Plastic Recycling Comes of Age

Plastic Recycling Comes of Age

Plastic recycling is becoming big business, giving scrap processors a prime opportunity to enter the postconsumer recycling loop. ISRI’s first Plastics Roundtable gave attendees essential information to help them adopt this new commodity.

ISRI President David Serls, Colonial Metals Co. (Columbia, Pa.) and L. Lavetan and Sons Inc. (York, Pa.), opened the program by noting that the large turnout was an affirmation of ReMA's commitment to providing forward-looking programs and services, not only for members but "for all parties involved in the recycling community." He called the gathering a "historic event" and said that ReMA is considering establishing a plastic committee with full standing in the organization. ISRI currently has an ad hoc plastic committee under the chairmanship of Marty Forman.

One theme ran through the roundtable speakers' presentations: Provide quality, value, and consistency. While certain market problems were also highlighted, speakers noted that the plastic industry is dedicated to making plastic recycling a viable, profit-making endeavor for collectors and processors alike.

Reclaiming Postconsumer Plastics

The roundtable lead-off speaker, Dennis Sabourin, vice president of Wellman Inc. (Shrewsbury, N.J.), stressed that the plastic industry "is committed to recycling." His company, for example, processed more than 100 million pounds of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles last year, he said.

In examining the recycling of postconsumer plastics in the context of the solid waste crisis--due to dwindling landfill capacity--in the United States, Sabourin noted that while plastics account for only 7 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream by weight, volume estimates range from 18 percent to 30 percent. In addition, he pointed out, packaging makes up about 30 percent of the total annual MSW (close to 43 million tons), with plastics representing 13 percent of that packaging segment (approximately 7 million tons). Furthermore, 24 percent of those 7 million tons are plastic bottles, Sabourin said, of which approximately 500,000 tons are assumed to be high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and approximately 442,000 tons are PET.

All of Wellman's raw materials are generated from recycled feedstock and, according to Sabourin, the company has the capacity to use twice the amount of scrap PET bottles it is currently purchasing. The company's problem is not one of developing end-use markets, “it’s the development of collection and sorting systems for the removal of plastics from MSW," Sabourin said.

Wellman's response has been to expand its raw material outreach beyond states with mandatory container deposit laws. Sabourin called curbside collection "the wave of the future" and believes it will grow in popularity. His company recently entered into a partnership with Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) under which the waste company will collect plastics at curbside and sell them to Wellman. BFI will expand its efforts to provide industrial scrap plastics as well, Sabourin stated.

Wellman also has arranged to purchase plastics recovered from the waste stream by New England CRInc. (North Billerica, Mass.), according to Sabourin. The company markets and operates the Bezner sorting system for mixed recyclables and, through a new enterprise, will contract with government entities to build and operate material recovery facilities.

He concluded by asserting that plastic recycling must have a sound economic foundation in order to survive and should not rely on any subsidies. Its future, he said, is in the hands of end users of recyclables, who must be supplied quality materials in order to return value to the community and ensure continuous markets.

(Wellman operates a "Plastic Hot Line," 800/542-7780.)

Providing the Industrial Perspective

Richard S. Bezark, president of New Extrusions and Fabricating Inc. (Northbrook, M.), spoke on the reuse of industrial scrap plastics, which his company will process "in excess of 10 to 15 million pounds" this year. The majority of this is consumed in vinyl floor covering products, Bezark said, noting that the company also compounds and sells reclaimed resins to other plastic manufacturers and commodity brokers.

In the late 1970s, he said, the company, a manufacturer of custom plastic products and compounds since the early 1940s, recognized the need for cost control in using petroleum-derived raw material and sought lower-cost alternatives to flexible and rigid polyvinyl chloride. One of those alternatives is scrap plastics, and today the company uses advanced reprocessing equipment to handle a range of industrial scrap materials.

Bezark outlined industrial plastic recycling in five processing steps: 1. separation by resin type and color; 2. cleaning (if necessary); 3. grinding and/or cutting; 4. reprocessing through a compounding device to achieve desired properties; and 5. pelletizing the compound for easier handling. At this point, the material is ready for manufacturing or resale.

