Wanted: Water

Once the nation learned that the water supply in Flint, Michigan, was tainted with lead, help started to pour in. In addition to the hundreds of volunteers who arrived in the city, thousands and thousands of plastic bottles of water also were distributed.

To aid in recycling efforts, a partnership among Schupan Recycling, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Republic Services, Phoenix; the Michigan Community Service Commission; and student athletes from Michigan State University helped to collect plastic bottles for recycling in addition to distributing water to residents.

Schupan is in charge of recycling the plastic, while Republic is encouraging residents to sign up for free curbside recycling.

Sustainable cities

As urban populations grow, cities around the world are changing with the goal of realizing a greener future. Which cities are trying the hardest? The Green City Index, completed by Siemens, a global leader in engineering and technology services, ranks the world’s cities that have achieved standout accomplishments toward a more sustainable future.

The index details the efforts of Copenhagen, Denmark; Curitiba, Brazil; Oslo, Norway; San Francisco; Stockholm; Singapore; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Vienna. From Oslo embracing renewable energy to Singapore incorporating green building requirements into legislation, these cities are ahead of the curve.

The index measures 30 individual indicators covering a wide range of environmental areas, from waste management and greenhouse gas emissions to water consumption and public transport.

Wear it out

Old clothes and shoes might make up a healthy portion of your closet, but nearly 5 percent of America’s municipal solid waste (MSW) stream consists of used shoes, clothing and other nondurable textiles. Thanks to the efforts of national clothing recycler USAgain (pronounced “use again”), 50.7 million pounds of unwanted clothing and shoes were given a second life in 2015.

USAgain maintains more than 10,000 collection bins in 16 states. The company says it partners with municipalities, businesses, schools and nonprofits to host drives and raise awareness of the positive environmental impacts of recycling textiles.

“Above all, our goal is to make textile recycling as convenient as possible so people will come to view it the same way they view glass, paper and plastic recycling: as a necessary task,” USAgain’s Rasham Grewal tells Recycling Today.

Redoma Recycling joins the Eldan Group

As of Jan. 1, 2016, Redoma Recycling AB, Sweden, joined the Eldan Group, headquartered in Denmark, as a fully owned subsidiary to Eldan Recycling A/S. The companies form the world’s largest manufacturer of cable recycling equipment, according to Eldan.

Eldan Recycling has been manufacturing cable recycling equipment for the last 60 years. The company says it has sold and installed several thousand cable recycling lines around the world.

“Today Eldan is a market leading supplier of cable and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) recycling lines for high-capacity installations,” says Dr. Toni Reftman, managing director of Eldan Recycling A/S. “With capacities ranging from 2,000 kilograms (roughly 2 tons) per hour up to 12,000 kilograms (roughly 13 tons) per hour, we are one of the most powerful suppliers in the market.”

Eldan says its equipment is designed to process heavy and tough materials at higher capacities. Its equipment can be used for lighter applications as well.

Eldan Recycling A/S says Redoma specializes in designing and manufacturing small and midsize cable recycling lines. Since 1984, Redoma has delivered and installed several hundred cable recycling lines worldwide.

“The machines are lighter and smaller compared to Eldan equipment, making our companies a perfect match,” Reftman says of Redoma.

“Redoma will still be acting as an independent equipment supplier,” he continues. “As a member of the Eldan Group, Redoma will be using technology from Eldan and also from its Swedish sister company Rapid Granulator AB.”

Traditionally, Redoma has offered three types of cable recycling lines—Thunderhawk, Powercat and Firefox—providing cost-efficient, tailor-made system solutions with capacities ranging from 200 kilograms (440 pounds) per hour up to 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) per hour.

For applications involving tough or reinforced material, Eldan says its shredding technology can be incorporated with Redoma’s systems.

“By adding Redoma recycling equipment to the Eldan portfolio, we create the largest and most competent cable recycling equipment manufacturer in the world with a joint experience of 90 years,” Reftman says. “For our customers, this means that we are now able to offer cable recycling equipment in any price segment and for any type of cable. We have small compact lines for less than €30,000 ($33,400) as well as heavy-duty equipment handling large, heavy-reinforced cables in high capacity applications.”

PopScrap changes name to Weigh Pay Solutions

Middletown, California-based PopScrap has been renamed Weigh Pay Solutions to reflect the expansion of its customer base beyond scrap recycling to other scale-based industries, according to the company.

While the scrap recycling industry remains the primary industry served by Weigh Pay Solutions, other weight-based industries are buying the company’s services and using its compliance-based cloud-hosted scale software.

