Facility Type     

Public MRF: Publicly owned relatively automated sorting facility.

Private MRF: Privately owned relatively automated sorting facility.

Private Baling w/sort: Privately owned and typically a smaller facility with almost no automation, although may have a magnet and conveyor belt(s). Main practice is to bale recyclables together to be sorted again by another facility, however, some select commodities are sorted and sold; typically, corrugated cardboard, steel, aluminum.

Private Baling: Privately owned and typically a smaller facility with nearly no sorting (typically a cleanup process), but can include sizable facilities aggregating pre-sorted materials like 'paper-packing' plants. Instead, the material is aggregated and sent to a facility to be sorted.

Public Baling: Publicly owned and typically a smaller facility with nearly no sorting (typically a cleanup process) but can include sizable facilities aggregating pre-sorted materials like 'paper-packing' plants. Instead, the material is aggregated and sent to a facility to be sorted.

MRF Type        

Single Stream: All recyclables are sorted from one pile or floor. The facility can receive materials from dual stream or multi-stream collection, but it is mixed in with other single stream collected materials.

Multi-Material MRF: This is a former GAA database category signifying that they sort multiple categories of materials.

Dual Stream: All recyclables are sorted on two different lines, typically paper on one and all other recyclables on the the other. These facilities cannot receive materials from single-stream collection programs since the expectation is that paper will be pre-sorted by the consumer. 2D / 3D separation is less of an issue because this facility does not try to separate paper (expected to be flat) from containers/other recyclables.

Mixed Waste: All solid waste is sorted on the same line, recyclables, organics, and trash. The intention is to sort out the recyclables, and sometimes the organics, from the trash. Sources can include a mixed waste collection program where all solid waste, except for toxic/hazardous waste, is collected in the same bin OR can act as a secondary sort facility for MRF residue; this is only really common in California.

Hybrid: This combines multiple sorting facilities such as recycling on one line and C&D on another; typically combining the facility sorting residential/commercial recyclables with some other type of material (mixed waste facilities sound like it would qualify for this category, but it is considered its own category due to the commonality, and their targeting of trash rather than some other less common combination of materials/lines)

Other - Factory Excess Only: Sorting facilities that do not receive residential or commercial materials, instead only cleaning / sorting materials from factories / industry. Typically, the stream is much more uniform, so can be more specialized in the sorting and cleaning of that specific material set.

Aggregation: Consolidates multi-stream collected materials to be sold to commodity markets