Irving, Texas-based Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) has announced the acquisition of Advanced Steel Recovery LLC (ASR), a scrap processing firm based in Fontana, California.
Calling ASR “a leading supplier of recycled ferrous metals,” CMC says the acquired firm’s operations include “processing and brokering capabilities that efficiently source material for sale into both the domestic and export markets.” ASR handles approximately 300,000 tons of ferrous and nonferrous scrap annually via its collection, processing and brokerage activities, CMC says.
"The acquisition of ASR is a key strategic step to support CMC’s growth in the Western United States,” says Barbara Smith, board chair, president and CEO of CMC. “Our Arizona 2 micro mill remains on-track to start up in early calendar 2023, and with the commencement of operations will come the need for a secure, cost-effective supply of ferrous scrap. ASR’s capabilities will help ensure that both of CMC’s world-class mills in Arizona will have continued reliable access to vital raw materials.”
Advanced Steel is known in part for its marketing of FASTek container loading technology, championed by its owner and President Nathan Frankel.
CMC operates seven electric arc furnace (EAF’) minimills, two EAF micromills, one rerolling mill, steel fabrication and processing plants, construction-related product warehouses, and about 40 scrap metal recycling facilities. The majority of its operations are in the United States, although it also has a presence in Poland.
Earlier this year, crews removed roofing, flooring and walls in a project that's part of a Cornell University study comparing deconstruction and demolition.
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Cornell study compares demolition vs. deconstruction
Although demolition appears to be the more economical option now, a Cornell professor believes deconstruction might be the better method after practices are fine-tuned and environmental benefits are considered.
At the prompting of a Cornell University professor, the city of Ithaca, New York, has decided to deconstruct rather than demolish one of 11 homes in Ithaca’s Collegetown neighborhood, according to reporting by WSKG, a National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Station based in Vestal, New York.
With the industry’s current understanding of the related economics and methods, demolition is the faster, cheaper route in many cases. However, Felix Heisel, director of the Circular Construction Lab at Cornell, Ithaca, New York, told WSKG deconstruction can be cheaper than demolition when accounting for landfill diversion, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and fewer natural resources extracted since more materials are reused in deconstruction than in demolition.
Heisel says making deconstruction cheaper is a matter of scale and repetition.
“As long as we deconstruct just one building, without the right equipment, without a workforce that is trained, then this will be more expensive than demolition,” he tells the radio station. “But with an economy of scale, that changes. It can be an economically competitive process as long as you have an economy of scale.”
The project will inform the development of local legislation in Ithaca, which, if adopted, would make it one of just a handful of cities across the country prioritizing deconstruction over demolition, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Portland, Oregon, among others.
The intent of the project is to “investigate the circular potential of the local built environment by researching and proposing methods for material reuse and recycling, reversible construction, reactivating embodied values, creating green jobs and reinventing the underlying business models of construction,” Cornell says.
The Catherine Commons Deconstruction Project includes a side-by-side comparison of demolition and deconstruction on similar structures in the same economic environment. Researchers are comparing “everything from thequantity and quality of materials saved to the resale market, the time and labor required and the total cost—including environmental and social costs that are typically not factored into construction and demolition budgets,” Cornell says.
The research investigates the existing barriers to deconstruction, as well as the scalability of deconstruction for businesses. Using a process called panelized deconstruction, a crew divided the structure at 206 College Avenue into sections earlier this year, removing sections of floor, wall and roofing, removing them from the site to a warehouse where materials could be processed, Cornell says. To limit time on site, the process involves the use of heavy equipment married to more surgical removal of valuable materials from inside the structure.
Partners in the project include the Seattle-based Building Deconstruction Institute; Ithaca-based Trade Design Build; Ithaca-based Finger Lakes ReUse; the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell and many others, including the Cornell Einhorn Center, which supported the project through the Engaged Cornell Public Purpose Grant.
ERI looks to add staff
California-based electronics recycling firm cites need for additional sales professionals.
ERI is citing its “steadily continued growth” as the reason it is looking to expand its nationwide sales and marketing team, making “an open call to sales professionals.”
ERI, based in Fresno, California, bills itself as “the nation’s largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition (ITAD) provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company,” and says it has immediate openings available.
“We have seen continued increasing demand for our industry-leading ITAD and electronic waste recycling services,” says Kevin Dillon, ERI co-founder, chief marketing officer and chief sales officer. “We continue to grow exponentially and are implementing additional infrastructure growth measures to meet global demand. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world today, and the need to responsibly recycle electronics has never been greater. We’re proud to continue offering flexible, rewarding, green jobs across the nation and seek like-minded professionals to join the ERI family.”
The company says interested applicants can visit this web page.
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AF&PA releases monthly packaging, printing and writing papers report
Printing and writing paper inventory levels decrease, while packaging paper shipments remain flat in August.
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has released its monthly reports for packaging and printing and writing papers, revealing essentially flat numbers in the packaging sector while printing and writing faced a bit of a slump.
According to the report, total printing and writing paper shipments decreased 5 percent in August compared with the same month last year, and total U.S. purchases of printing and writing papers decreased 1 percent. The AF&PA also notes total printing and writing paper inventory levels decreased 2 percent when compared with the previous month.
The printing and writing papers report also showed:
U.S. purchases of uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers decreased 1 percent in August compared with the same period last year, while the inventory levels decreased 2 percent compared with July, when UFS imports increased 25 percent and exports decreased 12 percent.
Coasted free sheet (CFS) paper shipments decreased 6 percent compared with August 2021, while inventory levels decreased 3 percent compared with last month. Both CFS imports and exports increased compared with July 2021, up 37 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
U.S. purchases of coated mechanical (CM) papers in August decreased 10 percent compared with the same month last year, though inventory levels increase 5 percent compared with July numbers. CM imports increased 14 percent and exports decreased 16 percent in July.
Uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments increased 17 percent compared with last August, while inventory levels decreased 9 percent compared with July, when UM imports increased 8 percent and exports decreased 15 percent.
In the AF&PA monthly packaging papers report, the organization reports total packaging papers and specialty packaging shipments in August remained essentially flat, down 0.1 percent, compared with August 2021 and were flat (up 0.1 percent) compared with the same eight months of last year.
The report also shows the unbleached packaging papers operating rate was 94.4 percent, up 1.1 points from August 2021 and up 1.7 points year to date, while shipments of bleached food wrapping were 31,600 short tons for August, down 2.1 percent year to date.
Andritz granulator deployed at e-scrap facility
Austrian-made shredder prepares e-scrap plastic for recycling markets.
Recycling equipment and technology provider Andritz, based in Austria, has provided an ADuro G-1600S granulator to Umweltschutz Höpperger, an e-scrap recycling firm that processes its own plastic scrap for recycling based in Pfaffenhofen, Austria.
Andritz says the new ADuro G-1600S granulator is replacing an existing machine from another supplier. and is equipped with additional wear protection.
Thomas Höpperger, general manager of Höpperger Umweltschutzm, says, “This investment helps us to reduce production downtimes significantly. Thus, we are saving valuable work time. In addition, we benefit from efficient maintenance work and higher productivity.”
Andritz describes the company group Höpperger as a family-owned enterprise that “focuses on ecological and feasible recycling solutions.” Höpperger processes material at facilities in Pfaffenhofen and Rietz , Austria, handling about 100,000 tons of various types of scrap items per year.
Brian Taylor
Bob Gaetjens
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