The new equipment is in. The conveyors are running. The installation crew is packing up. Your new MRF goes live in 2 weeks.
The operations manager calls the temp staffing agency she has been using for 3 years. They can fill eight of the 14 positions she needs for first shift. The installation contractor had a different agency for their crew.
The problem: Neither agency knows how many people the other placed.
The question: Will you have enough workers?
A single MRF staffing partner allows you to optimize your recycling facility workforce solutions. Having the correct MRF installation crew staffing goes beyond starting your new automated facility off on the right foot.
The Industry Is in the Middle of a $1.4 Billion Upgrade Cycle
The MRF automation wave is not some far-off future trend. It is happening now, across every major operator in North America.
WM committed $1.4 billion in 39 new and upgraded recycling facilities across North America between 2022 and 2026, including its largest-ever facility to serve Baltimore and Washington, DC. Republic, Coastal, Athens, Rumpke, and regional operators across the country are also investing in upgrades.
Material recovery facility staffing requires two distinct workforces for new and upgraded projects. One is the crew that installs and commissions the new equipment. The other comes from the team that runs it once it goes live. Most operators get workers through separate vendors that do not know what each other is doing.
A single staffing partner for waste recycling solves this problem.
Two Workforce Populations, One Facility, Two Different Vendors
How does the problem of multiple staffing agencies for MRF operations happen? An MRF upgrade project has a build phase and an operations phase. The workforce profiles of those two phases are genuinely different.
The installation phase requires:
- Mechanical assemblers
- Conveyor technicians
- Workers with experience installing and commissioning industrial equipment
- Skilled tradespeople who understand equipment environments
- People who can read system documentation
- Specialized staffers who can work safely alongside active machinery during commissioning
Meanwhile, the operations phase needs:
- Sorters
- Line workers
- Quality control personnel
- Equipment operators
- People who can work the upgraded production floor at full throughput
- Skilled workers who can monitor automated systems and troubleshoot issues
Roles in a waste and recycling operations workforce do more than just inspect materials on a belt.
Many facilities make the mistake of having one staffing agency for MRF operations and a separate agency for a recycling facility equipment installation workforce. The transition from installation to operations carries risk when using this model. The installation vendor does not know the facility’s ongoing workforce. The operations vendor was not involved during build-out. No one owns the handoff.
When learning how to staff MRF upgrade projects, consider consolidating MRF staffing vendors with a single national staffing partner in the recycling industry.
What a Coverage Gap at Go-Live Actually Costs
When you don’t do the handoff correctly, it can cost you more than just profits. A facility that goes live under-staffed on the operations side does not ease into production. It scrambles. Supervisors cover line positions. Throughput is below the design rate from day one. The benefits from faster, cleaner sorting don’t happen right away, because you don’t have enough trained workers to run the floor at capacity.
Sorter turnover at MRFs routinely approaches 100% annually. WM saw 14,000 to 15,000 workers pass through staffing agencies each year just to maintain 2,500 to 3,000 sorter positions across the country. Launching a new or upgraded facility with an untested, under-resourced staffing model adds instability to an environment that is already challenging to staff under normal conditions.
Yes, an automated facility reduces staffing costs by 30 to 40%. But without an MRF sorter staffing agency by your side, your facility still faces challenges.
What a Single Partner Across the Full Ecosystem Changes
An MRF staffing partner that covers both the installation phase and the ongoing operations phase brings something two separate vendors cannot. You get continuity.
During the installation phase, a single staffing partner for waste recycling places skilled mechanical and technical workers oriented to the facility’s safety environment and operational expectations before they arrive. After your facility goes live, the same staffing agency draws from a pre-screened operations roster to staff the floor.
The result at go-live is a fully staffed floor, not a staffing emergency, when you have the right team handling the material recovery facility staffing.
Practically, recycling facility workforce solutions work this way:
- One pre-qualified candidate pipeline is used for both phases by building the operations roster during the installation phase.
- One safety orientation standard when both phases receive the same facility-specific safety training.
- One point of accountability when a single call closes the staffing solution versus two separate calls to two vendors who each own half the problem.
The MRF Automation Wave Is Not Slowing Down
More WM facilities are coming online throughout 2026. Republic’s Bridgeton MO MRF breaks ground in early 2026 with an estimated go-live date in 2027 to serve Greater St. Louis. EPR laws expanding in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and other states continue to drive additional MRF construction and upgrades.
MRFs see a multi-year investment cycle that will reproduce the installation-to-operations transition repeatedly at facilities across the country.
Partner With Snelling for Your Staffing Needs
Is your installation to operations handoff going to be smooth or chaotic? The answer is in your hands. Utilizing two vendors carries risk. Having a single MRF staffing partner for before and after the go-live date keeps your new operation running smoothly.
Evaluate your current staffing approach to see if it covers the full project lifecycle or just the phase you’re in right now. Find a local Snelling office today to start the conversation.
