but the second they throw the recyclable in a bin, the rest of the process becomes out of sight and out of mind.

According to Veolia, an international company that works with water management, energy management, and waste management, recycling is a circular economy — and at Karl Schmidt Mfg. Inc., we couldn’t agree more.

The Three Domains of the Recycling Economy

In the circular economy, there are three main domains. The first domain is the raw material that various industries use to create products for consumers. The second domain is the producers that use that raw material to create a product that the consumer wants. Lastly, the third domain is the consumer market.

While the general idea of the circular economy is easy to picture in terms of how the three domains exist, it is less clear how those three domains interact — and our material handling systems are a large part of that.

Our Material Handling Systems & Recycling

When it comes to the circular economy, there are two interactions between domains that people tend to forget about —the transition for the recycling bin to the recycling operation and the transition between the recycling operation and the producers.

When a recycling operation receives the collected recyclables, it is often a mess. After all, even commingled recyclables will have to be sorted before they can be recycled to make a new raw material for production.

When a recycling operation that employs Karl Schmidt Mfg. Inc. material handling systems receives recyclables from the consumer domain, they are used to:

Move Materials – When you have a recycling operation, there isn’t much more important than being able to efficiently move the recyclable waste within your operation — and there is no better way to do so than to utilize innovative material handling tools like our drag chain belt conveyors and our slider bed transfer conveyors.
Lifting & Dumping Materials – When you have a large-scale recycling operation, you are going to need a material handling system that can lift and dump the materials onto conveyors or into vehicles. Our cart dumper systems are designed to do just that.
Fluffing Materials – For paper and cardboard recyclable operations, it is important to have material handling systems that can both fluff and perforate the plant-based materials. Our fluffer systems are designed to efficiently help you do so.
Sorting Materials – Arguably the most important material handling system for recycling operations are sorting systems, andnd you won’t find a better sorting system than ours.

Let Our Material Handling Systems Supplement Your Operation

Most people don’t think of what happens after recyclables are thrown in the bin and before the raw recycled materials become produced as another product. At Karl Schmidt Mfg. Inc., we never forgot. That’s why we manufacture some of the most efficient material handling systems in the world for recycling.

Need one for your operation? Contact us today to discuss details with a member of our team.