Steel output in the United States edged above 1.22 million tons the week ending June 20, representing a 1.2 percent increase from output in the previous week. Output continues to lag well behind (by 34.3 percent) year-ago levels. The week ending June 20, 2019, more than 1.86 million tons of steel were produced.

According to the calculations of the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the mill operating capacity rate was 54.6 percent the week ending June 20, down from an 80.1 percent rate during the comparable week in 2019.

Steel output numbers have been on a slow-rising trend since mid-May, after falling dramatically in late March and April as COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in the U.S. Weekly output fell to as low as 1.14 million tons the week ending May 2, when the mill capacity rate was 51.1 percent.

The AISI says steel shipments for the month of April 2020 fell by 31.5 percent compared with April 2019. Compared with the previous month, April 2020 shipments of cold-rolled sheet steel feel by 29 percent, hot-rolled sheet shipments dropped by 31 percent and shipments of hot-dipped galvanized sheet steel fell by 35 percent.

On the trade front, the AISI in late June welcomed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that rejected a challenge by steel importers to the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s Section 232 protections for certain types of steel.

“We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court today rightly affirmed our strong belief, and the previous decisions of the Court of International Trade and Court of Appeals, that the challenge to the Section 232 statute is without merit,” says Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO.

“The decision by the Supreme Court today not to hear further arguments in this case is acknowledgement once again that Congress acted within its constitutional authority when it authorized the president to take action to adjust imports that threaten to impair our national security. We have consistently maintained this fact and are pleased that the highest court agreed,” adds Gibson.

Germany-based Scholz Recycling Group says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a China-based aluminum producer to build a recycling-focused industrial park in Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.

Scholz, which is part of Hong Kong-based Chiho Environmental Group, signed the MOU with Shandong Weiqiao, which is part of China Hongqiao Group Limited, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers.

“This signature hopefully marks the next step for Scholz and shows that our unique recycling know-how is crucial for securing supply chains sustainably – especially in these difficult times”, says Scholz Recycling CEO Rafael Suchan regarding the MOU.

The industrial recycling park is being designed to secure and prepare the more than 200,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap required per year by Hongqiao, “and thereby contribute to a wider approach in reducing emissions and becoming more sustainable and environmental-friendly,” say the two firms.

The two companies also intend to enter the Chinese end-of-life vehicle (ELV) and spare parts market, they say. Within the first phase of the project, Scholz plans to collect and process up to 50,000 ELVs annually.

Romulus, Michigan-based rolloff trailer maker Benlee says it has “doubled down” on its commitment to environmental social governance (ESG) principles, in part by investing $500,000 in a solar panel array at its Michigan facility.

“The world is undergoing major challenges, including climate change, health, economic downturn and of course equality for all,” says Greg Brown, president and CEO of Benlee. He says despite the economic slowdown in the United States in the past four months caused by COVID-19 and subsequent restrictions, that Benlee remains committed to ESG practices.

Brown says Benlee’s efforts include a recent $500,000 investment in two large solar arrays or roof panels made by North Carolina-based Powerhome Solar. He says the electricity generated will offset power purchased from a regional utility firm, and will be used in Benlee’s manufacturing, engineering and office areas.

The company also has raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour for all entry-level associates, and has implemented a monthly bonus structure for every employee. The bonus can pay up to another approximately $1.25 per hour, so new entry level people can earn more than $16 hour, depending on the company’s performance.

Benlee says its senior management team meets daily to discuss key business issues. The meeting starts with a discussion of safety protocols “to protect associates and its customers, who mainly use their products in the recycling industry, a key part of ESG.”

The equipment maker also has made U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay-certified tires standard on all its trailers. Such tires are designed to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions and conserve fuel use by 3 percent, per EPA data. Benlee says it also “heavily promotes” automatic tire inflation systems designed to maintain optimum tire pressure, reducing fuel use and increasing tire life, thereby further decreasing the carbon footprint of its vehicles.

Brown says Benlee has been and will remain active in working with elected officials in Washington, Michigan and in the markets it operates “to promote policies that grow the economy faster, while still protecting people and the environment.”

Adds the firm, “Investments are clearly needed at the federal level to support and rebuild the economy due to COVID-19, but long-term investments are needed in education, R&D and infrastructure, which will support faster economic growth and efficiency.”

States Brown, “Faster growth and investments are needed along with responsible spending and eventually raising revenue, to stabilize the U.S. federal deficit that is $26.3 trillion and growing, due to years of slow growth, out of control spending and now COVID-19. The U.S. is great, and we would be greater together, if together we all live and breathe the principles of ESG, leading to a greater planet, greater economy and greater social justice for all.”

Benlee is a manufacturer of rolloff trailers, gondola trailers and lugger trucks, as well providing replacement parts for the fleets in the waste, recycling and demolition industries.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed HB 73 into law after it received approval from the state’s top legislative officers and unanimous passage in both chambers early in 2020. The bill requires Florida counties and municipalities to address nonhazardous contamination in recyclables in contracts with haulers or material recovery facilities (MRFs). Under this  legislation, haulers are not required to transport items that are defined by the local community as “contaminated recycling materials,” and MRFs would not be required to process these materials.

While MRFs can handle some nonrecyclables, excessive or consistent contamination can generate additional costs related to sorting, processing, energy consumption and equipment repair or replacement. The law aims to reduce these costs and strengthen communication between communities and haulers or MRFs as they work to address the prominent issue of contamination in recyclables.

HB 73 requires that contracts between communities and haulers or MTFs include:

• strategies and obligations of the county or municipality and the residential recycling collector to reduce the amount of contaminated recyclables being collected or processed; 
• procedures for identifying, documenting, managing and rejecting residential recycling containers, truckloads, carts or bins that contain contaminated recyclables; 
• remedies authorized to be used if a container, cart or bin contains contaminated recyclables; 
• education and enforcement measures that will be used to reduce the amount of contaminated recyclables; and
• a definition of the term "contaminated recyclable material" that is appropriate for the local community.

“The bill will help local governments, residential recycling collectors and material recovery facilities work together to reduce the amount of solid waste contamination in residential curbside recycling as part of the contracting process,” says Brandon Wright, vice president of communications and media relations at the National Waste & Recycling Association, Arlington, Virginia. “Solid waste contamination, aka garbage, in residential recycling bins causes valuable recyclable materials to be contaminated and increases the cost of recycling to cities and counties. This proposed change will improve recycling as well as help provide ‘clean’ and marketable recyclable material to end-users.”

This is the third time such legislation has been introduced in Florida in the past two years. While previous versions included various amendments, HB 73 did not.

“The bill was vetoed in the past because of unrelated amendments being added at the last minute. That is common in Florida when a bill has a broad title like ‘Environmental Regulations’,” Wright says. “This year—no amendments! The bill contained our recycling legislation and another section deals with rebuilding docks. The docks language had been agreed upon by all parties involved. Therefore, no controversial language, and the governor signed the bill.”

With the curbside recycling contamination bill signed, the hope is that it will help to strengthen contractual relationships between MRFs, haulers and communities. “By eliminating as much contamination as possible, hopefully it will lower cost,” Wright says.

He adds that contaminated material coming into a facility must be loaded onto a truck and hauled to a landfill, resulting in an estimated $1,000 per incident.

Overall, the bill aims to reduce the amount of contamination arriving at MRFs and, therefore, reduce costs for these facilities. “We believe the new law will help recyclers and MRFs get the cleanest materials possible and increase overall recycling rates,” Wright says.