A Municipal Recycling Facility (MRF) is a location where waste is taken to be separated and processed before being sold to manufacturers for reuse. Households leave recyclable refuse out on the curb for collection. This waste is picked up by trucks which deliver the recyclable waste to the MRF for separation and processing. Depending on the system of streams used by the community-recycling program, the waste may be grouped to one stream or more though two streams are the most common in a multi-stream system.

Once at the MRF, the waste is placed on conveyors to allow for a constant and controlled flow of the material being processed. The waste is then separated into groups based on their material – paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum/metals – both electronically and manually to ensure accuracy. After separation, these materials are sold to manufacturers or processors where they are used to make new products that will be resoled in stores.

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Other Sources

County of Fairfax. “What is a Materials Recovery Facility?” Fairfax County. 2016. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/mrfintro.htm. Accessed May 9, 2016.

Veolia. “The Process.” Veolia. 2016. http://www.veolia.co.uk/hampshire/materials-recovery/materials-recovery/how-does-it-work. Accessed May 9, 2016.

Definition

Municipal Solid Waste, also called garbage or trash, is nonhazardous disposable materials generated by households, institutions, industries, agriculture, and sewage. It is made up of waste, organics, and recyclable materials, with the municipality overseeing its disposal. Typically, municipal solid waste is collected, sperate and sent to either a landfill or municipal recycling center for processing.

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As society has changed, the composition of MSW has transformed. In the past, waste from the community consisted as ash, wood, bone and vegetable scraps. Dumps were mainly filled with pottery or tools that could no longer be repaired as early humans would feed most biodegradables to their livestock or leave it to decompose. As society evolved, waste created by communities became more complicated, introducing metals (copper, aluminum, and steel), plastics and hazardous substances. This change in waste composition lead to the introduction of waste programs that include recycling, organics and landfills that were improved in order to protect the environment from pollution.

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Other Sources

“For Education.” Began with the Bin. http://beginwiththebin.org/resources/for-education. Accessed May 3, 2016.

Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. “Municipal Solid Waste.” Environment and Climate Change Canada. December 7, 2013. https://www.ec.gc.ca/gdd-mw/default.asp?lang=En&n=EF0FC6A9-1. Accessed May 25, 2016.

The World Bank Group. “Glossary.” The World Bank. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTUSWM/0,,contentMDK:20241717~menuPK:4153320~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:463841,00.html#m. Accessed May 25, 2016.

Definition Magnetic separation is a method of waste management where magnets are used to separate metal from refuse. This is most common in single and mixed streams of recycling as the materials are collected together and separated before processing. Want to Know More Magnetic Separation systems were first used after the Second World War in scrap yards. These magnetic systems were mostly electromagnets, bulky, expensive items that relied on a power source to work and were notorious for overheating. The development of ceramic materials made it possible for permanent magnets to be used for separation. By the end of the 1970s, magnetic separation went through another development with the introduction of three different forms of separation becoming popular: overhead magnets, magnetic pulleys, and the magnetic drum. These three methods have since been used in the recycling industry in the removal of metals from among recycled materials. --- Other Sources Osborne, Alan. “Magnetic Separation Process.” eHow. http://www.ehow.com/info_8556757_magnetic-separation-process.html. Accessed August 10, 2016. Phillips, Mark. “Magnetic Separation Basics.” Recycling Today. http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/magnetic-separation-basics/. Accessed August 10, 2016.

A marine protected area (MPA) is ocean space that protected against human activities or where such activities are strictly regulated by federal, state, territorial, local, or tribal laws. These regulations may include restrictions on development, catch limits, and total bans on removing marine life.

The use of MPAs benefits both humans and marine life. In MPAs, populations of marine life are protected from having their populations depleted or habitats destroyed from overfishing or human development. At the same time, people can use MPAs to protect areas of cultural or historical significance and also give biologists an area to study marine life. MPAs have also proven to be beneficial to fisheries with fish populations outside of the reserve increasing.

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Other Sources

“What are marine protected areas (MPAs)?” Protect Planet Ocean. http://www.protectplanetocean.org/collections/introduction/introbox/mpas/introduction-item.html. Accessed August 10, 2016.

David Suzuki Foundation. “Marine protected areas.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/oceans/science/marine-planning-and-conservation/marine-protected-areas/. Accessed August 10, 2016

A mass burning facility is a location that processes municipal solid waste through incineration. They are often used in waste-to-energy conversion and require minimal pre-processing before burning commences. These plants can vary in size and can process between 25 and 3,000 tons per day depending on their size and demand.

In the facility, refuse is delivered by truck to pits where cranes remove bulky and non-combustible items and mix the waste. The sorted mixture is then left under pressure to prevent odors from developing until it is needed, at which time cranes lift the trash into charging hoppers for the boiler. The ash created from the combustion process is collected from beneath and through a pollution control system above so to prevent air pollutants from escaping.

In the case of a waste-to-energy system, the facility acts much like a steam engine. The refuse is combusted and used to heat water into steam, which is used to power a steam turbine-generator to produce electricity. The steam is then condensed back into water for reuse.

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Other Sources

“Mass Burn Facility.” The Worlds of David Darling. http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/M/AE_mass_burn_facility.html. Accessed August 20, 2016.

“Municipal Solid Waste Power Plants.” California Energy Commission. http://www.energy.ca.gov/biomass/msw.html. Accessed August 10, 2016.