In order for the plastic industry to best deal with the challenges of postconsumer plastics and landfilling, Bezark noted, new applications for the use of recycled postconsumer plastics must be created. As more manufacturers investigate the use of and begin using industrial scrap plastics, he said, new markets will develop and scrap quantities and prices will rise. However, he conceded, there still exists a bias toward using 100-percent virgin resins instead of reprocessed plastics. "Attitudes are improving," Bezark concluded, "but we still have a long way to go."

Relying on Thermoplastic Markets

Richard W. Kaskel Jr., marketing manager of GE Plastics (Troy, Mich.), presented a "markets first" approach to the recycling of engineered thermoplastics, which are typically used in durable goods.

Kaskel stated that plastic recycling follows the same principles that determine whether any material is economically worthwhile to reclaim: its value in relation to market price and cost of the reclaimed material; its disposal accessibility; and scrap volumes. These variables are "interdependent," he said, with all three necessary for a "realistic" recycling system to be implemented.

Kaskel noted that GE is engaged in a “marketing pull strategy” that analyzes the potential for recycled thermoplastics, thus "ensuring the best chance of making a profit" when reclaiming a material. "But," he qualified, "favorable economics must exist to cover the costs of developing new technologies required for the recycling of engineered thermoplastics."

GE has learned that recycling is more than input, value-add, and output, Kaskel said. A closer examination has revealed that by first identifying markets, or material requirements, products can be developed to meet a prescribed need. As an example, Kaskel said that the automotive aftermarket requires thermoplastics, but the market is reluctant to pay for tight material specifications. To take advantage of this opportunity, GE has developed special resins from a combination of feedstock sources to meet performance standards, presumably at a reduced cost to end users. This same strategy, according to Kaskel, has been successful in developing secondary markets within the electrical, extrusion, consumer equipment, and automotive industries.

Kaskel admitted that this approach will not eliminate landfilling of all engineered thermoplastics, but he believes it can significantly reduce the odds of those materials entering the MSW stream. He noted that GE Plastics is pioneering "environmental marketing" for engineering thermoplastics, which encompasses:

Design for Recycling;

materials compatibility analyses;

new materials-forming processes for commingled engineered thermoplastics;

application development; and

market development.

Recycling Plastics in Autos

Design for Recycling was also highlighted by Martin D. Drigotas, senior development programs manager for E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (Wilmington, Del.). Drigotas's remarks centered on what he termed "automotive materials management" and creating "a plan to manage this opportunity--or problem--depending on your perspective." With sales of $3 billion to the automotive industry in 1989, Du Pont is a significant supplier to the industry, Drigotas said, and is thus interested in promoting plastic auto scrap disposal and recycling.

Drigotas also discussed what to do with auto shredder fluff, noting that “recycling thermoplastics offers real hope for a partial solution to the shredder fluff issue." Fluff can be minimized, he said, by first separating out the usable materials, reprocessing them, and selling them back into secondary markets, a process Du Pont has in place today. The company's labs, he explained, have ground up thermoplastic auto parts such as bumpers, remelted them, and made them into " first-quality plastic parts."

Drigotas also reviewed plastic packaging and suggested that efforts in dealing with the problems of packaging waste disposal might also offer clues in dealing with durable goods. Joint industry cooperation, such as Du Pont's 1989 joint venture with Waste Management Inc. and the establishment of the Council for Solid Waste Solutions, will be necessary between groups with different areas of expertise, he said.

Du Pont, which focuses its plastic recycling efforts on the post-use automotive market, recognizes that, as a material supplier, it cannot answer the automotive recycling challenge alone, Drigotas said. Rather, he asserted, automakers, parts suppliers, dismantlers, landfill operators, and consumers must work together to make vehicles "economically recoverable after their initial use." He identified the elements required for successful automobile recycling as: materials and parts identification; Design for Recycling; design for dismantling; and appropriate and profitable reuse of recovered materials.

Drigotas also expressed concern about some legislative actions being taken to curb plastic use. In 1989, he noted, 350 bins were introduced in various state legislatures that would ban the use of plastics-in some consumer products. He expects similar measures to be introduced regarding durable plastics in the next few years, and predicted that the auto industry "has a good chance of being the next plastics waste battleground after packaging."

