The Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) board of directors and staff have announced the release of the RIOS:2016 Implementation Guide (RIG). The guide includes a new Footprint Tool that RIOS says is more effective and easy to develop.

Designed as a “do-it-yourself system,” RIOS says the RIG is a series of documents, tools and templates intended to help recyclers effectively implement RIOS.

“The RIOS management system is now easier than ever to implement in your facility. Following the overhaul of the RIOS Standard in November 2016, the RIOS Technical Advisory Group spearheaded the development of an Implementation Guide that is more robust and more universally approachable by facility staff than the previous version,” says RIOS.

The new RIG is designed to be accessible to employees who are not compliance experts but have a role managing environmental issues, employee health and safety and quality control, says RIOS.

“Now, more than ever, a QEHS (quality, environmental, health and safety) management system is accessible to recycling facilities of all sizes, regardless of commodity or process,” RIOS says.

The RIG is available to all current RIOS members. Contact RIOS Program Assistant Michelle Woody by phone at 202-662-8553 for more information.

RIOS, which was developed by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), is an integrated QEHS management system certification that is designed for recyclers by recyclers. By integrating the management system, recyclers can more effectively manage their systems, which results in stronger health and safety programs, greater environmental responsibility and better operational efficiency, ISRI says.

United Kingdom-based Recycling Technologies has announced that it has closed a recent funding round in record time, raising £5 million, or $6.6 million. The company says it is now searching for additional sites for its chemical recycling machine, which converts residual plastic scrap into oil.

Recycling Technologies will be at the RWM Exhibition in Birmingham, England, Sept. 12-14, 2017, and says it “is keen to meet with waste management partners and suppliers to start discussions about new site acquisitions in 2018 and beyond.”

The company says it has operated successfully at the Swindon material recovery facility (MRF) based in Cheney Manor in England using its chemical technology to recycle residual plastic scrap into a low-sulfur hydrocarbon product called Plaxx. Plaxx can be used as a feedstock for new polymer and wax manufacturing, replacing fossil-fuel-derived raw materials and propelling plastics into the circular economy.

Recycling Technologies says it is preparing for further trials at the end of 2017 to ramp up to continuous operations.

This chemical recycling technology offers an alternative to landfill and energy-from-waste (EfW) incineration for residual plastic scra[ and boosts the recycling rate for mixed plastics from 30 percent achieved with existing mechanical treatment to 90 percent with these technologies combined, according to the company.

Recycling Technologies says it is looking to partner with more waste management operators and local councils with a view to increase the number of sites from which it can operate. The machine Recycling Technologies has created takes the solution for plastic scrap to the source of the problem, usually a MRF or plastics recycling facility (PRF), rather than the problem to the solution, the company explains. The technology is housed in a chemical recycling unit called the RT7000, capable of treating 7000 tons of mixed plastics per annum from household as well as commercial and industrial (C&I) streams.

By combining mechanical and chemical recycling and working them in synergies, Recycling Technologies says, “virtually all plastics from households, offices and shops can be recycled.”

The company adds, “Even materials that previously have been regarded as unrecyclable, including black trays, laminated food pouches, films and contaminated food packaging can be processed.

“With Recycling Technologies as part of the processing infrastructure, there is potential for local councils to consider simplifying the collection of plastic waste from households and commercial sites into a single all plastics bin,” the company continues.

Bernie Brannan, corporate director, Swindon Borough Council, says, “It is evident that this technology should have financial, environmental and economic benefits, not only for Swindon but further afield as well.”

On the back of its activity in Swindon’s Cheney Manor MRF, Recycling Technologies says it is establishing recycling facilities in Scotland in as early as 2018 to support delivery of the Scottish government’s circular economy strategy. The RT7000 will be located in Binn Farm, Perthshire, run by leading independent recycling and waste services company Binn Group, Scotland. 

David Sanderson, group finance director of Binn Group, says, “This innovative chemical recycling technology solution manages plastics waste streams from diverse sectors enabling us to improve services, reduce costs and meet environmental commitments. Partnering with Recycling Technologies gives Binn Group a distinct advantage in the Scottish plastic waste market.”

Adrian Griffiths, CEO at Recycling Technologies, adds, “2017 has been a fantastic year for Recycling Technologies. We have a viable solution to make the circular economy a reality and taking end-of-life plastic and turning it into more plastic is a great way to do this. As a team, we’ve come a long way in a short period of time and I am very excited for what the future holds in Swindon, Scotland, and as we expand in the U.K. and internationally. The investment we are getting shows that there is a lot of support and belief in what we are achieving. This is a great moment for talented people to join the company.”

Two organizations in Uruguay have worked together to create a free app for mobile devices designed to show where things can be dropped off for recycling. The not-for-profit organizations Compromiso Empresarial para la Reciclaje (CEMPRE) and DATA Uruguay have created “Donde Reciclijo UY” for the Android and IOS operating systems and for Web browsers.

An online article by the Montevideo, Uruguay-based El Observador says in that city alone, about 1,200 tons of municipal solid waste is generated each day. The newspaper also says the percentage of that material currently diverted and sorted for recycling “is minimal.”

The new Donde Reciclijo UY app is described as providing “access to a geolocalized map where the user can see the different types of [collection containers and what can be deposited in each one.” The app covers the entire nation and allows users to search by the type of material they want to recycle.

CEMPRE Executive Director Federico Baráibar is quoted as saying that although there are thousands of containers devoted to recycling in Uruguay, they are underutilized and often material collected “arrives mixed, and the plants destined to process them work four times below their potential.”

Among the materials for which collection bins or centers have been mapped are plastic, paper, metal and glass packaging, cartons, batteries, clothing and motor oil.

Materials the app considers undesirable in collection containers include toilet paper, diapers and damp cloths, hand and sanitary towels, ceramics, bones and cigarette butts.

Negotiators from Barranquilla, Colombia, and the Colombian state of Atlántico say they are working to overcome obstacles so Mexico-based Deacero can build a steel mill in the region. Barranquilla is a port city of about 1.2 million people on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Colombia.

An online article by Barranquilla-based El Heraldo says two pro-business groups—ProBarranquilla and the Chamber of Commerce of Barranquilla—have “expressed their interest that the construction project of a steel mill in the district of Juan Mina can continue” and that “alternative solutions [can be] found for the inconveniences that have arisen.”

A joint statement by the two groups says the mayor of Barranquilla and the government of the state of Atlántico join them in saying “the problems presented can be solved in the shortest possible time.” The statement adds, “With the construction of this plant the city wins, the [state of Atlántico] wins and the company wins.”

Among the infrastructure spending that may need to take place are adding electrical towers and lines and widening a road.