Floating recycling and transfer station

A system for processing sold municipal waste and nonhazardous commercial waste comprises a multi-level floating marine vessel tied up alongside a dock. The vessel has a processing deck for processing incoming solid waste materials into multiple lines of material-specific recycling bins arranged symmetrically with respect to the midships region of the vessel. The vessel has forward and aft overhangs on the processing deck level big enough to drop load non-recyclable waste at the end of each said line into refuse barges moored directly below said overhangs. The vessel preferably has a tipping deck located above and approximately coextensive with said processing deck on the vessel with at least one opening accessible to trucks from the dock for loading solid waste onto the vessel. A bailing and storage deck located below the processing deck on the vessel has an opening accessible to trucks from the dock for unloading recyclables.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Certain coastal cities transport municipal solid waste in barges for 
disposal of the waste in landfills. Additional coastal cities will be 
looking to this inexpensive method of transportation as available landfill 
sites become more distant. Barges are typically loaded at a "Marine 
Transfer Station" (MTS), which is an elevated pier (usually enclosed 
within a building) with arrangements for garbage trucks to dump their 
loads directly into a barge. A number of such operations are in place, the 
most extensive of which is the marine transfer station system in New York 
City. 
In addition to the need to transport over longer distances, the necessity 
to recycle a large fraction of the waste stream is becoming more urgent. 
One recycling method is the reclamation of recyclable materials from the 
unsorted waste stream. Referred to as post collection recycling, these 
systems are emerging as a competitive method to recycle valuable materials 
and to reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills. 
This invention combines a marine transfer station with a post collection 
recycling system and places the entire recycling and barge transfer 
operation on a floating structure. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention features systems and methods for recycling and handling of 
solid waste (e.g. municipal solid waste) that uses floating facilities to 
bear such systems and facilities. 
A solid waste floating recycling and transfer station (FRTS) combines a 
barge borne post collection recycling facility with a marine transfer 
station operation. The system is designed to replace existing pier-based 
marine transfer station operations in order to recover recyclable 
materials from the waste stream prior to disposal of the garbage truck 
contents into refuse barges for transportation to a landfill or any other 
disposal site. 
The FRTS is designed to process non-industrial commercial and residential 
municipal solid waste (MSW) collected by trucks. The waste is delivered to 
the permanently moored FRTS for recycling and processing of mixed waste 
and bagged source-separated recyclables. The barge is moored at a pier and 
receives MSW delivered by trucks. 
In the preferred embodiment, a multi-level floating marine vessel is tied 
up alongside a dock. The vessel has a processing deck for processing 
incoming solid waste materials into multiple lines of material-specific 
recycling bins arranged symmetrically with respect to the midships region 
of the vessel. The vessel has forward and aft overhangs on the processing 
deck level big enough to drop load non-recyclable waste at the end of each 
said line into refuse barges moored directly below said overhangs. The 
vessel preferably has a tipping deck located above and approximately 
coextensive with said processing deck on the vessel with at least one 
opening accessible to trucks from the dock for loading solid waste onto 
the vessel. A bailing and storage deck located below the processing deck 
on the vessel has an opening accessible to trucks from the dock for 
unloading recyclables. 
This system is ideally suited for major coastal cities because: 
it is space efficient in its design; 
it is a floating structure and does not use valuable land; 
it utilizes and enhances the advantages of marine-based transportation; 
source-separated recyclables and mixed MSW can be brought to one 
multi-purpose processing facility; 
all outgoing materials can be transported by barge with no additional truck 
traffic, thereby minimizing impact on neighborhoods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The Floating Recycling and Transfer Station is a fully enclosed special 
design barge shown in FIG. 1. The vessel's hull 1 is a simple rectangular 
barge. The barge dimensions depend on the recycling system capacity. The 
design calls for approximately 50 feet of length per each 400 ton per day 
capacity. The standard 1,600 ton per day barge is 250 feet long and 100 
feet in beam. The deckhouse 2, which is the barge upper structure 
("superstructure"), is longer than the barge hull, and has structural 
cantilevered overhangs 3 of approximately 45 feet on each end of the 
barge. The cantilevered portion of the superstructure covers a docking 
area for unloading of processed non recyclable waste onto refuse barges 4. 
The facility accepts unsorted MSW as well as bagged recyclables and yard 
waste co-collected with mixed waste. The incoming material is tipped on 
the top deck where initial sorting directs the materials to the 
appropriate processing lines. Bulk items are separated at this stage. 
Materials drop down to the second deck where multiple conveyor lines move 
the material through the various manual and mechanical processes for 
recyclable material recovery and separation. The system is designed in a 
modular manner, with a number of parallel recycling line modules on the 
sorting deck. The lower deck is used for further processing, baling, 
crushing and storing of recyclable materials. Non-recyclable residue is 
dumped directly into 150'.times.35' garbage barges moored under an 
overhang at both ends of the FRTS barge. 
