There are varying types of Materials Recycling Facilities (MRFs, also known as Materials
Recovery Facilities, or Materials Recycling Factories) in operation in the UK and throughout
Europe. A full outline of the various types of MRF operations is given by the Institute of Wastes
Management (IWM 2000). This review concentrates on MRFs used to sort and process sourcesegregated
household and commercial waste, the most common type. A MRF that deals with
household and commercial waste is defined as a central operation where source-segregated, dry,
recyclable materials are sorted, mechanically or manually, to market specifications for
processing into secondary materials