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Garbage and trash are not the same and therefore they are processed separately. Garbage is defined as those items found in household waste, including food, paper, plastic containers and food containers. These items are received in our garbage processing plant and placed in the garbage pit which is 30 feet deep.
Overhead cranes, with a capacity of 5 tons each, transfer the garbage from the pit to pan conveyor belts on one of two identical garbage processing lines. Nonprocessable materials are removed from the conveyor by cherry pickers prior to entering the primary trommel. Garbage that is larger than six inches in diameter passes directly through the trommel to a shredder. The smaller materials are then exposed to primary magnets which removes ferrous materials from the waste stream. Thereafter, the garbage is transferred to a secondary trommel and materials greater than 2.5 inches in diameter continue through an aluminum pulsort device which recovers aluminum from the waste stream. The remaining waste is transported via conveyors to the same shredder as the material sent directly from the primary trommel. The final step in the garbage process exposes the shredded material to a final magnet that removes any additional metals before the fuel is sent to the boilers.
The result of the garbage process is refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Conveyors transport the RDF either directly to the boilers or to a fuel storage area where it is mixed with biomass RDF from the trash process. Cranes transfer the RDF and biomass RDF materials from fuel storage to fuel feed conveyors which feed the specially designed Zurn boilers with a constant stream of material necessary for combustion. Please see the Powerhouse Plant Tour for information on the combustion process.
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