Standard recyclable materials are recovered including: corrugated 
cardboard, newsprint, high grade paper, mixed paper, glass, aluminum, 
steel, and plastic. In addition, a leaf and yard waste stream is separated 
for composting. 
Post Collection Recycling 
Post collection recycling is a relatively new, but rapidly growing method 
of recovering recyclable and compostable materials from the waste stream. 
The principal governing a post collection recycling approach is that a 
single collection for all trash and recyclables and one processing 
location for these co-collected materials is the most cost effective 
alternative available for maximum recyclable material recovery. Collection 
has proved to be the single-largest component of recycling program costs 
in New York City and in other large metropolitan areas. In addition to the 
high costs of multiple collections, commingled materials still have to be 
processed in a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). While MRF processing 
costs are lower than PCR costs, the combined collection and processing for 
commingled materials outweighs the PCR processing costs. 
Co-collecting designated recyclable materials in color coded plastic bags 
along with the regular trash allows for continued source separation and 
participation in recycling by households, but does not involve the 
increased costs associated with multiple collections. The PCR system 
includes processing not only of the materials separated in bags, but also 
reclaims recyclable materials from the entire waste stream. This PCR 
system greatly benefits from source separation but is not dependent on 
rates of participation and diversion because the entire waste stream is 
sorted and processed. 
System Description 
The floating recycling and transfer station (FRTS) facilitates unloading of 
waste from collection trucks, comprehensive recycling of such waste and 
offloading of the non-recyclable residue into refuse barges. It is 
designed to recover as much recyclable material as possible utilizing 
existing post collection recycling technology prior to disposal of the 
waste into the garbage barges. 
The unique design efficiently uses available space and takes advantage of 
the marine structure by utilizing the vertical space and multiple decks of 
a barge. A series of chutes is used to move materials from one level to 
the next, thereby minimizing the amount of conveyor systems needed to 
transport materials from one processing point to the next. No other known 
recycling facility utilizes a similar multi-level approach. FIGS. 2 and 2a 
describe the different decks of the floating recycling and transfer 
station, and FIGS. 4 and 4a show the waste flow utilizing this multiple 
level approach. At the end of the recycling process, the non-recyclable 
residue is loaded onto barges or railcar floats for trans port to 
landfills or incineration facilities. The recyclable materials are 
likewise removed by barges or railcar floats for shipment to reprocessing 
plants. Certain materials are transferred to truck for shipment. 
The selected post collection recycling system processes the following 
materials out of the general waste stream: 
Newsprint 
Cardboard 
Steel containers 
Aluminum 
Glass--by color 
Plastic--by type 
The system is also designed to separate and package the following items for 
shipment to special handling outlets: 
Household hazardous wastes (HHW) 
Car batteries 
White goods (refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) 
Bulky items (sofas, mattresses, etc.) 
Tires 
Some of the organic portion of the waste stream is shipped to composting 
facilities. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 describe the FRTS proposed material flow. 
Collection and Delivery of Municipal Solid Waste 
The FRTS is designed to receive both unsorted waste and source separated 
recyclables directly from collection trucks. Customers of the system are 
encouraged to co-collect recyclables and trash in a single collection 
vehicle. It is likely that the waste and recyclables arrive at the 
recycling barge in different colored bags. The bags containing recyclables 
are manually separated into a separate stream for processing utilizing the 
same equipment as mixed MSW but bypassing the rotary separator. 
Dumping of Waste at the FRTS 
Packer trucks enter the barge via the access ramp 5 shown in FIG. 1. The 
ramp is designed to hinge onto the barge deck and move along the pier with 
the tide motion. This design requires the trucks to be elevated a maximum 
of approximately 35' and thus with a 30% grade would require a 105' long 
ramp. 
A scale is located at the top portion of the ramp with an enclosed 
scalehouse-traffic control island adjacent to the scale. The packer trucks 
enter the upper deck tipping area via an entrance from the ramp and pull 
forward along the designated travel lane and back into one of the 
unloading bays 6 as directed by tipping floor personnel. After tipping 
their contents the packer trucks pull out into the travel lane and proceed 
to the barge exit and onto the off-ramp. 
The packer truck unloading bays are clustered around each of the recycling 
line feeding chutes. The standard design refers to a 1,600 ton per day 
system capacity, which has four parallel systems. Four depressed steel 
conveyors lead to four chutes which allows the waste to drop down to the 
processing deck as shown in FIG. 4, where the sorting and processing 
occurs. The conveyors are approximately 30' long by 5' wide. 
Multi-Line System 
The standard system is designed with four PCR modules 7 processing 
approximately 400 TPD each for a total capacity of 1600 tons per day. The 
floating recycling and transfer station may be designed and constructed as 
a larger facility in 400 ton per day capacity (approximately 50 feet of 
barge length) increments. 
