Bulk Handling Systems (BHS)

Sophie Leone • December 18, 2023

We are pleased to welcome Bulk Handling Systems as a new Sustaining Advisory Member to Northeast Recycling Council

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) designs, manufactures and installs processing systems that extract recyclables from the waste stream. BHS is a worldwide leader in the innovative design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy, and construction and demolition industries.


The company’s areas of expertise include the following:

  • Municipal Solid Waste: BHS developed the first Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) recovery system in the U.S. to keep 70% of waste out of the landfill, capturing 90%-99% of high value commodities like PET plastics — on the first pass.
  • Single Stream Recycling: BHS manufactures sorting equipment designed to automatically separate commingled single stream recyclables into valuable commodities.
  • Plastics Recycling: The company’s front-end systems are a vital step in purifying post-consumer recycled PET (rPET) for a variety of uses including bottle-grade flake, pellets, bottle preforms, extruded sheet and thermoform packaging. In addition, these systems recover other recyclables including metals, aluminum & other plastics.
  • Compost and Organics: “Our in-line Tri-Disc screens have successfully refined wood products and green-waste for decades,” the company states. “As our customers dig deeper into the waste stream, we are leading the way with our screening, air separation, anaerobic digestion, and compost solutions.”


Subsidiaries wholly owned by BHS include Nihot (Amsterdam), NRT (Nashville, TN) and Zero Waste Energy (Lafayette, CA). BHS is also the home of Max-AI® technology, a breakthrough artificial intelligence that identifies materials, makes intelligent decisions and directs equipment such as robotic sorters.


“As we look toward the future, we see waste management companies, recyclers, and municipalities around the world facing changing material streams, unprecedented diversion expectations and a new drive toward creating energy from waste,” the company states. “BHS continues to set the pace by developing innovative solutions to these challenges, ensuring our customers will lead the industry now and in the future.”


Regional Sales Manager Todd Rubendall said, “BHS is delighted to become a member of NERC! In addition to enhancing our company presence in the Northeast and exhibiting our full range of capabilities, we are excited to learn from, and collaborate with fellow industry leaders and forward thinkers throughout the region. We look forward to the opportunity to play a key role in achieving the collective aspirations relating to environmental sustainability and a circular economy.”


NERC welcomes BHS to its roster of Sustaining Advisory Members. We look forward to learning more about the company’s efforts to add quantifiable improvements to the recycling process and collaborating to improve the process even more.


For more information about Bulk Handling Systems click here

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August 29, 2025
Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data
By Recycled Materials Association July 29, 2025
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has opened the 2025 Emerging Professionals (EP) Program . Now, in its third year, the program provides professionals who are new to the field of recycling, sustainability, and environmental stewardship with discounted access to NERC’s Conference and Foundations Course, sponsored by their employer organization. EPs gain valuable connections with seasoned industry professionals and peers while engaging in discussions on current trends, challenges, and innovations shaping the industry. This program is designed for those with three or fewer years of experience. “This year, EPs also receive a discount to our Foundations of Sustainable Materials Management course (a live, instructor-led training) developed to provide the key building blocks for understanding the industry,” said Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager at NERC. “It’s a great way to close the loop: gaining both a strong technical foundation and real-world connections in one experience.” Read and Learn More.
By Chaz Miller June 30, 2025
Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. On July 1, Oregon’s packaging and paper extended producer responsibility (EPR) program begins operating. This will be a first in our country. “Producers”, instead of local governments or private citizens, will be paying to recycle packages and paper products. Colorado’s program begins operating early in 2026. For years we have heard the theory of how packaging EPR will work. At last, we will get results. Five other states also have laws. Their programs should all be operating by 2030. None of the state laws have identical requirements. The Circular Action Alliance, the “producer responsibility organization” responsible for managing the program in most of those states, knows it has a lot on its plate. EPR laws are not new to the U.S. Thirty-two states already have laws that cover a wide variety of products such as electronics, paint, mattresses, batteries, etc. Those laws are relatively simple. Most cover one product. The producer group is a small number of companies. Goals and programs are focused and narrow. They are a mixed bag of success and failure. Packaging EPR is far more complex. The number of covered products is way higher. Thousands of companies are paying for these programs. Goals are challenging. Some are impossible to meet. In addition, local governments treat recycling as a normal service. Their residents will still call them if their recyclables aren’t picked up. It probably hasn’t helped that advocates tout EPR as the solution for recycling’s problems. We are told we will have more collection and better processing with higher recycling rates. Markets will improve and even stabilize. Some of this will happen, but not all. Collection and processing should go smoothly in Oregon. The state has high expectations for recycling. I have no doubt recycling will increase. Collection programs will blanket the state, giving more households the opportunity to recycle. I’m not sure, though, how much of an increase we will see. Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. Another challenge is the “responsible end market” requirements. You’ve probably seen pictures of overseas dumps created by unscrupulous or just naïve plastics “recyclers”. In response, Oregon and the other states are requiring sellers and end markets to prove they are “responsible”. They must provide information about who and where they are, how they operate, how much was actually recycled, and more. Recycling end markets pushed back. Paper and metals recyclers argue they shouldn’t be covered. They don’t cause those problems. As for plastics, the general manager of one of America’s largest plastics recycling companies said his company now spends time and money gathering data and filling out forms to prove they’re “responsible”. His virgin resin competitors don’t have to. Ironically, we now import more plastics for recycling than we export. Maybe those countries should impose similar requirements on their plastics recyclers. Colorado faces unique problems. The mountain state is large. Its population is concentrated on the I-25 corridor running north and south through Denver with low population density elsewhere. Recycling collection and processing is limited as are end markets. To make matters worse, slightly more than half of its households use “subscription” services for waste and recycling collection. Those services are funded by the households, not by taxpayers. 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