The Standardization Administration of China reportedly has approved previously published definitions for grades of ferrous and stainless steel scrap that will reclassify them from a “waste” to a “resource.”

Under the new classification and after follow-up guidelines for customs officials have been distributed, the higher grades of scrap will be able to be imported after a Jan. 1, 2021, ban on scrap materials that have not received the new resource designation is in place.

According to a news alert from Fastmarkets AMM, the Standardization Administration of China approved the standards of definitions of the 13 ferrous scrap grades and two stainless grades Sunday, Nov. 29.

If subsequent guidelines for the ferrous and stainless grades lead to a flow of such shipments into Chinese ports, it will follow a similar pattern to what has happened with high grades of red metal and aluminum scrap that have begun to arrive in China without the need for (CCIC) inspections or an assigned quota.

Buyers and sellers of recovered fiber continue to await the approval or implementation of any such standards that would create acceptable grades of baled paper to be able to clear Chinese ports.

Steel production figures, as reported by the Washington-based American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI), have shown a week-to-week decline of 1.3 percent in the United States for the week ending Nov. 28.

According to AISI, steel mills in the U.S. produced 1.56 million tons of steel last week, down 1.3 percent from the 1.58 million tons produced the week ending Nov. 21. The down week reverses a trend of rising production that has largely held consistent since early May.

Starting in late March, weekly U.S. steelmaking figures have shown declines in output compared with the comparable period in 2019 as COVID-19 and related restrictions affected demand for finished and semifinished steel.

In the week ending Nov. 28, weekly output was down 14.4 percent compared with the comparable week in 2019. Year to date, steel output in the U.S. is down 18.4 percent compared with production in the first 11 months of 2019.

The average steel mill capability utilization (or capacity) rate in 2020 has been 67.2 percent. That compares with an 80 percent average rate in the first 11 months of 2019.

Lower output at domestic mills could have an impact as mill buyers negotiate their scrap purchases in early December. However, a combination of tight scrap supply and persistent overseas demand appears poised to support prices in the near-term future.

Results of a new five-year study of recycled concrete show that it performs as well, and in several cases, even better than conventional concrete, researchers say.

Researchers at The University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan’s School of Engineering conducted side-by-side comparisons of recycled and conventional concrete within two common applications—a building foundation and a municipal sidewalk. They found that the recycled concrete had comparable strength and durability after five years of being in service.

“We live in a world where we are constantly in search of sustainable solutions that remove waste from our landfills,” Shahria Alam, co-director of UBC’s Green Construction Research and Training Center and the lead investigator of the study, says. “A number of countries around the world have already standardized the use of recycled concrete in structural applications, and we hope our findings will help Canada follow suit.”

Waste materials from construction and demolition contribute up to 40 percent of the world’s waste, according to Alam, and in Canada, that waste amounts to 9 million metric tons per year.

In conducting the study, UBC researchers tested the compressive strength and durability of recycled concrete compared with conventional concrete.

Concrete is typically composed of fine or coarse aggregate that is bonded together with an adhesive paste. The recycled concrete replaces the natural aggregate for producing new concrete.

“The composition of the recycled concrete gives that product additional flexibility and adaptability,” says Alam. “Typically, recycled concrete can be used in retaining walls, roads and sidewalks, but we are seeing a shift towards its increased use in structures.”

Within the findings, the researchers discovered that the long-term performance of recycled concrete adequately compared to its conventional form and experienced no issues over the five years of the study. In fact, the recycled concrete had a higher rate of compressive strength after 28 days of curing while maintaining a greater or equal strength during the period of the research, according to the university.

The researchers suggest the recycled concrete can be a 100 percent substitute for non-structural applications.

“As innovations continue in the composition of recycled concrete, we can envision a time in the future where recycled concrete can be a substitute within more structural applications, as well,” the researchers stated in a release

The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), as well as British Columbia-based OK Builders Supplies Ltd. and KonKast Products Ltd. through a Collaborative Research & Development grant. It was published in the journal, Construction and Building Materials.

