National Association Supply Co-operative Inc. (NASCO-OP), New Philadelphia, Ohio, has announced the promotion of Michael Morrison to assistant manager. Morrison, who joined the company in 2013, previously oversaw the shear knife and packaging product lines, NASCO-OP says. He replaces Chuck Kinsey, who retired after 40 years of service.

Manager Bob Bedard says he is pleased to see the professional advancement that Morrison has made at the cooperative and in the recycling industry. “Mike has gained valuable insight given his extensive travel to member and supplier facilities throughout the country.”

Bedard says Morrison is active in the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), having participated in the Best Young and Brightest (BYAB) event, and he brings generational change to NASCO-OP mirroring what is being seen its member’s scrap yards.

In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Morrison will oversee the complete line of magnets, grapples and radiation detection products.

NASCO-OP is a nonprofit purchasing organization for the recycling industry. For more than 60 years, NASCO-OP has represented recyclers by buying and reselling thousands of items, including safety equipment, magnets, torches, shear knives and more. Today NASCO-OP serves 1,400 members, leveraging their cumulative purchases.

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director John J. Kim has announced the completion of a large used tire removal action at Patriot Tire Shredders, 147 S. 15th St., East St. Louis, an environmental justice area in St. Clair County. Illinois EPA has authority under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to carry out forced removals when an accumulation of used or waste tires poses a threat to public health or the environment. This forced removal action was conducted under an order issued by the St. Clair County Circuit Court, the Illinois EPA reports in a news release. The forced removal action began April 6 and was completed May 14. Nearly 2,400 tons of used/waste tires (the equivalent of 210,614 passenger tires) were removed from the property at a cost of $496,054. Funds from the Illinois EPA’s Used Tire Program paid for the removal.

“The quantity of waste tires left unmanaged at this site posed a threat to the environment and a significant fire hazard within the community,” says Director Kim. “This was a significant undertaking, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Illinois EPA remains committed to addressing these environmental hazards to protect residents and communities when responsible parties fail to comply with environmental regulations.”

The site’s operator, Terry Nelson, and the property owner, Maurice Carraway, allowed the accumulation of used or waste tires at the site since operations began in December 2018, according to the Illinois EPA. The agency issued a violation notice in March 2019 and identified additional violations in April and May 2019. The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office in August 2019.

The operator did not reduce the tonnage of used tires accumulated at the site as directed by a Preliminary Injunction Order issued in August 2019, the Illinois EPA says. As a result, an order was issued in St. Clair County Circuit Court in January that effectively shut down the site. According to EPA, the agency subsequently initiated the tire removal action because it was believed that the operator would abandon the site, leaving a threat to human health and the environment posed by the very large accumulation of used tires.

In addition to being in an environmental justice area, the site is close to schools, nursing homes, public housing and residences. EPA warns that used tires serve as habitats for disease-carrying insects, particularly mosquitoes, and states that removal of tires further reduces the threat of mosquito-borne diseases.

Through Illinois EPA’s Used Tire Program, used tires are properly disposed of at a registered, commercial used tire processing facility in Illinois. Some tires are retreaded and reused, and others are recycled into a variety of products and uses. The Illinois EPA's Used Tire Program is funded by a $2.50 per tire fee that consumers pay when purchasing tires at retail.

Greensboro, North Carolina-based Unifi, a specialist in recycling plastic bottles into synthetic yarns, has reached a key goal set in 2017 of transforming more than 20 billion PET bottles. According to the company, the driver of this new milestone was Unifi’s Repreve platform of recycled performance fibers, which has been adopted by more than 500 global brand and textile partners.

“As we celebrate World Environment Day this week, we want to thank all of our brand and mill partners around the globe for helping us reach this significant achievement and working with us to reduce plastic bottle waste,” says Tom Caudle, president and chief operating officer of Unifi.

“Because it takes one plastic bottle an average of 450 years or more to start decomposing, it’s important to keep as much plastic as possible out of our natural and urban landscapes,” he continues. “If each of us makes a conscious effort to recycle, we can improve our environment for today and can protect it for the future.”

Unifi says this milestone is the equivalent of keeping 156 plastic bottles per U.S. household (assuming approximately 128 million U.S. households) out of the landfill and transforming them into sustainable fabric with Repreve recycled performance fibers that are used in apparel, upholstery, automotive and industrial applications.

The idea for Repreve was born in the early 2000s when Unifi was looking for a way to recycle its own fiber waste. The solution evolved to include using recycled plastic bottles as raw material for fiber, with the option to add performance capabilities like moisture-wicking and odor control. In addition to keeping bottles out of landfills and giving them a second life, the company says Repreve production uses less energy and water, while also producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to manufacturing virgin synthetic fibers.

“Sustainability and recycling are key priorities for Unifi, and we are proud to lead by example as we continue to drive awareness of the importance of recycling,” Caudle says. “Consumer demand for more sustainable products will continue to drive demand for Reprevefrom our brand, retail and mill partners, and that will help us reach our goal of transforming 30 billion bottles in 2022.”

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important, according to the mechanical engineering company Starlinger, Vienna. With Clarissa Graf,  the company has hired a sustainability manager to address this essential task; since autumn 2019, she has been actively defining CSR measures to implement the company’s strategy. One of these measures is membership in respACT, Austria’s leading corporate platform for responsible business practices, Starlinger says.

“My task is to devise and implement a companywide CSR strategy,” says Graf. “This strategy is being developed internally – for example in workshops – and is constantly extended through the participation in external events designed to promote an exchange of experiences as well as further training in the field of sustainability.”

This year, Graf has applied for membership in respACT. The platform supports companies in practicing business responsibly in hopes of working toward a sustainable and future-oriented economy, Starlinger says.

“Sustainable business management has been a focus of our activities for many years,” says Starlinger Managing Partner Angelika Huemer. “With the appointment of a Sustainability Manager and the membership in respACT, we will be able to address this topic even more intensively.”

“Starlinger stands for application-oriented machine solutions for the production of flexible packaging from plastic fabrics while striving for highest ecological and economic sustainability,” adds Graf. “It is not enough to ‘think green’; we need clearly defined goals which are then consistently pursued and subjected to continuous evaluation.”