Woody Waste Recycling Facility

The SWA accepts and recycles more than 250,000 tons of residential yard trimmings, commercial yard trimmings, and clean lumber (collectively called "Woody Waste") annually. A portion of this material is taken to the SWA’s on-site Woody Waste Recycling Facility.

At this facility over 100,000 tons per year of vegetative debris from curbside collection routes is processed into mulch for use in the SWA’s Compost Facility, as a boiler fuel, or as a soil amendment. The remainder is sent to a private recycler for processing.

The Woody Waste Recycling Facility process includes receiving, drying, contaminate removal, grinding, and screening prior to end use.

Receiving and Drying

All types of vehicles deliver vegetation to the Authority, from pick-up trucks to large tractor-trailers. This material can be delivered to the 5 transfer stations the Authority operates or directly to the Vegetation Processing Facility.

Upon delivery, a preliminary inspection occurs to remove visible contamination. The material is then stockpiled to allow drying to occur prior to processing.  The drying process is crucial for the quality of the end products.

Contaminate Removal, Processing and Screening

After 3 to 5 weeks of drying, the material is processed in a stationary system. This system consists of a manual picking station for removal of plastic bags, metal, and other contamination, a horizontal grinder to reduce the woody waste into a mulch type material, and a series of screens that size the material to meet the desired specification.  The final products are then stockpiled for end use.