Municipal solid waste (MSW)

The main stages in sorting Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Step 1

Supply system

The waste unloaded by the collection trucks is fed into the line through a metering hopper that ensures a steady flow of waste to the rest of the line.
The supply system for handling household waste is capable of opening the plastic bin liners.

Step 2

Separation by type

The waste is fed through a trommel and a ballistic separator to sort dry waste from high-moisture waste.

Moist or organic waste can be processed through biodrying, or methanisation, composting, etc.

Step 3

Sorting by materials

Recoverable materials such as plastic and metal are extracted from the dry waste for recycling. Ferrous and non-ferrous metal are separated out, respectively by large magnets known as overbands and eddy current separators. Plastic is separated out by optical sorting machines.

Step 4

RDF preparation

The remainder of the waste flow, made up of non-recyclable plastic and fibrous materials (paper/cardboard), is dried then crushed, ready for processing solid recovered fuel (SRF) or Refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

Municipal Solid Waste is a resource

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) includes everyday waste that has not been placed in the dry recyclable packaging materials bin, glass bin, or compost bin. This category typically contains food scraps, hygiene products, cleaning materials, and small plastic items.

MSW also consists of mis-sorted waste such as fermentable or organic materials (food waste, grass, wood, etc.) as well as recyclable packaging materials.

Currently, most of this waste, deposited in grey bins, is either landfilled or incinerated. However, the gradual reduction of landfill capacity and the rise in disposal costs make this treatment method unsustainable in the long term.

Municipal Solid Waste sorting centers therefore play an essential role. They make it possible to extract recoverable materials, particularly certain plastics and metals.

The remaining non-hazardous dry waste is then transformed into Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF). SRF is a local energy source and offers an effective alternative to fossil fuels for cement plants, industrial boilers, and, in some cases, district heating networks.

Minimizing final waste

This process maximizes the recovery of municipal solid waste by combining material recovery, energy recovery, and the stabilization of organic waste before landfilling. As a result, the volume of waste destined for landfill or incineration is significantly reduced.

By reusing waste generated by citizens to create a new source of energy, this solution is part of a circular economy model. Consequently, it also helps reduce the consumption of primary resources.

An Aktid municipal solid waste (MSW) -sorting facility is:

A robust and reliable process that ensures a maximum recovery rate
Maximally automated lines to limit human action
An SRF grade that can be adjusted to the outlets

Close-up on: ballistic separators

Ballistic separators perform the “core process” in next-generation waste-sorting centres. They are used to separate a stream of mixed materials into three or four categories, based on the principle that, depending on their physical properties, materials react differently when they are moving.

The ballistic separator designed by AKTID delivers an excellent quality of separation and processes an additional 30% of throughput by leveraging :