Austria-based Alpla has announced that a new rPET extrusion system will be going into operation in early May 2020 at its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling plant in Radomsko, Poland. The plant’s capacity to produce rPET regrind material will be doubled from 15,000 to 30,000 metric tons per year, says the firm.

A blog post by Alpla Head of Recycling Georg Lässer says the investment ties into the company’s signing of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in 2018.  That initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation “commits us to investing a total of €50 million ($54 million) in pursuit of this aim,” writes Lässer.

He continues, “We take this voluntary commitment seriously and have initiated several international projects, such as the construction of a recycling plant in Thailand. We are also investing in the expansion and improvement of our existing recycling plants. We aim to process even more recycled material for the bottle-to-bottle cycle and make the production processes at our recycling plants more sustainable by means of modernization.”

In Poland, the second rPET extrusion line is scheduled to go into operation in early May. “The 90 employees at PET Recycling Team Radomsko produce 30,000 metric tons of flakes per year from postconsumer material. Of this figure, 15,000 metric tons per year have thus far been extruded to produce regrind material. With the new system, the capacity will increase to 30,000 metric tons per year.”

The “high-quality rPET can then be fed back into the bottle cycle,” adds Lässer. The postconsumer input material comes from Poland and neighboring countries, he adds.

“The new extrusion system is supplied by Austrian firm Starlinger, whose cutting-edge recycling technology Alpla has been using for many years,” writes Lässer.

Says Hermann Adrigan of Starlinger & Co. GmbH, “Alpla is a long-standing and important partner for Starlinger. We are proud that we are able to contribute to the success of the Radomsko site by providing a further bottle-to-bottle PET recycling system.”

In addition to the recycling expansion at the plant, its energy supply has been switched fully to renewables, says Lässer.  

The Alpla head of recycling comments, “As an international developer and manufacturer of plastic packaging, Alpla recognized the importance of recycling at an early stage and was already entering into partnerships in the early 2000s. The acquisition of Austrian company PET Recycling Team Wöllersdorf in 2010 and the construction of an in-house recycling plant in Poland in 2012 were milestones on the evolution of Alpla into a recycling specialist.”

He continues, “Demand for recycled plastic has not always been as high as it is today. When the plant in Poland opened its doors in 2013, this was certainly the case, particularly in this region. Back then, there was hardly any awareness amongst consumers and customers regarding the recycling of used materials. Nevertheless, our experts designed the plant with foresight, enabling it to be upgraded quickly and without further construction measures. This approach is now paying off.”

Beata Szynkiewicz, commercial director at PRT Radomsko, comments, “Over the years, [our team] has held its own in a challenging market environment, helping to ensure that PET packaging units are seen as recyclables. Our market is now ready, and with the new setup we are in a strong position to make high-quality regrind material in the most sustainable way possible.”

Conditions for recycling company owners and managers have been as difficult as for those in any other sector during the turmoil caused by COVID-19 and subsequent restrictions on activity.

Revenue and jobs have been lost as the amount of recyclable material generated dwindles, and some material that is still generated (largely on the post-consumer side) is deemed unsortable until the virus subsides.

Metallic commodity prices have been hit with a vengeance, and most secondary commodities have no choice but to go along for the ride.

On the municipal side, state and local budgets that already were tight are now in complete disarray, painting a potentially bleak scenario for government-supported collection and sorting of recyclables.

Is this a time when any case for optimism can be made in the recycling sector? There are some indicators to answer “yes.”

As dismal as April was for the United States and global economy, there is little doubt that succeeding months will be incrementally better. That alone is good news.

A roaring V-shaped recovery may not be in the offing, as governments, corporations and individuals all weigh the possibility of second and even third waves of COVID-19 infections. However, what is clear is that some double-digit percentage of manufacturing and construction activity is going to return in May—even if a lot of office workers choose to work from home and largely shelter in place.

By early in the first full week in May, negotiations between ferrous scrap sellers and buyers were pointing to a rebound in that market, as EAF steelmaking has remained relatively healthy. Recovered fiber pricing, meanwhile, has tracked upward during COVID-19 partial shutdowns. Packaging remains in demand, as does demand for tissue and other hygiene products.

With the away-from-home economy beginning to show itself again, the demand for raw materials is going to increase sharply, and secondary commodities will be part of that rebound.

As a rebound ensues—even a medium-speed one—recyclers will struggle to secure adequate supply. Their challenges, however, may be minor compared to those faced by operators in the virgin raw materials sector, particularly in metals production.