Weigh Pay Solutions offers point of sale (POS) and point of purchase (POP) solutions at the same time, allowing for back office or warehouse workers to buy (POP) any inventory type while using the same software to sell (POS) the inventory to the public or to commericial buyers. The company says its apps can be customized to meet compliance requirements of various industries.

With Weigh Pay Solutions, users can scan customer IDs, take images of incoming and outgoing products and gather customer images, fingerprints and electronic signatures. The software can be integrated with any scale indicator and can use any camera type while connecting to secure cash and coin dispensers, the company says.

Weigh Pay says its solutions offer real-time integration with many accounting packages, such as Quick Books, allowing owners and accountants to see incoming transactions as they happen.

The centerpiece of the company’s solutions is the Android Weigh Pay app, with a Web-based back office that gives users a cross-platform application for smartphones, tablets and desktop workstations, the company says. This app allows truck drivers, dockside buyers, yard workers, warehouse workers and front-end employees to use the same software with features customized to their specific functions.

In addition to the U.S., Weigh Pay Solutions says it has users in Australia, Guatemala, Mexico and Canada.

Metso names Integrated Power Services as North American service provider

Finland-based Metso has established Integrated Power Services (IPS), Greenville, South Carolina, as the service provider for its customers in the metal recycling industry in North America. The partnership allows Metso to provide a wide scope of services for metal processing equipment, including motor repair, rebuild and warehousing, according to the company.

In a news release about the appointment, Metso writes, “In today’s market, cost reduction is a key topic for customers in the metal recycling industry. Since the motor and drive system is the heartbeat of metal processing equipment, it is essential to identify risks in the motors before expensive failures occur. With IPS as its premium service provider, Metso is able to offer a complete motor solution to its customers beyond an inspection.”

IPS provides electric motor repair, engineering and maintenance services for continuous process industries, including metal recycling, petrochemical, mining and paper. With 25 locations serving the U.S. and Canada, IPS can repair and remanufacture AC and DC electric motors, electric generators and mechanical components, such as gearboxes, reducers, pumps, fans and compressors.

IPS also provides critical spare motor storage programs, with nine dedicated warehouses available to store critical spare motors. These warehouses offer a wide range of services that include lifting capacities of up to 70 tons, shaft rotations, megger windings, temperature/humidity-controlled environments, nitrogen purges, MCE (motor circuit evaluation) testing and energizing of space heaters, Metso says.

“This new partnership is yet another example of our commitment to continuously meet the needs of our customers and offer them complete solutions,” says Arnold Benavidez, Metso North American field service manager. “Our customers can expect results with Metso.”

ScrapRight introduces iScrapRight

ScrapRight Software, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, has released iScrapRight, which it describes as a “low-cost, cloud-based scrap and recycling software solution for scrap yards and recycling centers to perform ticketing, gain state and local compliance and run essential reporting.”

The company says iScrapRight is an alternative to traditional recycling industry software, which requires a significant investment of money and time to install and begin using.

IScrapRight can be run using Windows PCs, Apple computers, iPads and many tablets, enabling most yards to operate on their own existing equipment and avoiding a costly hardware investment, ScrapRight says.

In addition to the Web interface, a companion iPad app is available for download from the Apple App Store.

IScrapRight captures drivers’ licences, signatures, pictures of the seller and materials and much more.

Receipts are printed to Bluetooth-enabled printers available for purchase on ScrapRight’s website. Tickets are synced and stored securely to the user’s online account.

For buyers of catalytic converters or vehicles, iScrapRight offers specially designed features to facilitate transactions.

IScrapRight also provides the convenience of an offline mode in its iPad app for scrap buying when an Internet connection is not available.

According to ScrapRight, yards can start using the full compliance version of iScrapRight immediately for as little as $99 per month. Plans and pricing depend on the user’s monthly transaction volume.

ScrapRight says it will offer a CRV- (California Redemption Value-) only version of the app for free prior to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) 2016 Convention & Exposition, which is April 2-7 in Las Vegas as the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

If iScrapRight users end up requiring inventory management, FIFO (first-in first-out) costing and shipping, ScrapRight says they can transition to the company’s LAN-based software at a reduced cost.

More information is available by contacting Shon Duty at 877-897-6422 or shon.duty@scrapright.com or by visiting www.iScrapRight.com.

Sierra expands role for existing salesman

Bakersfield, California-based Sierra International Machinery has announced industry veteran Brian Mihm will add responsibilities to accelerate the company’s sales of Macpresse balers.

“Brian has done a tremendous job heading up sales of our REB two-ram balers,” says Jose Pereyra, general sales manager for Sierra. “He has more than 20 years of application knowledge in MRF (material recovery facility) and recycling plant applications. This is critical to ensuring plant operators and systems integrators receive the best possible machine for the job.”

