Meridian Recyclers Tour Granger Facilities
6/30/08
"Eco-tourists" gather in front of Granger headquarters.
Vance Kincaid and Will White head north toward the material processing center (on left).
Inside, recyclables are sorted and ...
and lifted...
And picked up...
and pushed on to a conveyer belt....
And fed into a baler....
... and stacked for shipping...
and sold to be made in to tissue paper, cereal boxes, and other consumables.
Buy recycled content products! This helps create a market for recycled products.
Safety first. Phil Mikus distributes safety glasses to the masses...
It's noisy in there, but Phil manages to tell us what, why, when, how, who, and where...
Larry can't believe this is so cool! "Hey... is that cardboard from Meridian Mall?"
MSU drops a load of mixed recyclables. Granger has a new program where you can bag sorted recyclables and place them in with the cardboard.
Trucks line up to weigh their precious cargo.
The landfill is in the background. A sorting area holds recyclables, awaiting transport to a processing facility.
Granger's recycling drop-off center on Wood St. receives tens of thousands of pounds of recyclables daily -- similar to the quantity collected daily in Lansing's curbside program.
Our elite team of master recyclers pauses for a photo.
And another...
And another...
Meanwhile, loads of trash head to the landfill.
Giant generators burn methane gas, captured from the landfill, producing "green" electricity for Consumers Energy and Lansing Board of Water & Light customers.
Three generators produce up to 3.2 megawatts of
electricity (3200 kilowatts).
Tonia explains to our tour organizer, Tina Kahn, that
three more generators will be added soon.
Phil is happy we're learning so much today!
A variable speed compressor helps get the gas to the
generating facility.
A new building housed these new, higher output
generators. Each of three units has 20 cylinders.
Granger is exploring the possibility of capturing waste
heat from these monster machines.
Lots of pretty yellow parts!
This is a very important part.... I think.
Can you guess who made these big yellow generators?
Here is another unusual but very important piece of equipment that awaits a mysterious, but important. future. We forgot to ask Tonia and Phil what it is ; - (
On most days, about 80 Granger trucks are on the road.
A new landfill "cell" is being built. Special clay and other liners will help ensure that no contamination reaches the groundwater.
Earth-moving equipment are helping create a specially
lined cell that will take special waste like asbestos.
Waste is deposited in an active part of the landfill
and compressed with special vehicles.
In the distance, you can see mounds of compost that
will help reclaim a recently-closed part of the landfill.
A closer view of a distant slope which will soon be seeded with grass.
Trucks carry compost from next door, where yard waste is turned in to a valuable soil amendment.
This landfill has about 60 years of life left and probably even more if we do a good job recycling and reducing waste.
Even after it's closed, it will continue to produce landfill gas (and electricity) for many years.
That's all! Thanks to Tina for organizing the tour, to Tonia and Phil for leading it, to all our enthusiastic participants, and Solomon for the photos.
PS. This just in...
"That was an excellent tour. The guide was very good and knowledgeable. It was fun to have the young people along. They were all very well behaved and it is good to see them exposed to this process. I will try to get to some of the meetings and get to stay current on local progress in this important area."
-Mary Ann Martin