Interpreting the Maps

This series of maps depicts the movement of recovered material originating in the region over time and by material type.  Maps display the flow of streams of recovered materials all originating from residential recycling collection points.  There are three types of material flows on display:

1) commingled/single-stream – displays residential recyclables that are collected by SWMDs or municipalities and shipped as mixed recycling to private recycling centers or MRFs for further sortation.  This is material that has not been processed yet (similar to collection level above)

2) segregated – displays recovered materials that have been sorted and partially processed for shipment to MRFs, secondary processors, or end users (similar to processing level above)

3) single-commodity – breaks out the overall segregated stream to highlight the flow of specific commodities (ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fiber (paper products, cardboard), plastics, and glass).

The WHIN region of study is outlined in darker gray for reference.  Each distinctly colored node in the map represents initial collection via curbside or drop off programs, primary processing at a private or public recycling center, and final destinations at larger MRFs, secondary processors, end users.  The city names are the locations of the MRFs, secondary processors, or end users that receive the recovered material and indicate where our material flow data ends.  However, in most cases the material moves on to end users.  

The arrow shows direction of material flow and its size correlates with size of the recovered material stream (i.e. the larger the arrow, the higher the tonnage, in all maps except for the first three in the series).  

Qualifications

If no tonnage data was reported for the material in question, the arrow does not appear on the map.  Data was not widely available for the curbside or drop-off to recycling center level of flow, so no maps were developed for that first level of collection.  Additionally, one might note that certain nodes never have an arrow interact with it.  This occurs because the nodes appeared in our surveys as destinations SWMDs and municipalities send their material, but IDEM did not have data with reported tonnages going to those places.  Metal processors and salvage yards, are not required to submit Recycling Activity Reports to IDEM, thus, the shipments of metals may be under reported.

In the majority of the maps, there are two main nodes.  These blue and green nodes correspond to public/private recycling centers and large MRFs or secondary processors, respectively.

Definitions

public recycling center (sometimes referred to as SWMD recycling center): a publicly owned and operated facility that intakes mostly source separated recyclable materials and minimally processes them before they are shipped to a large MRF, secondary processor, or in less likely cases to an end user; can be owned and operated by a solid waste management district or in very few cases, a county or municipality.  These facilities are discussed in the following sections.

private recycling center: a privately owned and operated facility that intakes mostly source separated recyclable materials along with some single stream/commingled recyclables, and minimally processes them before they are shipped to a larger MRF, secondary processor, or end user.  

materials recovery facility (MRF): specialized facility equipped with technology to receive, separate and prepare single-stream/commingled recyclable materials for sale to end-user manufacturers or intermediate processors. We do not distinguish between single-stream or multi-stream MRFs in this report.  None of the MRFs in study are dirty MRFs (i.e. accepting all MSW).

Secondary processor – includes MRFs generally but in this report mainly refers recycling processors of singular commodities (i.e. fiber – paper mills, metal - scrap yards, glass – benefication plants) that prepare recovered materials for end users or manufacture them into new goods themselves.

Analysis of material flow maps and distance traveled for collection and processing leads to the following findings.   

Single-stream/commingled

• Regional processing capacity is limited (concluded because 100% eventually leaves region for single-stream MRFs)

• Single-stream/commingled material destinations become increasingly diversified over time, more than doubling from 2015 to 2016.

• In terms of final destinations, over time, the region began shipping an increasingly sizeable portion of single-stream material to MRFs in Illinois rather than keeping it circulating within Indiana.  Second to Illinois’s total is Republic in Indianapolis, who receives the most single-stream from the region. 

• It would be beneficial to have a true MRF closer to or within the region capable of processing the regions single stream materials. 

Plastics

• Regional processing capacity is similarly limited (concluded because most leaves region for single-stream MRFs).

• Most is headed to Quincy Recycle in IL.  

• It would be beneficial to have a plastic recycling facility closer to the region, perhaps in combination with proposed true MRF.

Total Segregated Materials

• Apart from plastics, the segregated material stream tends to stay more in IN, unlike the commingled stream.

• Overall, Indianapolis receives the most segregated materials from the region.  

Fiber

• There are no fiber processors or mills in region built for fiber alone, therefore all fiber leaves the region.

• Fiber does not have an outstanding singular destination, rather it is dispersed throughout Indiana, Illinois and Michigan (although MI lacks reported data for year of study).  

• One of the nation’s largest papermills (Pratt Industries in Valparaiso) in northern Indiana receives relatively little yet fiber is transported hundreds of miles away to Quincy, IL or Michigan. 

Glass

• Regional processing capacity is limited (100% exits region for Strategic Materials, Indianapolis).

• Collection capacity via SWMDs is great (White Co and Pulaski’s Co Recycling Center’s segregated collection can be a model for other SWMDs)

• SMI has another glass processing plant in Chicago which is about the same distance away from the regional collection points as Indy but no glass is transported there.

• The glass crusher slated to be purchased by Warren Co. SWMD could be well used by the region.

 Metals 

• There are singularly metal processors in the region. 

• A significant proportion of metals are processed closer to the region than plastics or fiber because there are more buyers. 

• For the most part, metals are sent directly to secondary processors without being processed at MRF, except for the case of Walden Enterprises who makes up the largest proportion of metals and they ship them to OmniSource Indy. 

• It is curious that Oscar Winski in Lafayette does not receive more metals.