Scrap Beat: July/August 2009

July/August 2009

NMVTIS Posts Names of Vehicle Reporting Entities
The U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.) has begun posting the names of entities reporting vehicle identification numbers to the official National Motor Vehicle Title Information System Web site (www.nmvtis.gov/nmvtis_who_reports.html). The DOJ list includes all insurance carriers, auto recyclers, "junkyards," and salvage yards (which includes shredders) that reported information to NMVTIS during the previous month. DOJ will update this list every month based on data NMVTIS receives.

Shredder operators can claim an exemption to reporting obligations under the NMVTIS rules if they can determine that their suppliers of crushed end-of-life vehicles have already reported the VINs to the NMVTIS database. According to a Feb. 13 policy notice from DOJ, shredders and scrap processors seeking a reporting exemption for VINs of vehicles previously reported as crushed must either collect written certifications from their suppliers for vehicles received for scrap beginning March 31 or verify the status of their suppliers on the NMVTIS Web site.

Shredders and scrap processors seeking to claim the reporting exemption may choose to

• collect written certifications from their suppliers (visit www.isri.org/nmvtis for a sample certification form),

• monitor the www.nmvtis.gov Web site on a monthly basis to ensure suppliers are listed as regularly reporting to NMVTIS, or

• do a combination of the two at the company's discretion.

When scrap processors and shredders cannot ascertain a supplier's compliance with NMVTIS as outlined in the policy notice, the processors and shredders must report the vehicles to the NMVTIS operator based on a visual inspection, if possible. If they cannot determine the VIN based on a visual inspection, they may rely on primary documentation the vehicle supplier has provided—such as title documents—to report to NMVTIS.

For more information on NMVTIS reporting, contact Danielle Waterfield, 202/662-8516 or daniellewaterfield@isri.org.

Coke Introduces PlantBottle
Coca-Cola Co. (Atlanta) has unveiled a new bottle partially made from plants that it says recyclers can process at existing manufacturing and recycling facilities without contaminating traditional PET. The "PlantBottle" uses a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent plant-based materials, both of which can be recycled and reused indefinitely, the company says. Coca-Cola North America expects to begin testing the bottle with Dasani water and carbonated beverages later this year.

Visit www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

Plastic Bag Initiative Boosts Recycled Content
The Progressive Bag Affiliates, a subgroup of the American Chemistry Council (Arlington, Va.), has launched the Full Circle Recycling Initiative, which has a goal of achieving 40 percent recycled content and at least 25 percent postconsumer content in plastic bags by 2015. The council estimates that the industry will spend about $50 million to overhaul manufacturing processes and will collect 470 million pounds of recycled plastic for new bags annually. The council expects the initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 463 million pounds, conserve enough energy to heat 200,000 homes, and reduce waste by 300 million pounds a year.

Visit www.plasticbagrecycling.org.

North Carolina County Begins Shingle Recycling
The Pitt County, N.C., Solid Waste and Recycling Department and Greenville Paving and Contracting (Greenville, N.C.) have partnered to recycle postconsumer asphalt roofing shingles in the county. Pitt County collects the shingles at its transfer station, which Greenville Paving uses for feedstock for hot-mix asphalt. Pitt County estimates the initiative will save more than $100,000 a year on landfill disposal fees and divert more than 4,100 tons of shingles from landfills.

Visit www.co.pitt.nc.us

DOE Promotes Appliance Recycling
The U.S. Department of Energy (Washington, D.C.) has launched its 2009 Energy Star Make a Cool Change campaign, which encourages consumers to recycle old refrigerators and freezers and replace them with Energy Star models.

Visit www.energystar.gov/recycle.

Nestlé and KAB Join Forces on Recycling
Nestlé Waters North America (Greenwich, Conn.) and Keep America Beautiful (Stamford, Conn.) awarded $10,000 "Recycle on the Go" grants to 12 community affiliates to promote away-from-home recycling. Each project promotes public venue recycling of plastic beverage bottles in an innovative way, from education to infrastructure to grassroots volunteer efforts, the organizations say.

Visit www.kab.org/recycleonthego or www.nestle-watersna.com.

Glass Recycling Event Expands
The Glass Packaging Institute (Alexandria, Va.) has turned what was Recycle Glass Day into Recycle Glass Week, which will begin Sept. 21. During the week, GPI and its members will hold nationwide glass recycling events; provide information on glass recycling; announce winners of its 2009 Clear Choice awards, which recognize manufacturers that use glass packaging in innovative ways; and recognize companies, organizations, or people that recycle glass or promote glass recycling. The European Glass Packaging Federation will hold Choose Glass Week in several European countries that same week.

Visit www.gpi.org.

