A package’s real test begins after curbside pickup. We map the step-by-step journey of common packaging formats through a materials-recovery facility (MRF), showing how size, shape, labels, inks, adhesives, and multi-material layers affect capture and sorting.
By tracing each screen, optical sorter, and eddy current station, it explains why some items make it to commodity bales while others end up as residue and what design tweaks can tip the balance.