Automated process and method for material separation and recycling

A system for separating and recycling a broad mix of waste material including industrial and commercial streams, the system comprising:

• at least one of a container, a stationary compactor, and a self-contained compactor into which the broad mix of waste material is collected;
• an optional sorter for sorting the broad mix of waste material to remove contamination from the broad mix of waste material;
• a shredder for coarsely shredding the broad mix of waste material;
• a grabber for removing plastic film from the broad mix of waste material, creating a stream of plastic film and a separate stream of dirty cardboard;
• and
• at least one of an optical sorter and an air separation device for separating residual plastic from the stream of dirty cardboard and including that residual plastic either in the plastic stream or in an independent third stream, wherein separate streams of a film-rich recycled plastic and a clean recycled cardboard having a purity of at least about 95% are created.

One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

• collect a broad mix of waste material including industrial and commercial streams;
• optionally sort the broad mix of waste material to remove contamination from the broad mix of waste material;
• coarsely shred the broad mix of waste material;
• remove plastic film from the broad mix of waste material, creating a stream of plastic film and a separate stream of dirty cardboard;
• and
• separate residual plastic from the stream of dirty cardboard and include that residual plastic either in the plastic stream or in an independent third stream, wherein separate streams of a film-rich recycled plastic and a clean recycled cardboard having a purity of at least about 95% are created.