The board of directors for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, will consider adding new specifications for rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic recyclables during its Summer Meeting July 20, 2017. These specifications are intended to encompass more of the plastics recyclables that are actively trading in the marketplace, ISRI says.

The PVC specifications were approved by ISRI’s Plastics Division at the Spring Board & Committee Meetings in New Orleans April 24, 2017.The new PVC specifications are available for review at www.isri.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/isri-rigid-pvc-spec-draft---20jun2017.pdf?sfvrsn=4.  

At the upcoming meeting, the ISRI board may choose to adopt, amend or reject the recommendations of the Plastics Division or table them pending further review. More information about the rules governing the procedures from the addition, amendment or withdrawal of ISRI’s scrap specifications can be found in the “Scrap Specifications Circular."

To submit comments, recommendations or questions regarding the proposed specifications, contact Joe Pickard at jpickard@isri.org. Following the vote by the board, ISRI will welcome comments for a 30-day period.  

The Gerdau Steel Mill in Rancho Cucamonga, California, celebrated its 60th anniversary June 21, 2017, by breaking ground on an environmental upgrade to the state’s only remaining full-production steel mill. Dozens of local officials and community leaders attended the celebration, according to Gerdau.

“Today is about celebrating the rich history of our mill and commemorating its role in the community for six decades,” said Peter Campo, president of Gerdau Long Steel North America, headquartered in Tampa, Florida. “It’s also about launching a new era in recycling and steel manufacturing as we break ground on a $22 million investment that will make our Rancho mill one the greenest in the nation, if not the world.”

Mark Olson, vice president and general manager of the Gerdau Steel mill in Rancho Cucamonga, said the new “pulse jet baghouse” environmental project will capture 99.9 percent of the contaminants in the mill’s emissions. Current equipment already captures 99.4 percent of the mill’s emissions, according to the company.

“Gerdau has worked closely with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to develop and analyze these new improvements to the mill’s environmental systems to ensure that we continue to meet federal, state and regional air quality standards for many years to come,” Olson said.

The new baghouse project, which is being built by the SMS Group, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, will be completed in 2018 and follows more than $7 million in other upgrades that Gerdau has made in the mill in the past five years.

Gerdau says it employs approximately 275 steelworkers at its Rancho Cucamonga mill. The mill consumes more than 440,000 tons of scrap metal annually, recycling it into seismic rebar that is used to construct new buildings, bridges and freeways across California. (A booklet on the history of the Gerdau mill in Rancho Cucamonga is available at https://tinyurl.com/Rancho60th.)

The company says rebar from its Rancho Cucamonga mill helped build the Devore Interchange, where the 15 and 215 freeways come together; Levi Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers; and the Wilshire Grand, the tallest building in Los Angeles.

“As a local business and partner for 60 years, the Gerdau mill has been a cornerstone of our community, providing thousands of good jobs to generations of local steelworkers and their families,” said San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford. “Every day, the Gerdau mill is literally creating the framework for new transportation infrastructure and commerce that helps fuel the economy in our county and across our state.”

Rutherford, who also sits on the board for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, joined California Assemblyman Marc Steinorth; Rancho Cucamonga City Council Member Diane Williams; Fontana, California, Mayor Acquanetta Warren; and Gerdau officials to mark the ceremonial groundbreaking of the $22 million environmental project.

As part of Wednesday’s celebration, Gerdau’s Olson recognized five employees who have worked at the mill for more than 39 years, including Jessie Vasquez, a mechanic in the mill’s roll shop, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary at the facility.

“Celebrating 60 years in steel manufacturing and recycling is a significant milestone. I believe one thing has made this mill a success over the past six decades—the amazing people who have worked here and who are part of the Gerdau family today,” Olson said. “We’re proud of our past, and we’re excited for our future.”

Gerdau has more than 100 locations in North America and employs approximately 9,000 people in the United States and Canada. 

 

GreenWaste Recovery, a privately owned and locally operated recycling and diversion company that specializes in collecting and processing residential and commercial waste, yard trimmings, curbside recyclables, food waste and construction and demolition (C&D) debris, commissioned a 40 ton per hour mixed waste material recovery facility (MRF) in May 2007. That system was awarded the Solid Waste Association’s (SWANA’s) 2008 Gold Award for Recycling Excellence.

More than 10 years later, GreenWaste is ready to expand and selected Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Eugene, Oregon, to provide a mixed waste processing system. The new two-line system is designed to double overall throughput capacity to more than 80 tons per hour and includes updated technology, including five Max-AI autonomous quality control (AQC) units. 

Three SpydIR optical sorters from Nashville, Tennessee-based National Recovery Technology (NRT) and four Max-AI AQC units work together to create a completely autonomous container line. A Max unit with dual robotic sorters operates on the last-chance residue line to recover plastics, metals and paper. BHS Tri-Disc screens will replace a trommel screen. Also included in the new system are BHS bag breakers, single drum separators from Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based Nihot, BHS polishing screens and a NRT FiberPure optical sorter that targets fiber or plastic film.
 
“Our MRF in San Jose is one of the most innovative processing facilities in the world, capable of sorting and recovering 98 percent of recyclable materials and 75 percent of trash for a total facility diversion rate of 88 percent for household and commercial waste,” says GreenWaste CEO Frank Weigel. “For more than a decade our exceptional team has pushed our existing equipment to operate beyond its designed throughput rates. Adding capacity and new NRT and Max technology will really boost our performance. The new technology is exciting for our team and our stakeholders; we’ll be able to increase our diversion rates while adding the necessary capacity to accept more material.” 

“GreenWaste has been an exceptional partner to BHS throughout the years,” says BHS Managing Director of Max-AI Rich Reardon. “From their expert maintenance and operations staff to their forward-thinking executive team, the organization has and continues to write the book of industry best practices. In 2008, GreenWaste was the first MRF in the country to embrace modern mixed waste processing. Today they are on the leading edge of autonomous sorting. We look forward to delivering a Max solution and the next chapter of excellence.” 

San Diego residents living in single-family homes will soon be able to start recycling polystyrene food and beverage containers. According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the containers will be accepted with curbside recyclables beginning July 1, 2017, after a unanimous vote by the city council.

The cost of the program for the city is estimated at $90,000 per year, which will come out of the $3.3 million in annual revenue the city receives from residential recycling.

The article notes many other California cities have banned the use of polystyrene and the California Legislature considered a statewide ban in 2011 because it does not biodegrade like organic material and turns into small pieces that can be ingested by wildlife.

The move is considered a more business-friendly approach by allowing the containers, which restaurants and other businesses consider highly cost-effective, to be placed in blue recycling bins, the article states.
Restaurants and food trucks often say bans on the material are costly to their businesses because paper products are more expensive and less effective, according to the Union-Tribune article.

San Diego considered recycling the containers last fall, but at that time initial cost estimates from the city’s recycling constrictor were nearly $300,000. A new plan to send the material to a secondary processor cut the cost of the program down to $90,000.

Single-family residents already have the ability to recycle polystyrene packaging material used in shipping packages. As for multifamily residents, it is unclear whether they will have the same opportunity, according to the article, since they are handled by private contractors.

The city says the adoption of polystyrene food and beverage container recycling will help it get closer to achieving its zero-waste plan, which calls for a 75 percent diversion rate by 2020, a 90 percent diversion rate by 2035 and 100 percent diversion by 2040, the article notes.