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Republic Services has opened California’s first fully solar-powered compost facility which will recycle food and yard waste from the San Diego region. The new Otay
Compost Facility will help communities meet the requirements of a new state law mandating diversion of all organic waste from landfills, while operating completely off the grid, using alternative energy. The Otay Compost Facility utilizes solar power to run composting operations at the site, including fans that aerate the organic material as well as oxygen and temperature sensors, and it also uses an advanced compost windrow cover system.
The facility can process 100 tons of organics per day, recycling materials into a high-quality, nutrient-rich soil amendment, while helping preserve natural resources and reducing water consumption. Republic Services has plans to double capacity by the end of the year.
NEXUS REPORTS 177 PERCENT GROWTH IN CIRCULAR WASTETO-VIRGIN PLASTICS BUSINESS
Nexus, which uses a proprietary technology to convert a broad range of landfill-bound plastic waste into liquids which can then be converted into virgin plastics, has reached 177 percent year-over-year production growth, with 47 percent of its total production occurring in recent months. The first in the world to receive the International Sustainability and
Carbon-Plus Certification (ISCC Plus) producing at this scale,
Nexus’ process is 100 percent circular and can be repeated infinitely. To date, the company has diverted close to 3.8 million pounds of broad-based, landfill-bound plastics for conversion back into new plastic material.
ISRI HIGHLIGHTS RESOURCES FOR RECYCLERS DURING FIRE PREVENTION MONTH EPAX AND MACPRESSE SIGN DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT ON HEAVY-DUTY BALERS
Recognizing the importance of fire safety and prevention resources in honour of National Fire Prevention Month this October, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is providing its members with online classes to help employers and employees understand hazards associated with fires in recycling and materials recovery facilities.
Related to these efforts, ISRI has been named a recipient of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) grant to fund education and training on hazard recognition and prevention. ISRI says it will use the grant to continue working on its Hazard Recognition and Fire Safety and Prevention programming. Classes are scheduled until the end of the year, with more expected to take place in 2022.
GFL COMPLETES 31 ACQUISITIONS IN 2021 AS OF OCTOBER 1
Between January and October 2021, GFL completed 31 acquisitions across its North American platform, according to a recent report from the company summarizing its year-to-date M&A activity. According to CEO Patrick Dovigi, with 31 acquisitions closed as of October 1, together with another acquisition closing in mid-October, the company has exceeded revenue from expected opportunities and sees more ahead.
“At the beginning of the year, we provided guidance that included opportunities to acquire up to C$280 million of revenue through incremental M&A,” said Dovigi. “We still see upside opportunities ahead of us for the fourth quarter resulting from the robust M&A pipeline that we manage. As we look to the end of 2021, we will continue to execute on our acquisition strategy . . . We will also remain focused on organically growing our business, realizing operational efficiencies and extracting synergies from our scalable platform, all with a view to increasing our free cash flow and creating long-term value for all of our stakeholders.” Epax Systems has expanded its product offerings to include the complete line of MacPresse balers and other equipment for municipal solid waste facilities and recycling plants. These machines feature capabilities for the compaction and baling of cardboard, PET, MSW, RDF and C&I waste. In addition to balers, MacPresse also manufactures a wide variety of auxiliary equipment, including sorting stations, industrial shredders, conveyors and stretch wrappers.
EASING THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC POWER
This October, Mack Trucks announced that its Ultra Service Agreement will come standard with the Mack LR Electric refuse model, helping further support customers beginning their journey into owning batteryelectric vehicles (BEVs). Specifically tailored to battery-electric trucks for waste and recycling collection, Mack’s new uptime package is designed to help relieve uncertainty in making the switch to electric power from diesel, building efficiencies in scheduled and preventive maintenance, towing, and repair, and including battery monitoring and Mack’s connected uptime services.
For more on this story, turn to page 24.
OVER 57 MILLION TONS OF E-WASTE EXPECTED AS GLOBAL TOTAL FOR 2021
October 14 marked International E-Waste Day 2021, a day when leading experts, producer responsibility organizations and the WEEE Forum called on households, businesses and governments to get behind efforts to get more end-of-life or unused plug-in or battery-operated products to facilities where they can be either repaired or recycled to recover valuable materials and reduce the need for new resources.
