Sunnyvale’s waste operations get a boost with Smicon machinery

In the summer of 2024, the City of Sunnyvale, California, took a significant step forward in its commitment to sustainability by upgrading its food waste depackaging system. The enhancements, made to align with California’s SB1383 mandate to divert organic waste from landfills, have transformed the facility’s efficiency, capacity, and recovery rates.

Thanks to this new turn-key installation, Sunnyvale now processes more than 20 tons per hour, with an impressive 90% organic recovery rate from the waste stream, increased the storage capacity by 60 percent, and reduced truck unloading times. This upgrade was made possible through funding from CalRecycle’s Organics Grant Program, Cycle 5, and stands as a testament to the city’s dedication to environmental responsibility.

Maximum impact for waste processing

Sunnyvale’s facility now manages both commercial and residential source-separated organics (SSO), including food waste from restaurants and households via curbside collection. The resulting organic slurry is sent to wastewater treatment facilities.

Smicon’s cutting-edge equipment is at the heart of this transformation and our distributor Van Dyk Recycling Solutions played a big part in this project:

• Storage & Feed: A 27 m³ in-ground bunker allows hauling trucks to unload food waste directly, reducing average unloading times to five minutes per truck. The bunker’s shaftless screws ensure a homogenous feed for the depackaging machine while resisting contamination wrapping. A walking floor is added on customer request for extra storage capacity and easy visual inspection. Any bulky, non-organic contamination is easily spotted and removed from the walking floor, and no other pre-sorting is required.
• SMIMO120 Depackaging machine: This high-performance machine has a rotating 360 degree stainless steel drum that seperates the organics from any packaging, creating a high-quality organic slurry  (>99,5% clean). Pumps and screw conveyors transport the material between units.
• SMIMO15 Grinder: Further processing by this machine ensures that material is sized to less than half an inch, the output material is further treated in wastewater facilities.
   

Efficient, sustainable operations

The advanced system design ensures seamless throughput:

• A series of pumps and storage tanks between processing steps keeps material flowing steadily, avoiding bottlenecks.
• A dewatering pump at the primary bunker recycles excess liquid back into the depackaging process, eliminating the need for an external water source to process the waste streams.

This streamlined approach not only improves operational efficiency but also minimizes Sunnyvale’s environmental footprint.

The organic slurry produced at Sunnyvale’s facility is sent to wastewater treatment facilities, where it contributes to renewable energy production. This project is an example of how Smicon’s innovative solutions can help municipalities transform waste into value, supporting a circular economy.

Interested in learning how Smicon can support your waste processing goals? Contact us now!