COUNCIL PUBLISHES PLASTICS COLLECTION GUIDE
The American Plastics Council, Washington, has published the results of four years of demonstration research on effective collection techniques in a manual titled, "How to Collect Plastics For Recycling." The guide will help recycling professionals improve the efficiency of existing collection efforts or to design effective programs from the ground up, according to APC.
"This manual fills a vital information gap in the solid waste community," says Lanny Hickman of the Solid Waste Association of North America, Silver Spring, Md. "Collection managers, public and private, can benefit from the insights offered to achieve greater efficiency in collection practices, whether for recyclables or solid waste."
The manual includes information on calculating household generation and participation rates and equipment requirements, and collection options, vehicles and equipment. The guide also covers curbside and drop-off programs. Each manual comes with a 23-minute companion video showing, in detail, equipment configurations and collection strategies tested in model city demonstrations.
To order the manual and video, call (800) 243-5790. Single copies are free to municipal, county and state government recycling and waste handling professionals, and $50 for all others.
ECO PAINT SALES REACH 500 GALLONS
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority, Pleasantville, N.J., reports that it has sold more than 500 gallons of Eco Paint since the paint collection program’s inception in February 1994. Eco Paint is a 100 percent post-consumer recycled latex paint. The paint is picked up and separated into different categories, mainly oil and latex. The oil-based paint is recycled by the contractor hired to pick up and separate the paint, while the latex paint is repackaged and resold as Eco Paint.
In related news, the National Paint & Coatings Association, Washington, has published an article titled "Post-Consumer Paint Management," in its April 1995 newsletter. The article covers issues related to the collection and disposal of leftover paint, and offers a six-point program for consumers to follow for handling leftover paint. To get copies of the April newsletter, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to NPCA, 1500 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.
CONNECTICUT TO RECYCLE BATTERIES
In June, the state of Connecticut committed to a nickel-cadmium battery recycling program to be instituted and financed by battery manufacturers and the companies that typically use these types of batteries. Nickel-cadmium batteries are rechargeable, but still need to be collected when they reach the end of their useful lives. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., Upper Saddle River, N.J., has established a program to recover and recycle batteries from both the residential and commercial/institutional sectors in Connecticut. RBRC will solicit retail outlets to participate in the program and will provide educational material on how to manage the collection of batteries.
CALIFORNIA FUNDS SCRAP TIRE PROJECTS
The California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, Calif., recently awarded 10 firms and 21 local governments grants for research and development and the collection of scrap tires. "These grants will help fund not only collection programs, but also cleanup events to eliminate the eyesore of illegally dumped tires in our local communities," says Wesley Chesbro, CIWMB vice chairman. "Businesses will also benefit because these grants will help them develop innovative new uses, which will in turn create new used tire markets statewide." The grants total more than $1.3 million.
CIWMB reports that about 29 million used tires are generated annually in California, and about 62 percent of these are being diverted for alternative uses. Still, 38 percent is now landfilled, stockpiled or illegally dumped.
IMAGE LOSES PET SUPPLY IN FIRE
Image Industries, Armuchee, Ga., reported that a fire destroyed about 5 million pounds of recycled PET plastic that was stored in a leased warehouse in nearby Kensington, Ga. The incident occurred in July. The company says the supply that was destroyed represents a small portion of its overall PET inventory, and that it was insured.