Although industry problems do exist, Drigotas concluded that plastic recycling opens up new opportunities for entrepreneurs and existing recyclers to expand their businesses and promote growth. He said that development costs must be shared by many partners but that the efforts will be "amply rewarded with time."

Creating a Closed-Loop system

Terrance G. Mohoruk, manager of vinyl recycling for BFGoodrich (Cleveland), spoke on the need to establish an infrastructure for the recapture of scrap vinyl. BFGoodrich aims to join businesses together to achieve a "closed-loop" system of plastic reclamation and reuse, he said.

Mohoruk focused on industrial vinyl scrap streams, which comprise a 9-billion-pound-per-year market, paying special attention to vinyl scrap generated by wire and cable choppers. He estimated that domestic wire and cable choppers generate 750 million pounds of plastics annually, of which 50 percent is believed to be vinyl. This represents a valuable resource, he remarked, but ongoing sources of quality plastic scrap are needed. "I'm real good at selling a truckload of virgin resin, " he conceded, "but I don't know how to get scrap back."

BFGoodrich plans to reclaim 200 to 300 million pounds annually of plastic scrap from wire and cable, he said, noting that technology exists to extrude wire with 100-percent recycled vinyl plastics.

BFGoodrich is also looking for other sources of vinyl, Mohoruk said, and ReMA members can play an important part in developing continuous sources of supply. "I'm not sure about the bottle business for most," he offered, "but there area lot of other plastics to get involved with." He recommended that companies specialize in certain plastic scrap. "Think about what is in your neighborhood, state, or region first," he advised. "Think also about how to influence your municipality to fund recycling programs that allow private companies to get involved."

In a step toward joint ventures, BFGoodrich has instituted a mutual venture program to encourage recycling vinyl as a business opportunity. Mohoruk foresees the day when scrap plastics are as successfully recycled as all-aluminum beverage cans. However, he cautioned, scrap plastics will have to pass strict specifications and performance standards just as aluminum cans do. If successful, Mohoruk predicted a 70-billion-pound-per-year market for 6 4 prime" resins by 2000, with no distinction between virgin and reprocessed scrap. "All the value will go into the sale of that regenerated plastic," he predicted, providing the incentive for scrap processors to link up with resin producers to close the recycling loop.

Exploring End Uses Through McRecycle

Jeffrey P. Lawlor, general manager of Haljohn Marketing and Public Relations (Austin, Texas), spoke about McDonald's Corp.'s “McRecycle” program, which encompasses the collection and reprocessing of used polystyrene (PS) containers and the company's $100-million commitment to purchase products made from recycled materials. These products will be used, Lawlor said, in the construction of new restaurants, in the remodeling of old ones, for packaging materials, and for restaurant supplies. "We'll be using insulation, landscape timbers, tabletops, countertops, waste containers, roofing and wallboard, and much more that is recycled material," he said. Lawlor noted that "an end-user marketplace needs to be well-established before any recycling program can be successful," and McDonald's believes its McRecycle program will allow it to be a significant end-use market for recycled plastics.

Lawlor urged ReMA members to establish plastic recycling operations and to help prevent local and state governments from taking on "ban plastic" mentalities. McDonald's has fought 500 bans on plastics, he said. On a more positive note, Lawlor remarked that the passage of mandatory plastic labeling or coding requirements, found in approximately 25 states, will make plastic separation easier and, thus, less costly to scrap processors.

Lawlor urged plastic manufacturers and recyclers to develop rapport with local McDonald's officials, using the company as a sales outlet as well as a source of raw materials. There are about 65 McDonald's administrative offices around the country and approximately 40 employ an environmental affairs coordinator who can answer questions and concerns regarding PS foam recycling.

(Information about McDonald's McRecycle program can be obtained by calling 800/453-1000.)

The Season for Plastic Recycling

As comoderator Marty Forman pointed out, "The time for wholesale landfilling of plastic scrap in this country is past." He reminded scrap industry members that they are in the right place at the right time with "absolutely the right skills and experience" to address solid waste problems--and turn them into recycling opportunities. "Perhaps the most important thing to note," he said, "is that plastic scrap is not waste at all, it's just another commodity."

