Metal in the form of aluminum and steel cans makes up a relatively small portion of the post-consumer recyclables processed at material recovery facilities (MRFs) throughout North America, especially relative to fiber. However, these metals can make a considerable contribution to the revenue stream of a facility, according to speakers at the 2010 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show session titled “Minding the Metals.” The session was part of the Non-Fiber Workshop track at the conference, which was held in Chicago June 13-15.
Andrew Dunbar, director of marketing, East, for Houston-based Waste Management Recycle America, said UBCs (used beverage containers) comprised 0.5 percent of the residential recyclables stream by weight, while steel cans accounted for 1 percent of the stream. In bottle bill states, the percentages varied slightly, with UBCs accounting for 0.3 percent of the stream, and steel cans representing 2 percent of the stream by weight.
Despite their small contribution in terms of weight, aluminum and steel cans make a considerable financial contribution to MRFs. According to Jon Mulder, territory manager for Evermore Recycling, Nashville, Tenn., UBCs accounted for up to 30 percent of the revenue stream for one MRF that supplies the company, though the material only comprised 1 to 3 percent of the incoming material stream.
However, that revenue could be at risk based on quality problems arising from single-stream collection of post-consumer recyclables. Mulder said that the move to single-stream recycling has had a negative impact on the quality of post-consumer UBCs, with MRFs showing two times the contamination level of material collected through deposit programs.
These contaminants, he added, overheat de-lacquering furnaces, leading to fires and equipment damage at consuming facilities.
Evermore, an independent company formed by Novelis and Alcoa for the procurement of UBCs, is working with its suppliers to ensure a higher level of material quality and a better understanding of the acceptable UBC specifications, Mulder said. “We are currently focusing on cross qualifying suppliers in the case where one supplier is qualified to ship to one company but not to the other,” he said. “When we are finished with this, it will provide more shipping locations for our suppliers, increase logistics efficiency and ship metal to where we need the product.”
Material is sent through an Alcoa plant in Tennessee for testing to determine the level of contaminants, he added. “Basically, anything under 0.4 percent iron and below 1.3 percent other is considered passing.” Suppliers with lower scores must go through this facility for testing, Mulder said.
Dunbar said Waste Management Recycle America’s “biggest challenge” in processing UBCs is getting the material “down to its purest form that is required by the end users.” He added that the material must be 96 percent pure to be acceptable to a primary end-user, such as the company’s Evermore is buying material for.
“Our ongoing issue is the mechanics of taking such a small percentage of those starting points and making it into a usable product,” Dunbar added.
The 2011 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show will take place at the Marriott Downtown Chicago Magnificent Mile October 23-25.
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