The primary sorting operations are replicated in each of the lines, but 
certain processes are shared between the four lines. After materials are 
separated from the waste stream in each line, they move by conveyor to 
shared storage and baling operations. With the exception of compostable 
materials, the barge is a mirror image with two symmetrical lines on each 
side of the midships section and with conveyors leading to balers at both 
ends of the barge. 
Initial Sorting 
A front end loader is assigned to each of the four conveyors on the tipping 
floor. The operator feeds the conveyor while also removing oversized 
materials including white goods, tires, and wood products. Oversized 
materials which can be recycled are stored at one end of the tipping floor 
in containers. These containers are removed by truck when they are full. 
Non-recyclable bulky items are brought to the end of the floor to a chute 
feeding the refuse barge. 
Bag Opening 
To maximize the amount of recyclables recovered, a non-destructive plastic 
bag opening system 8 is required. The system opens bags without breaking 
glass containers or rupturing automobile batteries and other household 
hazardous waste which may be contained in garbage bags. Such systems are 
being developed by several U.S. firms with estimated commercial operation 
in late 1991. 
Material Handling 
The MSW stream is transported between processing steps by a series of thick 
rubber, high-walled, conveyor belts. The efficiency of magnetic separation 
of ferrous metals, eddy current separation of nonferrous metals and manual 
separation of glass bottles and plastic containers is directly effected by 
the depth of materials on the conveyor belt. This "burden depth" is kept 
to a minimum by proper design of the conveyor belt system. 
Manual Picking 
A wide conveyer belt with stations for pickers 9 is used for the first 
primary sorting operation. Materials to be manually picked are ones that 
can be easily removed from the waste stream at the earliest stage of the 
operation or ones that should not be broken in the rotary separator which 
follows manual picking. These materials include corrugated cardboard, wood 
not previously separated, household hazardous waste (HHW), glass, and a 
variety of paper types. 
The picking platform is approximately 55' long and has 5 picking stations 
per side for a total of 10 picking stations per line. The picking 
hierarchy, as materials move down the line are corrugated and other large 
items, paper, and finally glass. 
Typical HHW items to be removed are lead-acid car batteries, paint-related 
products and household cleaning agents. Pickers separate the HHW and hold 
it in bins in the immediate area of the picking stations. At the end of 
each shift it is containerized and prepared for shipment to an independent 
licensed facility. Wood is also be removed at this stage and dropped 
through a chute to a conveyor serving all four lines which conveys the 
wood to storage bins on the lower deck. 
Corrugated cardboard is removed next and is taken by conveyor to a 
dedicated baler. The conveyor and baler service all four lines. There are 
three paper streams: (1) newspapers, (2) magazines, and (3) mixed paper. 
Each has a dedicated chute, and a conveyor and baler, again servicing all 
four lines. The corrugated and paper conveyors are capable of variable 
speed operation and of reversing direction. 
Glass is separated by color: clear, green, and brown. Each of the glass 
pickers has a conveniently located chute leading to a separate bin for 
each glass color. 
Rotary Material Separator 
After moving through the picking stations the waste stream enters a rotary 
waste separator 10. These systems are also known as trommels and are 
produced by a number of vendors supplying the recycling and waste fuel 
preparation industry. The following description is of a system 
manufactured by National Recovery Technologies of Nashville, Tennessee. 
The trommel performs three functions. First, a series of knifes shred any 
remaining bags. Second, heavy undersized materials made up of broken 
glass, grit and humus are removed. This stream then enters a vibrating air 
classifier where the broken mixed glass is separated. The glass is 
conveyed to a storage bin which is sold as aggregate. The remaining 
material is primarily compostable and made up of food waste and other 
organic materials. It is conveyed via a conveyor 11 running the length of 
the vessel to the compostable material storage bunker at one end of the 
barge. 
The third process uses a magnet to remove the ferrous metal. The ferrous 
materials, primarily steel and bi-metal cans, are deposited onto a 
conveyor which leads to a storage bin. This storage bin feeds ferrous 
metal batches to a second conveyor leading to a baler. 
Aluminum Recovery 
Aluminum is separated in a two step electromechanical eddy-current and 
pneumatic pulse process. The aluminum is conveyed to a storage bin. The 
bin feeds the aluminum onto a conveyor leading to a baler. This conveyor 
and baler are shared by the aluminum, ferrous metal and plastic. 
Plastic Picking 
Recyclable plastic containers such as HDPE, PET, and PVC are hand picked 
and dropped onto a conveyor. This leads to a central plastic picking area 
where the plastic is separated by type into appropriate bins. The plastic 
passes through a perforator prior to entering each bin. The storage bins 
feed onto the same conveyor used for aluminum and ferrous metal baling. 