Borrowing from Ecclesiastes, Forman concluded: To every thing there is a season, but "what is the season for plastic recycling? It's early spring. What time is it? It's time for planting. What's the weather forecast? Hot. What's the harvest going to be like? Rich."

[SIDEBAR]

Eliminating Contamination Is Vital to Success

Quality control of plastic scrap is one of the keys to plastic recycling, according to speakers at ISRI’s first Plastics Seminar, which immediately preceded the roundtable.

Unlike the metal and paper recycling industries, in which some contamination may reduce scrap value but can often tolerated, “in the scrap plastic business,” said David J. Kaplan, Maine Plastics Inc. (North Chicago, Ill.), “a little contamination is like being ‘a little bit pregnant.’” In fact, according to one of the seminar’s moderators, Marty Forman, a load of 10,000 bottles made of one type of plastic could be made worthless by the inclusion of just 1 bottle made of another plastic.

Because of this potential for problems, Forman added, many plastic scrap processors and consumers will buy only whole plastic scrap. Although baled plastics are acceptable, he said, it’s difficult to assure the quality of flaked or ground plastics.

Identifying different types of plastics may be aided by recent developments of automated systems that sort materials through the use of reflector light and X rays, according to Michael M. Fisher, Council for Solid Waste Solutions (Washington, D.C.). However, said Gary Thompson, MA Industries Inc. (Peachtree City, Ga.), while such automated systems “look promising, personal inspection is still necessary.”

Also speaking at the seminar were the following:

Comoderator Larry Sax, who suggested that, to offset processing costs and low values, scrap processors should charge a “tipping fee” based on avoided landfill costs to handle postconsumer plastics;

Gail Mason, Peltz Corp. (Milwaukee), who discussed strategies for working with municipalities on plastics, noting that “handling plastics puts you in a position to handle municipalities’ other needs”;

Thomas M. Mulligan, Superwood International Ltd. (Wicklow, Ireland), who described his company’s process for manufacturing “plastic lumber” and declared, “it should be the goal of every processor to make its own products”; and

Plastic Recycling Comes of Age

Plastic recycling is becoming big business, giving scrap processors a prime opportunity to enter the postconsumer recycling loop. ISRI’s first Plastics Roundtable gave attendees essential information to help them adopt this new commodity.

ISRI President David Serls, Colonial Metals Co. (Columbia, Pa.) and L. Lavetan and Sons Inc. (York, Pa.), opened the program by noting that the large turnout was an affirmation of ReMA's commitment to providing forward-looking programs and services, not only for members but "for all parties involved in the recycling community." He called the gathering a "historic event" and said that ReMA is considering establishing a plastic committee with full standing in the organization. ISRI currently has an ad hoc plastic committee under the chairmanship of Marty Forman.

One theme ran through the roundtable speakers' presentations: Provide quality, value, and consistency. While certain market problems were also highlighted, speakers noted that the plastic industry is dedicated to making plastic recycling a viable, profit-making endeavor for collectors and processors alike.

Reclaiming Postconsumer Plastics

The roundtable lead-off speaker, Dennis Sabourin, vice president of Wellman Inc. (Shrewsbury, N.J.), stressed that the plastic industry "is committed to recycling." His company, for example, processed more than 100 million pounds of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles last year, he said.

In examining the recycling of postconsumer plastics in the context of the solid waste crisis--due to dwindling landfill capacity--in the United States, Sabourin noted that while plastics account for only 7 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream by weight, volume estimates range from 18 percent to 30 percent. In addition, he pointed out, packaging makes up about 30 percent of the total annual MSW (close to 43 million tons), with plastics representing 13 percent of that packaging segment (approximately 7 million tons). Furthermore, 24 percent of those 7 million tons are plastic bottles, Sabourin said, of which approximately 500,000 tons are assumed to be high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and approximately 442,000 tons are PET.

All of Wellman's raw materials are generated from recycled feedstock and, according to Sabourin, the company has the capacity to use twice the amount of scrap PET bottles it is currently purchasing. The company's problem is not one of developing end-use markets, “it’s the development of collection and sorting systems for the removal of plastics from MSW," Sabourin said.

