Today was trip day!! Another fellow classmate, teacher, and I got the opportunity to go on a tour of Consolidated Scrap Resources in Harrisburg. When I first heard about this place I only pictured a dump, but there are so many interesting concepts that are involved in behind the scenes. In comparison, the facility reminded me of a beehive as every individual has a specific task and skill that they perfected creating the functionality of the whole process. Through the facility, thousands of metals and objects are recycled such as soda cans, plastic wrap, shovels, raspberry pies, refrigerators, cell towers, cars, etc. Anything with metal, they’ve got it! CSR is a recycling base that then takes these metals, sorts them, and ships them throughout the country for profit. People are able to trade in these items for cash as they are paid per pound. Different scraps range in price although most of them are between 3-6 cents per pound. Our tour guide told us different ways people try to beat the system. For instance, plastic soda cans are paid by the weight per pound so these customers try and put metal into the cans so they appear as heavier hence raising the price. However, they are not as smart as they think since there is a machine that sorts and empties these cans making sure there is nothing left in them. I never realized until now that there really is a machine for everything! It put into perspective how a business works and that though machines make a process easier, they put people out of jobs. For such a company, there are pros and cons to such ideas.
Throughout the tour we saw different machines, gadgets, and process but to me the coolest was the shredder! It is controlled by one man who works to his own rhythm as he lifts these objects with a claw onto an assembly line which are then shredded into tiny pieces and then sorted into ferrous and nonferrous metals. It was fascinating watching a car in the grasp of this claw as it appeared to be as small as a toy! The men running this branch were very nice and informative but due to the noise I was unable to hear everything they were saying. I did catch the fact that this process involved magnets that collect these pieces and sort them into the magnetic and nonmagnetic. It was cool watching the nonmagnetic materials traveling down a shoot into a gigantic pile, I only wondered where this material then goes if it can’t be sold.
Throughout the day there were pickup trucks that brought in and out different metals including a truck stacked with broken down cars waiting to be collected to go into the shredder. It was interesting to me because I was then able to talk to my papa about the trucking process through such a facility and if he ever had to go to such a place.
In the sorting process, the materials such as plastic and metal cans are crushed and then condensed into bales that weight between 900-1000 pounds! The plastic that they mentioned is called vinyl plastic which when bent, creates a white line. The companies that bring in vinyl plastic combine it with other plastics into one bale but that is incorrect and they must then be resorted by hand. Our tour guide gave the idea of crating a machine that would make the process of sorting plastics easier and quicker. It is bad for these plastics to be combined because they have different melting points which prevents them from being melted together.
In all, this truly was an amazing trip. The smell I sure will not forget:) It made me realize that it is so easy to judge such a place by its cover when in actuality behind the scenes involves so much organization, thought, and engineering! Say tuned for the pictures that we took!
Solving the Future 