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REPUBLIC SERVICES REDUCES HEAD COUNT AND IMPROVES FIBRE QUALITY WITH FIBERMAX OPTICAL SORTERS
Republic Services recently retrofitted the fibre lines in their 45-tph facility in Seattle, Washington, also known as Rabanco Recycling. The retrofits include two single-eject and two dual-eject MSS Fibermax optical sorters from CP Group. In 2018, Republic added two single-eject MSS Fibermax optical sorters to meet new strict export grade requirements of less than 0.5 percent contamination, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in head count on the fibre quality control stations. The company has also integrated Fibermax optical sorting units into multiple facilities around the U.S. in recent years.
At Rabanco, after a successful integration and achievement of their retrofit goals, Republic says it has moved forward with the installation of two additional dual-eject Fibermax units, which began operation March 21. The dual-eject MSS Fibermax units eject cardboard as well as prohibitives out of the paper line. Republic reports that the addition has reduced head count by 44 percent on the fibre quality control stations. Additionally, the units capture small OCC and clean up any remaining contamination in the fibre.
“Since installing the Fibermax additions we have increased revenue, improved the quality and value of material and improved the overall operation of the MRF,” said Don Zimmerman, operations manager at Rabanco Recycling. “The CP team is truly an outstanding group to work with, from installation to service, and the machines speak for themselves.”
CP says it worked with the local Republic team to integrate the optical sorters over multiple weekends to eliminate plant downtime during both retrofits.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Republic Seattle on their Fibermax additions,” said Terry Schneider, president/CEO of CP Group. “We are happy to see the return on investment in these retrofits pay back so quickly. Our companies were able to work together to achieve minimal downtime as well. This is a very successful integration and one that we are proud of.”
SIKA ACHIEVES BREAKTHROUGH IN CONCRETE RECYCLING BY DEVELOPING NEW PROCESS
Sika has developed a new recycling process for old concrete which includes breaking down the concrete into individual parts: gravel, sand and limestone. This simple and efficient process binds about 60 kilograms of carbon dioxide per ton of crushed concrete demolition waste.
This innovation, with the brand name «reCO2ver», will make a significant contribution to reduce the ecological footprint of the construction industry, according to Sika.
According to the European Commission, 25–30 percent of all waste generated in the EU consists of construction demolition waste materials, many of which could be recycled. Recycling these materials is particularly crucial in dense urban areas, as this is where most old concrete accumulates. Sika has succeeded in developing a highly efficient process that will allow users to separate and reuse the components of old concrete as well as increase the recycled aggregates’ quality.
Comparative testing of the Sika «reCO2ver» process has demonstrated that new concrete containing recycled content performs similarly to an all-new product. Thanks to additionally developed chemical additives, further process optimizations can be achieved, such as the flexibility to tailor specific concrete functionalities.
“In the five largest EU countries alone, roughly 300 million tons of old concrete are generated every year. With complete recycling of these materials, up to 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be captured. We are convinced that our new process has the potential to benefit both our customers and the environment,” said Paul Schuler, chief executive officer.
With the new process, Sika says old concrete can be completely recycled and saved from landfill. So far, attempts to recycle old concrete have led to rather low recycling rates, and only 30 percent of primary material can be substituted by these recycled materials in structural concrete. The Sika innovation will produce high-performance concrete while sequestering a significant amount of carbon dioxide.
DAVIS INDEX FERROUS SCRAP FUTURES CONTRACTS ON METTALEX FIRST TO DECENTRALIZE GLOBAL TRADING
Commodity price reporting agency, Davis Index, recently launched the world’s first decentralized futures contracts for recycled steel. These contracts will be listed on Mettalex, a decentralized exchange for commodities trading which will also include exchange-settled daily contracts for bulk exports of recycled steel (ferrous scrap) shipped to Turkey, and for containerized shredded scrap shipped to India.
According to Davis Index, today’s hedging tools remain largely inaccessible due to high costs and obstacles related to front running, poor liquidity, price manipulation and loss of value in the form of margin calls. Mettalex is designed to solve these problems by allowing physical asset holders cost-, capital- and risk-efficient access to commodities markets.
PORT OF BROWNSVILLE IS THE FIRST IN THE U.S. WITH EU SHIP RECYCLING ACCREDITATION
The Port of Brownsville, Texas, one of the largest ship recycling centres in operation for U.S.-flagged ships and military vessels, now has EU-based recognition which creates a broad range of new opportunities for international ship owners, as well as major manufacturing companies that depend on large volumes of recycled high-quality steel and other metals.
For more on this story, turn to page 28.