Wellman's response has been to expand its raw material outreach beyond states with mandatory container deposit laws. Sabourin called curbside collection "the wave of the future" and believes it will grow in popularity. His company recently entered into a partnership with Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) under which the waste company will collect plastics at curbside and sell them to Wellman. BFI will expand its efforts to provide industrial scrap plastics as well, Sabourin stated.

Wellman also has arranged to purchase plastics recovered from the waste stream by New England CRInc. (North Billerica, Mass.), according to Sabourin. The company markets and operates the Bezner sorting system for mixed recyclables and, through a new enterprise, will contract with government entities to build and operate material recovery facilities.

He concluded by asserting that plastic recycling must have a sound economic foundation in order to survive and should not rely on any subsidies. Its future, he said, is in the hands of end users of recyclables, who must be supplied quality materials in order to return value to the community and ensure continuous markets.

(Wellman operates a "Plastic Hot Line," 800/542-7780.)

Providing the Industrial Perspective

Richard S. Bezark, president of New Extrusions and Fabricating Inc. (Northbrook, M.), spoke on the reuse of industrial scrap plastics, which his company will process "in excess of 10 to 15 million pounds" this year. The majority of this is consumed in vinyl floor covering products, Bezark said, noting that the company also compounds and sells reclaimed resins to other plastic manufacturers and commodity brokers.

In the late 1970s, he said, the company, a manufacturer of custom plastic products and compounds since the early 1940s, recognized the need for cost control in using petroleum-derived raw material and sought lower-cost alternatives to flexible and rigid polyvinyl chloride. One of those alternatives is scrap plastics, and today the company uses advanced reprocessing equipment to handle a range of industrial scrap materials.

Bezark outlined industrial plastic recycling in five processing steps: 1. separation by resin type and color; 2. cleaning (if necessary); 3. grinding and/or cutting; 4. reprocessing through a compounding device to achieve desired properties; and 5. pelletizing the compound for easier handling. At this point, the material is ready for manufacturing or resale.

In order for the plastic industry to best deal with the challenges of postconsumer plastics and landfilling, Bezark noted, new applications for the use of recycled postconsumer plastics must be created. As more manufacturers investigate the use of and begin using industrial scrap plastics, he said, new markets will develop and scrap quantities and prices will rise. However, he conceded, there still exists a bias toward using 100-percent virgin resins instead of reprocessed plastics. "Attitudes are improving," Bezark concluded, "but we still have a long way to go."

Relying on Thermoplastic Markets

Richard W. Kaskel Jr., marketing manager of GE Plastics (Troy, Mich.), presented a "markets first" approach to the recycling of engineered thermoplastics, which are typically used in durable goods.

Kaskel stated that plastic recycling follows the same principles that determine whether any material is economically worthwhile to reclaim: its value in relation to market price and cost of the reclaimed material; its disposal accessibility; and scrap volumes. These variables are "interdependent," he said, with all three necessary for a "realistic" recycling system to be implemented.

Kaskel noted that GE is engaged in a “marketing pull strategy” that analyzes the potential for recycled thermoplastics, thus "ensuring the best chance of making a profit" when reclaiming a material. "But," he qualified, "favorable economics must exist to cover the costs of developing new technologies required for the recycling of engineered thermoplastics."

GE has learned that recycling is more than input, value-add, and output, Kaskel said. A closer examination has revealed that by first identifying markets, or material requirements, products can be developed to meet a prescribed need. As an example, Kaskel said that the automotive aftermarket requires thermoplastics, but the market is reluctant to pay for tight material specifications. To take advantage of this opportunity, GE has developed special resins from a combination of feedstock sources to meet performance standards, presumably at a reduced cost to end users. This same strategy, according to Kaskel, has been successful in developing secondary markets within the electrical, extrusion, consumer equipment, and automotive industries.

Kaskel admitted that this approach will not eliminate landfilling of all engineered thermoplastics, but he believes it can significantly reduce the odds of those materials entering the MSW stream. He noted that GE Plastics is pioneering "environmental marketing" for engineering thermoplastics, which encompasses:

Design for Recycling;

materials compatibility analyses;

new materials-forming processes for commingled engineered thermoplastics;

application development; and

market development.

