Owning the best equipment is helpful, but the best processing techniques in the world can’t help a C&D recycler who doesn’t have end markets. That was the message delivered by Michael Gross, marketing manager for Zanker Road Resource Management to attendees of the C&D World conference.
Members of the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) assembled in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in late January for the C&D World conference. Gross is a member of the CMRA board of directors.
Zanker Road Resource Management, San Jose, Calif., developed its operations, Gross noted, as a way to extend the life of its landfills, and to help communities reach mandated recycling/landfill diversion goals.
In 1985, planners at the city of San Jose required Zanker to recycle wood waste as part of its operating permit, said Gross. The company has since focused on accepting, processing and marketing scrap wood. Because of the large amount of wood waste coming in, “our product sales have had to be more efficient and creative,” he told attendees. The company now also accepts mixed C&D debris as well as pure demolition debris.
At its two recycling facilities, the company uses workers at picking stations, trommels, air knives and other sorting and processing techniques to create several marketable products.
Breaking down his company’s current markets, Gross revealed that 38 percent of the incoming mixed material leaves the facility as wood suitable for hog fuel markets; slightly less than 30 percent is used as cover soil suitable for landfill cover, berms and other civil engineering applications; 9 percent is suitable to sell as a soil amendment; and 4 percent as roadside landscaping mulch. Another 10 percent of material is concrete, asphalt and block sold as base and drainage rock. Metals, meanwhile, make up 5 percent of what comes in, with tin, steel and aluminum making up the major portion of that stream. Only from 5 to 9 percent of what comes in is trash that needs to be landfilled.
Gross remarked that prices for end markets can be disappointing, but just making sure the end markets are there is important to avoid stockpiling problems. “Right now, I have about 60,000 tons of base rock on site waiting for a home,” he commented.
Currently, Gross is getting an average of $4 per ton for hog fuel—his largest market. He noted that he would like to further develop his roadside mulch market, which can fetch up to $18 per ton.
Tipping fees have to be high enough to cover costs but low enough to attract customers.
Zanker Road Resource Management has a two-person marketing staff, said Gross. One concentrates on keeping material flowing in while the other works to develop end markets for materials.
The company has a base of some 1,200 customers who tip there, said Gross. In the most recent 12-month period, Zanker processed more than 390,000 tons of materials and obtained an average 91 percent recovery rate.