Ever wonder where all those items in your recycle bin actually go?

We did too, and we tracked them all the way to American Waste's 4.5 acre material recovery facility (MRF) on Hughes Drive in Traverse City, where the company will soon open the most advanced recycling process in Michigan.

Kalkaska-based American Waste, owned by brothers Mike and Eddie Ascione, is investing $8.5 million in a massive, new sorting line that will process tons of plastic, plastic bags, paper of all types, juice and milk cartons, metals, glass, and more. The investment is also expected to add 30-50 new jobs.

The new line consists of several giant pieces of computerized and mechanical conveyor belts, scanners, sorters, and storage bays, supplied and manufactured mostly by Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems. Pieces began arriving in March, and the meticulous process of assembly has been underway since, led by Traverse City-based Team Elmer's, toward a launch date in late June.

Most residential recycling materials sorting is done now by hand at American's Kalkaska facility. The majority of that volume will eventually transition to the Traverse City location.

American Waste landed the single-hauler contract for all Traverse City and Peninsula Township residents in April, though American Waste Marketing and PR Manager Kelly Ignace is quick to point out that the major recycling investment was greenlighted long before the Traverse City decision was made. "It's a capacity-building move, for sure," she says, noting that more growth is on the horizon for the company that already serves customers in 14 counties throughout northern Michigan.

Ignace took The Ticker on a guided tour of the facility, walking us through every step in the eventual sorting process, from trucks arriving on-site through the network of machinery and ultimately packing each material type into 4X4X6-foot bales that are sold in bulk to recycled material buyers elsewhere. Plastic from your soda bottles ends up getting reused as new Tide or Squirt containers and metal will be sold to scrap years, while your recycled paper gets sold and turned back into office paper. There's a secondary market for all of the recycled materials -- except glass, at least for now.

"We're stockpiling glass, trying to figure out the best uses and markets," adds Ignace. "Unfortunately the greatest demand for green glass is in Europe, but we're looking at other possible uses."

All told, it takes 24 bales of recycled materials to fill a semi trailer. Each week, six American Waste trailers head to Manistee, the Upper Peninsula, and metro Detroit, delivering recycled materials sold for new uses.

To get your own quick video tour of the facility and the new American Waste recycling sorting line currently being assembled, click on the image at top left.