SWANA ADDRESSES CURRENT LABOUR SHORTAGE IN SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
MACK TRUCKS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS IN CANADA
The hiring and retention of drivers and helpers to provide solid waste and recycling collection services is a growing challenge for public sector and private sector service providers. A new, two-page paper responding to the impact of COVID-19, from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), analyzes the factors surrounding the current worker shortage and proposes short- and long-term solutions.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more difficult for some companies and agencies to attract and retain collection workers, which is causing service disruptions,” commented David Biderman, SWANA executive director & CEO. “Solid waste is not the only industry facing this challenge, and this paper provides some useful suggestions for how local governments and companies should address the situation.”
SWANA’s Applied Research Foundation (ARF) published a report in February 2020, Recruiting Personnel for Solid Waste Collection Services, which addressed the driver shortage issue faced by waste and recycling collection service providers before the COVID pandemic. According to SWANA, the pandemic has had substantial impacts on solid waste collection, including making it difficult for some companies and agencies to maintain service levels, and the new report focused on worker shortages serves to update this research.
“The SWANA document released [May 18] builds on a report prepared by the SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) that was sponsored by the ARF’s Collection Research Group and published in February 2020,” said Jeremy O’Brien, SWANA applied research director. “SWANA would like to recognize the local governments that participate in this Group – Charlotte, NC; Durham, NC; Miami-Dade County, FL; Clearwater, FL; Pensacola, FL; Phoenix, AZ; and Tucson, AZ – and encourage other municipalities to join the ARF and the Collection Research Group.”
TEREX ECOTEC EXPANDS PRESENCE IN CANADA WITH FRONTLINE MACHINERY
Frontline Machinery will now represent Terex Ecotec across the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan in addition to their current territory of Ontario and Manitoba.
The expansion of Frontline’s footprint and Ecotec’s product line comes at a time of rapid evolution and growth in Canada’s waste and organic recycling sectors. Based on tonnage, organic residuals represent the highest volume of recycled material in the country. According to a recent survey by the Compost Council of Canada, the national diversion total of organic waste has grown exponentially from 275,000 tonnes in 1992/1993 to 5.3 million tonnes annually.
Mack Trucks has reached a significant milestone in Canada in 2021 – its 100th anniversary.
The “Bulldog” Mack AC model forged its reputation on the front lines during World War I. Many of the army surplus AC models came back to Canada after the war ended and became popular for many heavy-haul applications. Mack noticed the growing demand in the Canadian truck market and established Mack Trucks of Canada, delivering the Mack AB and AC models.
As Mack sales continued to grow throughout the 1920s, the company moved to a succession of larger facilities in Toronto and continued expanding its sales and dealer network to all parts of the country.
NEXUS’ COMMERCIAL-SCALE CIRCULAR WASTE-TO-VIRGIN-PLASTICS SOLUTION RECYCLES AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL
SCRAP-IT REACHES MILESTONE OF 50,000 VEHICLES SCRAPPED
Nexus, the circular waste-plastics solution specialist based out of Atlanta, Georgia, is using a proprietary technology to convert a broad range of plastic waste into liquids which can be converted into virgin plastics, and it is the first in the world to receive the International Sustainability and Carbon-Plus Certification (ISCC) for production at this scale.
According to Nexus, their waste-to-virgin materials molecular recycling process is 100 percent circular and can be repeated infinitely. To date, the company has diverted close to 3 million pounds of landfill-bound plastics, converting them back into their original form to easily create new, reusable plastics.
Nexus’ global partnerships include Shell and Chevron Phillips, among others. Nexus also has feasibility studies underway in the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America and new ones are launching with a set of partners wanting to move quickly and with purpose to address the plastics waste problem using a real, proven solution. Because the Nexus team is literate in LIBERATE engineering, chemistry, software, permitting, operations and finance, they PREPARATION FOR PURITY STANDARDS are well positioned to meet the outsized demands of manufacturers who AND DOWNSTREAM EFFICIENCIES have set aggressive recycled content After fractionating material, a successful MRF design liberates targets for 2025–2030 and beyond to dirt, grit, food particles and glass shards that are stuck to your achieve desires of consumers and governments seeking an environmentally friendly solution for waste plastics. commodities. By agitating material, our high amplitude rubber and steel disc screens shake loose dirty fines particles to clean your commodity stream while also liberating fluffy, high-volume material from rigid material.
The not-for-profit organization SCRAP-IT is celebrating two landmark milestones in 2021: 50,000 vehicles scrapped and its 25-year anniversary. Between April 1996 and March 2021, the organization recorded the recovery of 51,329 ELVs. “I’d like to congratulate SCRAPIT for reaching this incredible milestone. Fifty thousand vehicles scrapped is a major achievement with significant positive environmental impacts for the province,” said B.C. Premier John Horgan.
SCRAP-IT has also announced the start of its 2021 electric vehicle program, whereby SCRAP-IT will be offering B.C. residents $6,000 and $3,000 rebates for new and used electric vehicles.
CP DESIGN PRINCIPLES
FRACTIONATE
material into similar streams
LIBERATE
2D material from 3D
SEPARATE
commodities optically
