Itec Environmental Starts Production at Cal. Plant

Itec Environmental Systems, a division of Itec Environmental Group, announced that its Oakdale Plant is ready to start recycling operations on schedule. The plant, which has a production capacity of 600,000 pounds of oil-contaminated plastic per month, will help boost revenues for the company and illuminate a new solution to a big problem within the industry.

The plant contains several Generation-1 ECO2 Environmental Systems, which are being used to clean "oil-contaminated HDPE" collected through the Motor Oil Bottle Recycling program. Each of the Generation-1 ECO2 Environmental Systems uses carbon dioxide instead of water, to remove dirt, labels, glue and contaminates such as oil and pesticide residue from plastics, and can clean 700 pounds of plastic per hour.

The following facts outline the size and scope of the recycling problem:

An estimated 260,000,000 pounds of recyclable plastic is thrown away each year -- enough plastic to fill 2536 football fields covered one foot in depth. 

An estimated 16,000,000 gallons of recyclable residual oil is thrown away each year -- enough to create an oil slick the size of the state of Ohio. 

The residual oil left inside each motor oil container contaminates the plastic, making the containers nearly impossible to be recycled by conventional plastic recycling companies. According to the Ohio Office of Pollution prevention, "...very few plastic recycling companies handle plastic motor oil containers because of the washing process and the permitting associated with discharging the wastewater." 

One gallon of residual oil can ruin 1,000,000 gallons of drinking water -- a year's supply for 50 people. 

"During the past 4 months," stated Gary De Laurentiis, Itec’s president. "We have been installing plant equipment, testing each component, developing product flow and throughput, and completing our analysis of the cost per pound for that throughput. We are now ready for a steady production environment. Last May we showcased the system to various industry representatives, with very positive results. This is another huge step in the development of the company," added De Laurentiis.