A May 27 WBAL TV 11 report featured Baltimore County’s Cockeysville recycling plant and walked though the single stream recycling process and how the plant sorts and processes the recyclable materials it receives.  Solid Waste Management Bureau Chief Michael Beichler explained how it all works in the report:

Once the single stream recycling gets there the process of sorting begins.  From cartons to cardboard, it all has to get separated and when it comes to about 74,000 tons of materials per year, a well-oiled machine is needed.

There are 13 different steps, 86 conveyer belts, equipment that screens and sorts, plus inmates from the detention center who hand pick through piles. …

It then goes through machines, which ties it up neatly into balls of recycled products.