Material Recovery Facilities(MRFs) have always played an essential role in solid waste recovery and recycling, dealing with 5-10 tonnes of waste per day. However, with irresponsible waste disposal on the rise, conventional MRFs are no longer functional in sorting and segregation of waste material. From inconsistent workforce, to low recycling rates, the challenges are many. That’s why digitised MRFs has become the new norm. 

Digitised MRFs are conventional MRFs transformed into a semi automated facility which can process up to 100-200 TDP. Digitised MRFs not only improve in sorting and segregating waste categories, but also formalise the waste management sector by channelising large quantities of waste with material visibility at the best market pricing. Before we talk about how digitised MRFs help, let’s discuss the functions and challenges of conventional MRFs.

How do MRFs help in waste recovery and recycling? 

1. Channelise waste from individuals, households, organisations, and others.
2. Recover the majority of waste by source segregation, segregated waste transportation, and diverting non-recyclables to landfills.
3. It keeps a record of waste being channeled through the formal sector.
4. To encourage a circular economy and fill the voids left by informal waste disposal methods.
5. Use sophisticated machinery to aid in the recovery of reusable/recyclable materials and no reliance on raw materials for production and manufacturing.

Also read, What equipment do MRFs use?

MRFs have become a powerful pillar for a circular economy that tries to reduce, reuse, and recycle the majority of waste; however, MRFs face numerous challenges, resulting in inefficiency in recovering waste that was complied with.

Challenges conventional MRFs have been facing all these years

1. Material contamination: Due to a lack of awareness, households and organisations do not segregate their waste, resulting in difficulties segregating the wastes at the facility, which is finally redirected to landfills.
2. Littering: Because plastic packaging and other types of waste are littered on the ground, it is difficult for ULBs to recover all of the waste; the material lying on the ground contaminates groundwater and even enters the oceans.
3. No visibility or record of material flow: It is difficult to record the values of waste entering the facility, and segregating waste into different categories takes a long time.
4. Workers’ inconsistency in the facility: Workers in MRFs are in direct contact with waste, which is hazardous, and the wages are insufficient for the task they do. Thus they are inconsistent with the work.
5. Low liquidation rates from recyclers: MRFs receive low rates for the materials they sell, which are insufficient to cover the costs of the collection facility, inventory, and worker wages.

How does Recykal’s Smart Centre digitised MRFs work? 

1. Recykal provides waste collection services from household and bulk waste generators.
2. Recykal provides dry waste collection bags with QR codes to households to improve waste segregation.
3. SmartSkan’s AI-powered technology segregates materials on a conveyor belt into separate categories for each generator and records waste values entering the facility.
4. Smart Centre solution helps with operational scalability and provides end-to-end transparency and traceability of the material.
5. The scanned waste is mapped to the generator through the QR code on the bag.
6. Smart Centre formalise the workers in MRFs with reasonable pay, work, and fixed timing.
7. The Smart Centre dashboard allows you to see the amount of material inflow and outflow.
8. The Smart centre assists in inventory management.
9. Sell the material to the recycler at the best market pricing through Recykal Marketplace App.
10. IEC awareness programs to the workers of the MRFs.

Recykal’s Smart Centre solutions aim to digitise MRFs for better material recovery and waste channeling. Its end-to-end transparency and traceability solution assists the government in the circularity of the material. One of the main objectives of the Smart Centre is to formalise the waste management sector and provide a formalisation of the jobs of waste pickers and those working in the waste management industry. 

Recykal’s Smart Centre pilot has been implemented in Dehradun, Bangalore, and many other cities in India to digitise MRFs and enable greater material flow visibility. Do you want to rebuild your city as a sustainably-smart one?

Reach out to learn more about our Smart Centre Solutions to digitise MRFs in your municipality.