Agilyx Corp., Tigard, Oregon, says it has received a $50,000 grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition, Falls Church, Virginia, to purchase a densifier, allowing for more recycling of polystyrene foam.

The Oregon-based energy company recently expanded to include polystyrene conversion. The process uses recycled polystyrene to produce a styrene monomer and other petrochemical products, creating the first true circular economy for styrene, the Foam Recycling Coalition says.

“We are able to handle all types of foam polystyrene materials, including cups and food containers that might still have residue left on them,” says Brian Moe, Agilyx vice president of operations. “Agilyx is working hard to bring recycling options to the marketplace that have not existed in the past and is excited to see support for our efforts by the Foam Recycling Coalition.”

Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, which houses the coalition, says, “Companies like Agilyx provide the processing we need to help increase foam recycling across the country. Their efforts mean these valuable materials are able to be recycled in the communities they serve instead of going to landfills.”

Agilyx, which currently works with communities in the Northwest, has the capacity to process more than 3,000 tons of polystyrene foam annually, the Foam Recycling Coalition says. Adding a densifier at the front end of the operation will allow for more efficient recycling and processing.

The grant was made possible through contributions to FPI’s Foam Recycling Coalition, which focuses on increased recycling of postconsumer polystyrene foam. The coalition launched the grant program in 2015 to help fund infrastructure to collect and process these products. Its members include Americas Styrenics; Cascades Canada ULC; CKF Inc.; Chick-fil-A; Commodore; Dart Container Corp.; Dyne-A-Pak; Genpak; Hawaii’s Finest Products; INEOS Styrolution; NOVA Chemicals Corp.; Pactiv Foodservice/Food Packaging; and Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA.

Agilyx is the seventh grant recipient. Nearly 1 million additional residents in the U.S. and Canada can recycle foam because of the Foam Recycling Coalition’s grant program. 

During the National Waste and Recycling Association’s (NWRA’s) Executive Leadership Roundtable, the NWRA Women’s Council elected its board for 2018. 

 The officers and board members for 2018 are:

• President Carmen Smothers, Environmental Solutions Group;
• Vice President Marsha Lacy, Republic Services; 
• Secretary Cheryl Waite, Perkins; 
• Treasurer Dianna Cervantes, WCA; 
• Fundraising Chair Faith Zydowsky, Sierra Container; 
• Membership/Marketing Chair Sarah Bryant, Petersen Industries; 
• Professional Development Co-chair Kathy Trent, Waste Management, and Co-chair Katie Evans, Best Way Disposal; 
• Scholarship Chair Kate Kanabay, Horwood, Marcus, Berk; and
• Past President Tammy Holtzman, Waste Connections. 
  

“I am delighted to serve as president to the NWRA Women’s Council,” says Smother, product manager, organic waste solutions, for Environmental Solution Group. 

She adds, “The Women’s Council will be celebrating its 15th year in 2018 and the members and the board have plans to recognize its contributions to the industry all year long.”

The Women’s Council fosters the professional development of women in the waste industry while striving to increase their business, financial and leadership skills through education, workshops, mentoring and networking. In addition, the Women’s Council offers scholarships to students in pursuit of a career in the environmental industry.

The Arlington, Virginia-based NRWA Women’s Council will award four scholarships at $7,500 each at WasteExpo in April 2018. The scholarship is funded with money raised from Split the Pot and decorated carts, which will be on display again as WasteExpo celebrates 50 years. 

Switzerland-based conference organizer ICM AG says it expects more than 150 recyclers and suppliers to gather in Macau in mid-November for its Electronics & Cars Recycling conference. The event is Nov. 14-17, 2017, at the Sheraton in the Macau Special Administrative Region of China.

ICM says as of late October more than 150 delegates had already registered for the event, with more than 85 percent of them representing nations in Asia.

The keynote speaker at the event will be Dr. Axel Schweitzer, the CEO of Germany-based ALBA Group plc & Co. He will speak on the topic of “Boosting Recycling Business in China – ALBA Group´s Model for the Circular Economy.”