Recycling Plastics in Autos

Design for Recycling was also highlighted by Martin D. Drigotas, senior development programs manager for E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (Wilmington, Del.). Drigotas's remarks centered on what he termed "automotive materials management" and creating "a plan to manage this opportunity--or problem--depending on your perspective." With sales of $3 billion to the automotive industry in 1989, Du Pont is a significant supplier to the industry, Drigotas said, and is thus interested in promoting plastic auto scrap disposal and recycling.

Drigotas also discussed what to do with auto shredder fluff, noting that “recycling thermoplastics offers real hope for a partial solution to the shredder fluff issue." Fluff can be minimized, he said, by first separating out the usable materials, reprocessing them, and selling them back into secondary markets, a process Du Pont has in place today. The company's labs, he explained, have ground up thermoplastic auto parts such as bumpers, remelted them, and made them into " first-quality plastic parts."

Drigotas also reviewed plastic packaging and suggested that efforts in dealing with the problems of packaging waste disposal might also offer clues in dealing with durable goods. Joint industry cooperation, such as Du Pont's 1989 joint venture with Waste Management Inc. and the establishment of the Council for Solid Waste Solutions, will be necessary between groups with different areas of expertise, he said.

Du Pont, which focuses its plastic recycling efforts on the post-use automotive market, recognizes that, as a material supplier, it cannot answer the automotive recycling challenge alone, Drigotas said. Rather, he asserted, automakers, parts suppliers, dismantlers, landfill operators, and consumers must work together to make vehicles "economically recoverable after their initial use." He identified the elements required for successful automobile recycling as: materials and parts identification; Design for Recycling; design for dismantling; and appropriate and profitable reuse of recovered materials.

Drigotas also expressed concern about some legislative actions being taken to curb plastic use. In 1989, he noted, 350 bins were introduced in various state legislatures that would ban the use of plastics-in some consumer products. He expects similar measures to be introduced regarding durable plastics in the next few years, and predicted that the auto industry "has a good chance of being the next plastics waste battleground after packaging."

Although industry problems do exist, Drigotas concluded that plastic recycling opens up new opportunities for entrepreneurs and existing recyclers to expand their businesses and promote growth. He said that development costs must be shared by many partners but that the efforts will be "amply rewarded with time."

Creating a Closed-Loop system

Terrance G. Mohoruk, manager of vinyl recycling for BFGoodrich (Cleveland), spoke on the need to establish an infrastructure for the recapture of scrap vinyl. BFGoodrich aims to join businesses together to achieve a "closed-loop" system of plastic reclamation and reuse, he said.

Mohoruk focused on industrial vinyl scrap streams, which comprise a 9-billion-pound-per-year market, paying special attention to vinyl scrap generated by wire and cable choppers. He estimated that domestic wire and cable choppers generate 750 million pounds of plastics annually, of which 50 percent is believed to be vinyl. This represents a valuable resource, he remarked, but ongoing sources of quality plastic scrap are needed. "I'm real good at selling a truckload of virgin resin, " he conceded, "but I don't know how to get scrap back."

BFGoodrich plans to reclaim 200 to 300 million pounds annually of plastic scrap from wire and cable, he said, noting that technology exists to extrude wire with 100-percent recycled vinyl plastics.

BFGoodrich is also looking for other sources of vinyl, Mohoruk said, and ReMA members can play an important part in developing continuous sources of supply. "I'm not sure about the bottle business for most," he offered, "but there area lot of other plastics to get involved with." He recommended that companies specialize in certain plastic scrap. "Think about what is in your neighborhood, state, or region first," he advised. "Think also about how to influence your municipality to fund recycling programs that allow private companies to get involved."

In a step toward joint ventures, BFGoodrich has instituted a mutual venture program to encourage recycling vinyl as a business opportunity. Mohoruk foresees the day when scrap plastics are as successfully recycled as all-aluminum beverage cans. However, he cautioned, scrap plastics will have to pass strict specifications and performance standards just as aluminum cans do. If successful, Mohoruk predicted a 70-billion-pound-per-year market for 6 4 prime" resins by 2000, with no distinction between virgin and reprocessed scrap. "All the value will go into the sale of that regenerated plastic," he predicted, providing the incentive for scrap processors to link up with resin producers to close the recycling loop.