Program Recycles, Refurbishes Propane Tanks
The Rhino Recycle Program by Blue Rhino (Winston-Salem, N.C.) refurbishes and recycles used propane tanks left at recycling and waste disposal centers. The company reclaims unused pro­pane and recycles the steel of tanks that do not meet safety and quality standards. In most cases, the service is free; the company charges a small fee per tank in some circumstances. The program has a minimum pickup of 36 propane tanks. Throughout the year, Blue Rhino also will attend select household hazardous waste drop-off events for pickup.

Visit www.bluerhino.com.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• GeoBio (Seattle) and EnviroPlastics (Spokane, Wash.) have merged to form Plastics Conversion Technologies (Seattle), a plastics recovery, separation, cleaning, and recycling company. PCT is testing its newly designed separation process for increasing the capabilities and output of its automobile shredder residue cleaning process. The company is also expanding the marketing of its cleaned plastic product stream as a feedstock for the alternative energy field.

  Visit www.enviroplasticscorp.com.

• Griffin Brothers Cos. (Cornelius, N.C.) has acquired Union Gypsum (Marshville, N.C.), now known as Carolina Gypsum Reclamation.

  Visit www.griffinbrothers.com.

• Sargents Equipment and Repair Service (Chicago Heights, Ill.) has acquired Midwest Baler Services (Cicero, Ill.), a distributor of new and used recycling equipment. Larry Epting continues as general manager of the baler division; Stephanie Sargent is handling sales in the greater Chicago area; and Executive Vice President Don Davies continues to oversee sales of the baler and material handling divisions.

  Visit www.sargentsequipment.com or www.midwestbalerservices.com.

• Company Wrench (Carroll, Ohio) has acquired the demolition and scrap metal recycling assets of Interstate Equipment Co. (Lexington, Ky.) to market its specialty demolition and scrap processing products in Kentucky and Cincinnati. The company also has opened branches in Columbia, S.C., and Pasco, Wash., raising its total to nine.

  Visit www.companywrench.com.

• ESCO Corp. (Portland, Ore.) has acquired full ownership of ESCO Soldering (Betim, Brazil), which previously was a joint venture with Soldering, a Betim-based steel product manufacturer.

  Visit www.escocorp.com.

• The National Recycling Coalition (Washington, D.C.) and Keep America Beautiful (Stamford, Conn.) are considering a proposal to merge the two organizations. The NRC board noted that the two organizations have complementary missions and common constituents and advocacy approaches, and that joining forces will strengthen their programs, reach, and communications. The NRC would continue to have staff and resources in Washington, D.C. The NRC will conduct a referendum on the proposal this summer for its members to approve the agreement.

  Visit www.nrc-recycle.org or www.kab.org.

NDA, CSDA Form Alliance
The National Demolition Association (Doylestown, Pa.) and the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (St. Petersburg, Fla.) are working together to promote safety and professionalism in their industries.

Visit www.csda.org or www.demolitionassociation.com.

Openings and Expansions

• Exodus Machines has opened its doors as the only U.S.-based company focused exclusively on making material handlers for the scrap processing industry, the firm's principals say. The Superior, Wis.-based company established a new 33,500-square-foot facility with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and inventory control systems as well as several eco-friendly features, such as high-efficiency lighting, a dual-fuel floor heating system, and an air-filtration system for welding fumes. From its current roster of 20 employees, Exodus expects to grow to 30 workers by the end of 2009 and 80 employees within three years. The firm plans to introduce four sizes of its newly designed material handlers over the next two years, offering four configurations of each model. It will focus its sales efforts initially on North America but is fielding requests for international distribution as well.

  The Exodus executive team includes Bruce Bacon, president and CEO; Jim Campbell, vice president of manufacturing; Greg Bacon, vice president of sales and marketing; Adam Bennis, director of engineering; Justin Bacon, director of purchasing; and Marisa Ring, director of human resources and publications.

  Call 715/395-5086 or visit www.exodusmachinesinc.com.

• Allied Waste (Phoenix) has opened an $8 million construction and demolition recycling facility on Chicago's West Side. The 90,000-square-foot facility has a 90-percent recyclable material recovery rate and can process up to 1,500 tons of commingled construction and demolition debris daily, the company says.

  Visit www.alliedwastechicago.com.

• Complete Recycling (Torrance, Calif.) has established an industrial scrap paper, plastic, and metal recycling facility in the Los Angeles area. The company also provides consulting services, designing specific recycling plans for each customer; separation and preparation equipment programs; facility dismantling; and the management of universal wastes.

  Visit www.completerecycling.com.