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Charlotte, North Carolina, has worked with stakeholders to improve the collection and recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoform packaging, including clamshells, cups, tubs, lids, boxes, trays, egg cartons and similar rigid, nonbottle packaging.

Over the past five years, the number of PET thermoforms recycled has continued to grow, NAPCOR says. In 2018, according to the "NAPCOR 2018 PET Recycling Report," the U.S. and Canada recycled 139 million pounds of PET thermoform packaging, a 60 percent increase from 2017.

Over the years and through initiatives, NAPCOR says it has identified several issues that slowed PET thermoform recycling:

1. Look-alike packaging. The PET stream can be contaminated with non-PET packages that look very similar. The look-alikes can be an issue in material recovery facilities (MRFs) that rely on manual sorting; but, with optical sorting, separating the look-alikes can yield cleaner bales.
   
2. Labels/adhesives/inks. The labels on thermoform packages are different than those on bottles. NAPCOR recommends the Association of Plastic Recyclers Design for Recyclability Guidelines to help stakeholders make better choices in this area.
3. Intrinsic viscosity (IV). Because flake produced from PET thermoforms has a lower IV than that of PET bottles, additional steps may be required to successfully use flakes produced from PET thermoforms. Years of reclaimer experience with this material and technical trials have demonstrated that the difference in IV is not a substantial technical concern for recycling PET thermoforms as long as knowledge of end market specification requirements is understood.

4. Fines. During trials by NAPCOR, thermoform-only bales appeared to yield a higher percentage of fines, on average 11.5 percent, during the washing and cleaning process, although the root cause of this is unclear. The overall yield of the thermoform-only bales was consistent with curbside bottle bales, but the higher incidence of fines can create complications for reclaimers and processors.

5. Mechanical Issues: Thermoforms vary in size and configuration. The shape, size and configuration of certain thermoforms can create mechanical challenges in MRFs and reclamation facilities. Most of these issues have been or can be addressed through adjustments to processing systems that allow facilities to better handle lighter and odd-sized packages.

Going forward, NAPCOR says it plans to focus its efforts in some other areas to increase PET thermoform recycling:

1. Clean it up. NAPCOR has found that labels are one of the biggest barriers to recyclability. APR Design for Recyclability Guidelines have been widely adopted by the beverage and bottle community; however, labels used to market and sell thermoforms vary widely. Use of APR-approved labels, adhesives and inks (including store applied UBC labeling) and development of applied internal produce pads and labels that can be easily removed also must be adopted within the thermoform packaging community and by brands. Moreover, since labeling often occurs after thermoform manufacturers have sold the packaging to retailers and bakeries, all stakeholders need to adopt responsible labeling practices. Standardization of labels applied at the time of filling may have greater opportunities to make an impact versus those applied at a salad bar or deli counter.
   
2. Collect it. NAPCOR projects a shortfall of postconsumer PET material in the future based on existing supply and public commitments to increase rPET content by leading beverage brands. Postconsumer PET thermoform material will be required to help address this shortfall, as demand for rPET rises. Advancements in robotics have improved sortation of PET thermoforms.
   
3. We’ll use it. While postconsumer rPET from thermoforms may not be suitable for every application, some applications are well-suited. This includes thermoform-to-thermoform applications as well as the fiber end market. As consumer brands continue their path to incorporate more rPET content in their bottles and containers, the supply of rPET simply will not keep up with demand.

NAPCOR says the organization and its members have made significant strides toward the goal of making recycling of PET thermoform packages as easy as recycling bottles, but there is a good amount of work needed to ensure that MRFs and the PET reclaiming industry can effectively sort, process and reap value from this new material stream. NAPCOR says it will continue its efforts to work through the design, technical and mechanical challenges to achieve broad acceptance of PET thermoforms in domestic recycling programs and markets.

NAPCOR encourages communities and MRF operators interested in marketing their PET thermoforms domestically to talk with their PET buyers about including PET thermoforms in PET bottle bales. Further, it is imperative that thermoform and sheet converters and consumer product companies to adopt design-for-recyclability guidelines when selecting labels for their PET thermoforms, according to the organization.