Exploring End Uses Through McRecycle

Jeffrey P. Lawlor, general manager of Haljohn Marketing and Public Relations (Austin, Texas), spoke about McDonald's Corp.'s “McRecycle” program, which encompasses the collection and reprocessing of used polystyrene (PS) containers and the company's $100-million commitment to purchase products made from recycled materials. These products will be used, Lawlor said, in the construction of new restaurants, in the remodeling of old ones, for packaging materials, and for restaurant supplies. "We'll be using insulation, landscape timbers, tabletops, countertops, waste containers, roofing and wallboard, and much more that is recycled material," he said. Lawlor noted that "an end-user marketplace needs to be well-established before any recycling program can be successful," and McDonald's believes its McRecycle program will allow it to be a significant end-use market for recycled plastics.

Lawlor urged ReMA members to establish plastic recycling operations and to help prevent local and state governments from taking on "ban plastic" mentalities. McDonald's has fought 500 bans on plastics, he said. On a more positive note, Lawlor remarked that the passage of mandatory plastic labeling or coding requirements, found in approximately 25 states, will make plastic separation easier and, thus, less costly to scrap processors.

Lawlor urged plastic manufacturers and recyclers to develop rapport with local McDonald's officials, using the company as a sales outlet as well as a source of raw materials. There are about 65 McDonald's administrative offices around the country and approximately 40 employ an environmental affairs coordinator who can answer questions and concerns regarding PS foam recycling.

(Information about McDonald's McRecycle program can be obtained by calling 800/453-1000.)

The Season for Plastic Recycling

As comoderator Marty Forman pointed out, "The time for wholesale landfilling of plastic scrap in this country is past." He reminded scrap industry members that they are in the right place at the right time with "absolutely the right skills and experience" to address solid waste problems--and turn them into recycling opportunities. "Perhaps the most important thing to note," he said, "is that plastic scrap is not waste at all, it's just another commodity."

Borrowing from Ecclesiastes, Forman concluded: To every thing there is a season, but "what is the season for plastic recycling? It's early spring. What time is it? It's time for planting. What's the weather forecast? Hot. What's the harvest going to be like? Rich."

[SIDEBAR]

Eliminating Contamination Is Vital to Success

Quality control of plastic scrap is one of the keys to plastic recycling, according to speakers at ISRI’s first Plastics Seminar, which immediately preceded the roundtable.

Unlike the metal and paper recycling industries, in which some contamination may reduce scrap value but can often tolerated, “in the scrap plastic business,” said David J. Kaplan, Maine Plastics Inc. (North Chicago, Ill.), “a little contamination is like being ‘a little bit pregnant.’” In fact, according to one of the seminar’s moderators, Marty Forman, a load of 10,000 bottles made of one type of plastic could be made worthless by the inclusion of just 1 bottle made of another plastic.

Because of this potential for problems, Forman added, many plastic scrap processors and consumers will buy only whole plastic scrap. Although baled plastics are acceptable, he said, it’s difficult to assure the quality of flaked or ground plastics.

Identifying different types of plastics may be aided by recent developments of automated systems that sort materials through the use of reflector light and X rays, according to Michael M. Fisher, Council for Solid Waste Solutions (Washington, D.C.). However, said Gary Thompson, MA Industries Inc. (Peachtree City, Ga.), while such automated systems “look promising, personal inspection is still necessary.”

Also speaking at the seminar were the following:

Comoderator Larry Sax, who suggested that, to offset processing costs and low values, scrap processors should charge a “tipping fee” based on avoided landfill costs to handle postconsumer plastics;

Gail Mason, Peltz Corp. (Milwaukee), who discussed strategies for working with municipalities on plastics, noting that “handling plastics puts you in a position to handle municipalities’ other needs”;

Thomas M. Mulligan, Superwood International Ltd. (Wicklow, Ireland), who described his company’s process for manufacturing “plastic lumber” and declared, “it should be the goal of every processor to make its own products”; and