System and process for sorting and recovery of recyclable materials from mixed waste

1. A process for sorting and recovering materials from a mixed solid waste stream, the process comprising:

screening the mixed solid waste stream in a plurality of screeners to produce a solid waste stream comprising heavier weight materials, medium weight materials and lighter weight materials;

passing the solid waste stream through a first air separator and removing the heavier weight materials from the solid waste stream;

passing the solid waste stream through a second air separator and removing the medium weight materials from the solid waste stream, wherein the medium weight materials comprise one or more of higher density plastics, ferrous/tin cans, and mixed paper, such that the solid waste stream substantially comprises lighter weight materials, wherein the lighter weight materials comprise contaminants and other materials;

passing the solid waste stream through a third air separator and contacting the solid waste stream with an air stream to isolate the contaminants from the other materials;

recombining the medium weight materials and the contaminants from the lighter weight materials to produce a recombined solid waste stream;

introducing the recombined solid waste stream into a mechanical separator and separating the recombined solid waste stream into containers materials comprising bottles and cans, and other materials;

passing the containers materials sequentially through a first eddy current separator and a second eddy current separator to remove all or substantially all non-ferrous metals; and

passing the containers materials though one or more optical sorters to remove plastics materials.