“We’re thrilled that Brian has accepted this additional responsibility with Sierra,” says John Sacco, Sierra president. “Brian has done great work since joining Sierra. This expansion of his responsibilities is reflective of that and part of our commitment to Macpresse.

“We’ve represented the Macpresse products for some 20 years,” Sacco continues. “Our customers are thrilled with them. With Brian leading the charge, more people will be introduced to the products and all of their benefits.”

Mihm says of his expanded role, “I’m excited about getting more involved with the Macpresse product line. They are highly reliable balers that our customers are very happy with. Being able to offer a two-ram or single-ram solution also sets Sierra apart. No other supplier can provide both solutions.”

Sierra says Macpresse offers a full line of high-speed auto-tie balers ideal for baling OCC (old corrugated containers), mixed recyclables, MSW (municipal solid waste) and other materials.

Sierra is the exclusive North American representative for Macpresse balers. The firm offers a comprehensive parts inventory and factory-trained technicians.

“Service has always been the hallmark for Sierra,” Mihm says. “We have millions of dollars in spare parts to ensure that our customers are never left waiting or subjected to prolonged downtime.”

Sierra is a supplier of recycling machinery, including ferrous shears, balers and shear/baler/loggers; two-ram balers; single-ram balers; and electric material handlers.

Maren Engineering adds operations manager

Baler manufacturer Maren Engineering, South Holland, Illinois, has added Larry King as operations manager.

“Larry King possesses the expertise that will help bring Maren to that next level of operational efficiency,” Maren President Todd Wondrow says.

“We’ve worked hard in the last few years introducing the Propak line of balers, starting with the Propak60 closed-door, the Propak A series open-end auto-tie and most recently the Propak 2R series two-ram balers,” he adds. “The strong market appetite for these successful balers, plus continued strength of our Legacy line, puts new demands on our organization. After 53 years in business, we see a real need to get better at growth. Larry has been a strategic addition to our management team and is helping us do just that.”

An expert in process flow efficiencies, King is spearheading efforts to further strengthen Maren’s workflow processes, the company says. With an overall goal to identify and implement process improvements for Maren, he will commit much of his time to scheduling, on-time delivery, recruiting team members with skills that match labor needs, employee training, workforce motivation and safety.

Maren says King is approaching his new role with enthusiasm.

“We need the wheels on the wagon to match, to be of the same size and to be turning independently but in the same direction,” King says. “If we can optimize the articulation of each wheel with the wagon’s end destination, we will get there most efficiently, with both time and money to spare.”

King has 30 years’ experience in the steel and transportation industries, coupled with positions and consultancies with manufacturers, Maren says.

Founded in 1962, Maren Engineering designs and builds balers, shredders and related equipment for the recycling, paper converting, boxboard, plastics and solid waste industries, offering distribution and service throughout North America.

MODRoto names new president

Recycling cart manufacturer MODRoto, Madison, Indiana, has named business strategist, Lean Six Sigma authority and speaker J.R. Ryan president and chief operating officer.

An executive with a 30-year track record for driving revenue growth and profitability, Ryan is responsible for overall business results, including strategic direction and growth of the company’s multiple business units, which include Poly-Trux recycling and laundry carts; Ship Shape material handling containers; Pool Shot Products pool, spa and recreational products; lighted furniture; wedding and event décor; fuel tanks and custom rotational design; and molding services, MODRoto says.

With successful tenures leading companies involved in textile manufacturing, linen and uniform rental and management consulting, Ryan brings to the position a combination of veteran leadership experience and hands-on, operational skills, says David Tingue, CEO of MODRoto’s parent company, Tingue, Brown & Co.

“J.R. has delivered measurable results for several different companies in a variety of markets, he’s built our TBR Associates consulting firm from square one to a national presence, and I’m looking forward to seeing his imprint on MODRoto,” says Tingue, referring to Ryan’s position as president of TBR Associates, which specializes in process improvement, Lean Six Sigma, management development and other services. He retains this position.

At MODRoto, Ryan spearheads an organization with four plants nationally. The company was recently ranked as the 16th largest rotational molder in North America by Plastics News.

According to the company, Ryan plans to focus on providing a diverse selection of recycling carts with the customer service, production rates and cost structure required to meet the needs of the recycling industry.

He is a graduate of St. Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a former member of the board of directors for the alumni association. He resides with his wife and two children in Solebury, Pennsylvania.

Low scale prices and spells of nasty winter weather are playing parts in creating a relative scarcity of obsolete ferrous scrap flowing into scrap yards across America.

