Abstract: A system and method are provided for sorting and recovery of recyclable materials, and in particular, sorting and recovery of recyclable materials from mixed waste comprising municipal solid waste in a materials recovery facility. A fluffer can be used to re-size and liberate the incoming materials to a suitable size for further processing in size screen equipment and subsequent downstream separation. The fluffer can re-size the material to a size of approximately 20 inches or larger, plus/minus a few inches, whereby reducing the material to a smaller size would impact the splits in subsequent downstream equipment.