ICM says the conference “represents the most international gathering of its kind in the fields of electronics and cars collection, recycling, reuse and remanufacturing.”

Among topics to be addressed at the event will be:

ELV recycling;

electronics recycling;

e-mobility;

circular economy – government initiatives;

sorting and processing technologies;

manufacturer takeback schemes and recycling efforts;

reuse and remanufacturing;

transboundary shipment of reusable units;

funding and financing for recycling projects in Asia; and

dismantling versus shredding, best practices for highest ROI.

As part of the event, ICM also is organizing plant tours in China and Hong Kong Nov. 14 and 17 to the following destinations:

the ALBA Integrated Waste Solutions Ltd. electronic scrap treatment and recycling facility in Hong Kong;

Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor Co. Ltd. plant in China;

Guangzhou Valuda Group’s car dismantling plant in China; and

Foshan Shunde Xinhuanbao Resource Utilization Co. Ltd., which operates an electronics recycling plant in China.

English and Chinese simultaneous translation will be offered in the conference session room, according to ICM.

ICM says the event remains open for additional registrations. More information about registering for the conference can be found on this web page.

Prices for base metals experienced volatility in October 2017, although the overall picture is one of a bullish pattern that has been in place since June (+43 percent, as of late October, measured by the Bloomberg Industrial Metals Index).

In the third week of October, copper prices rose while the value of zinc sank by 4 percent. China’s steel sector closed that week on a negative tone, with Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rebar posting a loss of 4.42 percent from Oct. 1 to Oct. 20 and SHFE hot-rolled coil (HRC) losing 2.09 percent in value.

On a short-term basis, we expect steel and base metals pricing to remain supported thanks to the latest batch of data coming from China. According to a statement published by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s economy is expected to grow at 7 percent as measured by GDP (gross domestic product) in the second half of 2017. Industrial production in China grew by an estimated 6.6 percent in September.

A Société Générale analysis, however, notes that “investments in heavy polluting sectors (which includes steel mills) continued to be the laggards, probably discouraged by tougher environmental inspections. Growth of ferrous and nonferrous metals smelting and pressing turned negative in September.”

Those environmental policies many now include a ban on traders importing copper scrap, starting in 2018. In our view, this news was likely amongst the drivers of copper prices in mid- and late October; however, this news is likely to be priced in at this point.

Aluminum output in China in the fall of 2017 is down compared to 2016. It’s a positive data point and a step in the right direction for aluminum. The common theme seems to be that policymakers are serious about supply side reform and crackdowns on pollution, especially in the winter season.

Steel output in China fell to 71.8 million metric tons in September 2017 compared to 74.6 million metric tons the previous month (by 3.7 percent), as the nationwide anti-pollution drive touted in President Xi Jinping’s policy address in October began to make its mark on output at mills in the world’s largest producing nation.

In the United States, the CEO of Nucor said he thinks the recent downward trend in HRC prices is at an end. He attributed this to tariffs partially stemming the flow and low pricing of imports while demand is staying flat or showing modest improvement. Nucor confirmed a price hike of $40 per ton for steel sheet, which was followed by a similar announcement by NLMK Group.

Offsetting the bullish news slightly was a revised forecast from the World Steel Association, which now sees global steel demand as likely to slow in 2018. Demand in 2018 is now expected to rise by 1.6 percent compared with 7 percent growth in 2017.

Commodities Pricing Trends

Oct. 19, 2017      Jan. 1, 2017        % change

LME Copper                                   $6,973                    $5,481                   +27.2%

SHFE Copper                                $8,269                    $6,813                   +21.4%

LME Secondary Aluminum           $1,835                    $1,560                   +17.6%

LME Nickel                                    $11,775                $9,970                   +18.1%

LME Ferrous Scrap                      $305                      $297                       +2.7%

SGX Iron Ore                                $60.38                    $74.01                   -18.4%

SHFE Rebar                                    $558                      $434                      +28.6%

[Prices per metric ton.]