The struggles on the supply side appear to have helped put a floor on ferrous scrap pricing, combined with domestic steel output figures that finally are demonstrating positive momentum.

Recyclers report January and February scrap flows that some say are down as much as 20 percent compared with early 2015. The notion that a dwindling supply of obsolete scrap is the main culprit is reinforced by the role reversal between prime grades and shredded scrap.

In January and February 2016 in transaction pricing gathered by MSA Inc.’s RMDAS (Raw Materials Data Aggregation Service), shredded scrap has fetched more per ton than the prompt industrial composite grade.

In February, RMDAS No. 2 shredded scrap fetched $201 per ton on average in the United States, $6 per ton more than the average $195 paid for the prompt industrial grades MSA tracks.

Shredded scrap began pulling even with prompt grades in late 2012 and in 2013. The values were very different in late 2011, both in the price of ferrous scrap overall and in the difference between the prompt and shredded grades.

In its December 2011 pricing summary, RMDAS showed domestic mills paying an average of $494 per ton for prompt grades and $442 per ton for shredded scrap. That signified a premium of $52 per ton for prompt scrap, or 11.75 percent.

Operators of shredding plants have been saying for some time that the density of their product and technological upgrades that are improving shred’s chemistry have made it a premium product.

Whether thanks to improved operating techniques, wider agreement by melt shop managers that shred density is optimal, the scarcity of shredder feedstock in the current market or some combination of the three factors, shredded scrap now sells at a premium.

The RMDAS February price figures also indicate stable pricing in early 2016, with national averages for the three main grades changing in value by only $4 per ton or less. No. 1 heavy melting steel (HMS) lost $4 in value, while shredded scrap gained $2 per ton, and the prompt composite index rose by $1.

In February, RMDAS No. 2 shredded scrap fetched $201 per ton on average in the United States, $6 per ton more than the average $195 paid for the prompt industrial grades MSA tracks.

Scrap processors would prefer to see prices stabilize or rise not because of diminished supply but instead because of a demand resurgence. They are receiving some good news on that front.

Weekly statistics gathered by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) indicated in mid-February 2016 that output at domestic mills was rising on a weekly basis, with a slight uptick in the national mill capacity rate.

In the week ending Feb. 13, 2016, domestic steel production was 1.703 million net tons at a capacity rate of 72.8 percent. That output figure is up by 1.1 percent compared with the week before, when production was 1.685 million tons and the capacity rate was at 71.9 percent.

Unfortunately, the most recent weekly figure is almost identical to the 1.705 million tons of output in the week ending Feb. 13, 2015 (one year ago), meaning domestic steelmakers still are trying to regain market share lost to steel imports during the past two years.

In an article AISI contributed to this issue of Recycling Today (see “Crisis Level,” starting on page 70), the organization reports that shipments of steel from domestic mills in 2015 stood at about 86 million tons, nearly a 12 percent decrease over what American steel mills shipped in 2014.

The organization’s CEO and President Thomas J. Gibson and its board Chairman Chuck Schmitt of steelmaker SSAB Americas express optimism that new federal legislation designed to help collect antidumping and countervailing duties on imported steel will help domestic mills regain that lost market share.

Ideally, steelmakers and scrap processors alike will have a national economy, including a construction sector, that will consume and demand large amounts of finished steel.

In the article “Guessing Games,” beginning on page 132, Ken Simonson of the Association of General Contractors (ACG) expresses conditional optimism for the building sector in 2016.

He calls residential construction “the most promising sector” in 2016, with apartment construction particularly strong. “Multifamily construction (almost entirely rental units, with very few condos or co-ops outside of Florida and New York) has increased at double-digit year-over-year rates since September 2011, though growth has decelerated in 2015,” he writes.

Some nonresidential sectors also are entering the busy spring and summer construction season with positive momentum.

Good news on the infrastructure spending front arrived in December 2015 when President Obama signed a five-year highway funding bill—the first of its kind in more than a decade.

Additional RMDAS (Raw Material Data Aggregation Service) pricing from Pittsburgh-based Management Science Associates (MSA) is available on the Recycling Today website at www.RecyclingToday.com/RMDAS.

The American Metal Market (AMM) Midwest Ferrous Scrap Index is calculated based on transaction data received that are then tonnage-weighted and normalized to produce a final index value. The AMM Scrap Index includes material that will be delivered within 30 days to the mill. Spot business included after the 10th of the month will not be included. The AMM Ferrous Scrap Export Indices are calculated based on transaction data received that are then tonnage-weighted and normalized to produce a final index value. The detailed methodology is available at www.amm.com/pricing/methodology. *FOB New York, in metric tons; **FOB Los Angeles, in metric tons.