Somerset County Materials Recycling Facility

Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) was retained to design a new Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) for Somerset County. The County’s goal is to recycle 50,000 to 60,000 tons of glass, paper, and aluminum per year.

The MRF is designed to allow the efficient color separation of glass using a conveyor system. The glass will be stored in external bins which will allow efficient loading for transport of the glass to market. Mixed broken glass is crushed and trammeled and sent to the asphalt market.

The new facility also processes aluminum and bimetal cans, mixed plastics, newspaper, and cardboard. Paper and cardboard are loaded onto a conveyor leading to a baler. The facility has the capability of separating mixed plastics into PET and HDPE. The plastics are baled and then sold.

The building is 38,000 sf and serves multiple purposes. It contains office space for supervisors, locker rooms and lunch rooms for the employees, and space for the overnight storage of the recycling collection trucks.

The layout of the building and site was planned for maximum efficiencies for recycling activities and vehicle movement.

HMM provided partial construction management services and performance testing services on the $6.8M MRF. The County has managed the facility since its opening without any major problems.

HMM has assisted the County with building and equipment modifications to stay current with market trends. Work included modifications to the glass processing lines, procurement of a new baler, conveyors, etc. HMM also designed a new maintenance  area for the recycling center. In addition, HMM assisted the County with material flows, material quantity, and cost reporting, as well as collection system routing improvements, and other operational upgrades.