Recyclers will have to bring back laid off workers, reconfigure routes for industrial scrap generators that are back in business, and convince peddlers that their scales offer pricing that is worth the collectors’ efforts.

That “to do” list can almost certainly be enacted faster than restarting the global supply chains faced by consumers of iron ore, bauxite, copper concentrates and virgin polymers. These producers will need to sort out labor contracts, trans-oceanic bulk shipping arrangements, longer-term price settlements and potentially negotiate with government agencies in many different nations.

For recyclers, one more intangible is in play: Whether the global pause button that was hit in March and April has slowed down sustainability momentum or provided it with a boost.

There is reason to believe the latter. The Internet has been abuzz with “before and after” air pollution photos. Prominent online discussion topics during the shelter-at-home phase involved reinvigorating domestic manufacturing and shifting to shorter global supply chains. Recycling advocates were quick to note that some or all three of these trends tie in to developed nations using their scrap resources effectively.

The first four months of 2020 provided little in the way of good cheer to people in most economic sectors. It is possible, though, that collectors, processors and sellers of scrap metal, paper, plastic and other materials have promising reasons to keep planning for the future of their businesses.

The Richmond, Indiana, Common Council has reportedly approved three tax abatement measures designed to smooth the way for a scrap-fed aluminum billet production facility in that east-central Indiana city.

An online news item by the Richmond Palladium-Item says the abatements were unanimously approved concerning the billet making facility proposed by Element 13 LLC. The same news item quotes Mike Rasmussen, co-owner of Pendleton, Indiana-based Newco Metals Inc., as a spokesperson for Element 13.

The Element 13 facility will reportedly consist of a 50,000-to-60,000-square-foot plant on a 15-acre site that will melt scrap to make billets. Some 30 people will reportedly staff the plant, with the billets heading into the extrusion market.

At least one additional step, involving an economic development council’s approval of Element 13’s purchase of land in an industrial park, has been scheduled for later in May.

Rasmussen tells the Palladium-Item his company is “really excited about Richmond; it’s just a great opportunity and a win-win for everyone.”

In 2019, Newco reportedly tried to site a melt shop in Ingalls, Indiana, which is about 60 miles west of Richmond.

That project ran into “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) opposition that has not been replicated thus far in Richmond.

In addition to the proposed Element 13 plant in Richmond, Newco has scrap processing facilities in Pendleton and Anderson, Indiana.

United States-based SSI Shredding Systems Inc. has provided three shredders that are part of what the firm calls a “new state-of-the-art refuse-derived fuel (RDF) line” in Thailand. SSI says the system put in place has created a closed loop process.

The shredders were supplied to SCG Cement-Building Products Co. Ltd. for its fuel line installed at an industrial waste-fed power plant in Map Ta Phut, Rayong Province, Thailand. The power plant has been designed to handle both hazardous and non-hazardous materials.

The installation of the three shredders started in late March, with plans calling for the industrial waste-powered plant to start full operation in the first half of 2020. The system is expected to process as much as 65,000 tons of industrial waste each year.

SCG cites its Circular Way and “Zero Waste to Landfill” policies as reasons for launching multiple projects, including the Map Ta Phut plant, which it calls “the first of its kind in Southeast Asia to use Japanese-based technology for gasification and ash melting.”

In terms of the imported American technology being used, SSI has supplied two Quad Q145SD model quad-shaft shredders and one Pri-Max PR4200S shredder. “They chose SSI based on the units’ ability to process a wide variety of materials without issue, and their reliability,” remarks SSI Asia Market Sales Manager Rich Ellis.

The Pri-Max model will be used as a primary reducer, allowing for the bulk feeding of commingled waste to produce flowable, sortable output at rates up to 15 tons per hour, according to SSI. The Quad shredders will produce the final product size or can act “as a unique single-step process option,” says Ellis.

“SSI is excited to be part of the new SCG Industrial waste-power plant,” remarks Ellis. “Our shredders’ hybrid design uses a combination of slow and fast speed characteristics to allow the processing of a wide variety of materials, including [those with] high moisture content and heavy contamination. The line also includes the ability to feed the Quad sizing units. This allows for continual production even during times of maintenance.”

Chana Poomee, vice president of the cement and construction solution business at SCG, says the circular concept of the Map Ta Phut plant is increasingly important in Thailand and Southeast Asia. “We are aware that industrial waste without proper management can affect the environment and communities a great deal,” says Poomee. “We have implemented the plan to raise public awareness among target groups and local communities, highlighting the plant’s remarkable technologies, standards and residue-free waste disposal.”