• Magnum D'Or Resources (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has started full production of recycled rubber nuggets, granules, crumb, powders, and tire-wire steel at its new 98,000-square-foot facility in Magog, Québec. The company expects to produce 15,000 to 20,000 tons of rubber a year with the capacity to produce more than 25,000 tons a year. It can process tires up to 120 inches in diameter. The facility has installed high-capacity shredders, a Granutech Grizzly M80 system, a custom-built Knife Hog, several self-cleaning crossbelt magnets, a vibratory screen conveyor, a cyclone with stand and airlock, a dust collector with stand airlock, a blower, customer surge bins, numerous material handling augers and conveyors, material separation units, material storage units, and ancillary control devices and monitoring equipment.

  Visit www.magnumresources.net.

• Scholz (Essingen, Germany) has opened Scholz International (Fort Lee, N.J.), a U.S. trading office for nonferrous scrap. Nina Kaplan serves as chief executive officer of the office, which is at 1 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 345, Fort Lee, NJ 07024. Scholz International handles inland and ocean freight, managing transportation and documentation from suppliers to overseas ports.

  Visit www.scholz-ag.de.

New Ventures

• DAK Americas (Charlotte, N.C.), a PET resin and polyester staple fiber producer, and Shaw Industries Group (Dalton, Ga.), a carpet manufacturer and floor-covering provider, have started Clear Path Recycling (Fayetteville, N.C.). The joint venture will produce recycled PET from postconsumer PET bottles; both companies plan to use the RPET material as feedstock for their products. Clear Path Recycling plans to build a facility to recycle more than 280 million pounds of PET bottles annually.

  Visit www.dakamericas.com, www.shawfloors.com, or www.clearpathrecycling.com.

• Mitsubishi Nagasaki Machinery Manufacturing Co. (Nagasaki, Japan) will exclusively use the Steinert (Köln, Germany) eccentric pole system and sorting systems in its Japanese markets. Steinert Japan (Tokyo), a year-old joint effort, will help set up a Steinert technology demonstration center at Mitsubishi's headquarters to allow customers to test color separation, inductive sorting, and other nonferrous metals separation systems.

  Visit www.mitsubishi.com or www.steinert.de.

• Caterpillar (Peoria, Ill.) has entered into an agreement with Eaton Corp. (Cleveland) to remanufacture Eaton's heavy-duty truck transmissions at Caterpillar's Summerville, S.C., facility.

  Visit www.cat.com or www.eaton.com.

• Oakleaf (East Harford, Conn.) has formed a Zero Waste Team to help companies that operate nationwide or regionally create zero-waste strategies. Stephen Caruso, Oakleaf's senior vice president of vendor relations and procurement, will lead the national strategies team, which brings together expertise in waste, recycling, composting, food donation, and sustainability. Ray Hatch, senior vice president, will lead the regional sales team.

  Visit www.oakleafwaste.com.

• Harsco Metals Group (Camp Hill, Pa.) has signed a metals services sector contract with Emirates Steel Industries (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates); the five-year agreement totals more than $50 million in projected revenues.

  Visit www.harsco.com or www.eisf.ae.

• Amazon (Seattle) and Universal News (New York) are running an online promotion for magazines that use postconsumer recycled paper as part of an initiative by Green America's (Washington, D.C.) Better Paper Project and Next Steps Marketing.

  Visit www.betterpaper.org, www.universalnewsondemand.com, or www.amazon.com.

• Greenpeace (Washington, D.C.) has released a "Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide" for the iPhone, which allows consumers to find the greenest tissue products available while they are shopping.

  Visit www.greenpeace.org/tissueguide.

Equipment Sales and Installations

• Two companies recently installed equipment from Harris (Peachtree City, Ga.). Midwest Scrap Management (St. Joseph, Mo.) has installed an HRB-Centurion 150-13/9 two-ram baler to process 800,000 to 1 million pounds of nonferrous a month currently, with plans to process more than 3 million pounds a month in the future. Freedom Metals (Louisville, Ky.) has installed a Gorilla 100S baler 4-13/9, pictured above.

  Visit www.harrisequip.com.

• In November, Upstate Shredding (Owego, N.Y.) is installing a 10,000-hp, 450 ton-per-hour megashredder that includes six 110-inch-by-72-inch mega drum magnets. The shredding system includes components from Riverside Engineering (San Antonio), Metso (Helsinki, Finland), SGM (Manerbio, Italy), and MetalTek (Atlanta).

  Visit www.upstateshredding.com.

• AAEQ Manufacturers and Recyclers (Las Vegas) is using several vendors, engineers, and contractors—including Transact Payment Systems (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Alarmco (Las Vegas)—to develop and install an electronic documentation system for scrap transactions. The Scrap Manager provides automated payments (cash or check depending on transaction size), records seller information, and streamlines the transaction process. The system records the date and time of the transactions, a video or photo of the material being purchased, and a fingerprint of the seller.

  Visit www.aaeq.net.