Residual Paper Sorting 
In order to capture paper that was not picked out of the waste stream in 
the initial picking process, the residue stream undergoes pneumatic 
separation. At this stage the waste enters a chamber where it passes under 
a strong pneumatic vacuum which removes loose paper and plastic film by 
suction. The plastic film is manually removed prior to baling of the 
paper. This lowest grade mixed paper stream is conveyed to a baler which 
also serves as the backup baler for the other three paper streams. 
Non-recyclable Residue 
Non recyclable residue, now thoroughly sorted for recyclable and 
potentially hazardous contaminants, is dumped onto a conveyer belt 12 
running the length of the FRTS barge. The conveyer leads the residue 
directly into a loading mechanism under the overhangs at both ends of the 
vessel where it is dumped into refuse barges. 
The two ends of the FRTS barge are covered loading bays 13 designed to 
accommodate a standard 150 foot by 35 foot garbage (refuse) barge as shown 
in FIG. 4. Half of the residue from the recycling operation is conveyed to 
one end of the FRTS barge and the other half is conveyed to the other end. 
Waste disposal barges 4 are moored perpendicularly at either end of the 
FRTS barge and are loaded directly from conveyors spanning the length of 
the smaller barges 14. A plow shaped mechanism traverses above the belt 
and throws off the residue to either side of the belt. 
A skirt like structure 15 is lowered onto the residue barges to contain the 
residue as it is fed into the barge. When the barge is ready to be towed 
away the structure is lifted, and a net installed over the barge to 
contain the residue during transit to the landfill. The loading area skirt 
cover is shown in its lowered position in FIG. 1. 
Recyclable Material Storage 
The lower deck has storage capability and is accessible to truck traffic 
via a ramp from the dock. Recyclable materials are also be unloaded onto 
barges via a pallet lifter and crane. The storage bins, as appropriate, 
are walking floor equipped trailers. The baler operators also control and 
monitor the loading of these trailers and have the ability to distribute 
the loads using the walking floors. 
Compostable Material 
The compostable material storage bunker is walking floor equipped. The 
floor moves the material from the incoming conveyor, as well as feed it to 
the series of discharge conveyors leading to the refuse barge loading 
platform. The unloading occurs during the third shift into barges 
specifically designated to carry compostable materials. 
Barge General Description 
The Floating Recycling and Transfer Station is a self-contained steel barge 
with a simple rectangular hull. The vessel is a large steel deckhouse 
barge. Its dimensions are determined by the recycling system capacity. The 
design calls for approximately 50 feet of length per each 400 ton per day 
capacity. A 1,600 ton per day barge hull is 250 feet long and 105 feet in 
beam. The deckhouse, which is the barge upper structure 
("superstructure"), is longer than the barge hull, and has structural 
cantilevered overhangs of approximately 45 feet on each end of the barge. 
The cantilevered portion of the superstructure covers a docking area for 
unloading of processed non-recyclable waste onto refuse barges (see FIG. 1 
for general view of the barge). 
The FRTS barge is designed for mooring alongside a pier in protected water, 
or along side an existing marine transfer station. The deckhouse encloses 
the tipping floor, the entire recyclable recovery and processing lines, 
and all control, service, maintenance and auxiliary machinery 
compartments. There are three decks as follows: 
______________________________________ 
DECK DESIGNATION AND PROCESS 
______________________________________ 
Upper Deck Tipping floor 
Truck receiving area 
Bulky material removal 
Tween Deck Initial processing 
Bag opening 
Initial sorting 
Mechanical size sorting 
Secondary processing 
Manual Sorting 
Tank Top Recyclable processing 
Material processing 
Shredding and baling 
Storage 
______________________________________ 
______________________________________ 
Approximated Principal Dimensions 
______________________________________ 
Length Overall 250'0" 
Beam 105'0" 
Depth 25'0" 
Full Load Draft 9'7" 
Length of Superstructure 
310'0" 
Lightship 4,000 tons 
______________________________________ 
General Configuration 
The FRTS barge is a mild steel, longitudinally framed double hull barge 
with a single flush deck. The hull has a raked bow and a flat transom 
stern. The barge is stiffened with transverse web frames and longitudinal 
stiffeners. Various flats and compartments are located within the hull as 
are the transverse bulkheads. 
A large deckhouse is located atop the main deck and is supported by 
external webs and internal transverse and longitudinal beams. The 
deckhouse has two principal decks within it. These decks enclose the 
entire PCR system including tipping areas, processing equipment, storage 
areas and all related mechanical systems. The deckhouse also encloses all 
personnel facilities, including washrooms, lockers, toilets and offices. 
They also enclose tool rooms, supply rooms, and auxiliary machinery. 
At the fore and aft ends of the barge there is a 45 foot overhang extending 
from the processing deck. This overhang covers the docking bays for the 
two refuse barges and supports the refuse barge loading mechanism (see 
FIG. 2).