Behind the Scenes at a Phoenix Recycling Facility

Behind the Blue Bin

by Trey Granger on November 21st, 2007
Nationwide, almost 10,000 municipal curbside collection programs provide a weekly reminder on the importance of recycling. Although programs vary by county in materials collected, bin size and collection day, all recyclables go to a recycling center as the first step in transforming them into new products. That’s when the real fun begins Earth 911 recently visited the North Gateway Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Phoenix, Arizona to get a closer look at the process. The Materials Recovery Facility or MRF (pronounced MERF) handles an average of 4,500 tons of material in a given month. So even a short visit provides a lot of action.