According to the WEEE Forum, this year’s worldwide mountain of waste electronic and electrical equipment will total an estimated 57.4 million tonnes – greater than the weight of the Great Wall of China.
$8.7 MILLION FUNDING IN MANITOBA TO HELP SUPPORT CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR ORGANICS AND OTHER MATERIALS
The Manitoba government is providing $8.7 million to municipalities, companies and organizations for waste reduction and recycling support for organics and other materials, according to an announcement from Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard.
The funding includes: • $50,000 to increase education and communication with stakeholders around recycling priorities; • $6,977,600 to support recycling rebates in municipalities and Indigenous and northern communities that operate
WEARS-registered landfills and/or have a contract with a
WRARS registered landfill for disposal of municipal solid waste; • $800,000 to support residential hazardous waste management; • $894,000 in Manitoba compost support payments to participating compost facilities.
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UPDATED GUIDANCE FOR PE FILM FROM APR TO HELP CLOSE THE LOOP ON PACKAGING
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has updated and improved the APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability for PE Film Packaging. Developed by a working group of APR’s Film Reclamation Committee, the updated guidance reflects the consensus of a diverse group of stakeholders including film recyclers, converters and brands.
According to APR, the guide updates are part of a larger initiative to improve the capture and recovery of film plastic packaging supported by The Recycling Partnership’s Film & Flexibles Coalition. Other objectives include encouraging more residential collection and recovery of films, developing design guidance for polypropylene films, and researching the suitability of curbside recycling for film plastics.
DS SMITH EMBEDS CIRCULAR DESIGN METRICS ACROSS ALL PACKAGING SITES
DS Smith has embedded its circular design metrics across all of its packaging sites to support the transition to a circular economy. Using these metrics, DS Smith can now measure and quantify the sustainability performance of each of its packaging designs across eight key indicators: carbon footprint, design for reuse, supply chain optimization, recyclability, planet safety, material utilization, renewable source and recycled content.
As more than 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is made at the design stage, data from the metrics enables brands and retailers to compare different design solutions, helping them to reduce waste and pollution and keep materials and products in use for longer.
MODIFIED SHIPPING CONTAINER SETUP BRINGS NEW, CONVENIENT WAY TO RECYCLE ON UNIVERSITY OF B.C. CAMPUS
Students, faculty, staff and residents of the University of British Columbia community and surrounding area can drop off their empty beverage containers to be recycled at the campus’ first Express & GO recycling station. The recycling station is housed in a 20-foot repurposed shipping container and supports a growing need for contactless, innovative recycling infrastructure in a wide range of communities – from large urban centres where commercial space is at a premium, to less accessible rural locations.
Through the Express & GO system, British Columbians have a contactless way to recycle their unsorted empty beverage containers in under a minute. Deposit refunds are uploaded through the user’s free online account, which can be redeemed by Interac e-transfer or cheque. Students, faculty and residents also have the option of donating their refunds directly to local charities or student groups.
LET’S JOIN FORCES!
THE BEAST® 3680T
35” Capacity Horizontal Grinder
Since 1983, Bandit has been providing equipment for a multitude of wood waste processing markets. Our vision since the beginning is to manufacture quality, highly productive, easy to maintain equipment providing years of dependable service. The commitment for quality, innovation and dedication is instilled in every Bandit employee and is one of the main reasons why Bandit became an Employee-Owned Company (ESOP) in 2018. These core values ensure each Bandit machine will leave the factory ready to exceed your expectations.
To locate an authorized Bandit Dealer in your area please visit www.banditchippers.com or call Bandit at 800-952-0178.
With the most diverse product line in the industry backed by our extensive parts, sales and service team supporting our highly trained global dealer network consisting of over 235 locations, we are a force to be reckoned with! For those who have joined, we thank you. If you are wondering what this could mean for your business we have one question: Are you ready to join forces?