New Distributor for Doosan
Doosan Infracore America (Suwanee, Ga.) has added Bobcat Central (Stockton, Calif.) as a central California dealer for its line of excavators and wheel loaders. In addition to its Stockton office, the company operates in Merced and Fresno, Calif.

Visit www.dhiac.com or www.bobcatcentral.com.

Industry Associations Relocate Offices

• The Automotive Recyclers Association has moved from Fairfax, Va., to new offices at 9113 Church St., Manassas, VA 20110. The group's contact numbers also have changed to 888/385-1005 or 571/208-0428; fax, 571/208-0430.

  Visit www.a-r-a.org.

• The U.S. administrative office of the Hot Briquetted Iron Association has moved to 624 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Suite 410, Matthews, NC 28105.

  Visit www.hbia.org.

Electronics Recycling Roundup

• Waste Management (Houston) is packaging its Earthmate compact fluorescent lights in recyclable packaging that doubles as a recycling kit. The resealable box contains the company's Vaporlok technology, which it says reduces the risk of airborne mercury exposure and environmental contamination from lamps broken during storage and shipping. Consumers can return the postage-paid shipping container to the WM lamp-recycling center.

  Visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreenfromhome.com.

• Redemtech (Columbus, Ohio) has launched its Red Rabbitt brand of refurbished business-grade computers and accessories. The computers feature certified Windows XP operating systems and are available online, via phone sales, or through Redemtech's sister company, Micro Center.

  Visit www.redemtech.com or www.redrabbitt.com.

• AT&T (Dallas) and Cell Phones for Soldiers (Norwell, Mass.) recycled more than

  2.5 million wireless devices over the past year—700,000 more than their goal. ReCellular (Dexter, Mich.), a CPFS partner, estimates the drive kept more than 153 tons of electronic scrap from entering landfills. Proceeds from the event purchased phone cards for overseas military members. This summer AT&T and CPFS will launch cell phone recycling drives at camps and youth programs through the American Camp Association (Martinsville, Ind.).

  Visit www.recyclewirelessphones.com.

• Indiana became the 19th state to create a statewide electronics recycling program. Its new law requires manufacturers to pay for the collection and recycling of their products. Manufacturers of video display devices such as televisions, monitors, and laptops must collect and recycle 60 percent by weight of the volume of products they sold the previous year in the state. The law also provides free recycling of a wider range of electronics for individuals, public schools, and small businesses.

  Visit indianarecycling.org.

• Sony Electronics (New York) has introduced GreenFill—the country's first in-store, drop-box electronics recycling program by a consumer electronics manufacturer, the company says. Consumers can drop off any brand of small electronics—such as cameras, portable music devices, small laptops, or cell phones—for free. At least 81 retail stores are participating in the program, which is one part of Sony's Take Back Recycling program.

  Visit www.sony.com/green.

• Panasonic Corp. of North America (Secaucus, N.J.) has added more than 30 drop-off sites in the Southeast to its national recycling program, bringing the total to 310.

  Visit www.panasonic.com.

• Mimoco (Boston) has launched the GreenBot USB flash drive recycling program. In exchange for mailing in old flash drives, consumers receive gift certificates for a Mimobot drive.

  Visit www.mimoco.com.

• Office Depot (Boca Raton, Fla.) recycled 1.4 million pounds of technology in 2008 through its Tech Recycling Service, it reports. The company has contracted with Intechra (Jackson, Miss.) to recycle the products.

  Visit www.officedepot.com/techrecycling.

• Call2Recycle (Atlanta) announced in April that the program, which has more than 30,000 drop-off locations in North America, has collected more than 50 million pounds of rechargeable batteries since it started in 1994.

  Visit www.call2recycle.org.

• The National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Md.) has selected E-Structors (Elkridge, Md.) to remove and destroy paper documents from The Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (Bethesda, Md.), the nation's largest clinical research hospital.

  Visit www.e-structors.com.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, D.C.) held National Cell Phone Recycling Week April 6-12. The EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program and cell phone manufacturers, retailers, and service providers sponsored and promoted the event.

  Visit www.epa.gov/cellphones or www.epa.gov/plugin.

• Radio Shack Corp. (Fort Worth, Texas) has expanded its electronics trade-in program to about 4,400 company stores. Consumers receive gift cards when they turn in eligible products.

  Visit www.radioshack.com/tradein.

Awards and Milestones

• Tube City IMS (Glassport, Pa.) has received the first CSX Transportation (Jacksonville, Fla.) environment award for its shipping practices that reduce carbon emissions. Tube City IMS reduced carbon emissions by thousands of tons in 2008.

  Visit www.csx.com or www.tubecityims.com.

• Evergreen Recycling (Las Vegas) has received a 2009 environmental achievement award from the Region 9 office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (San Francisco) for making significant contributions toward enhancing and protecting the environment.

  Visit www.epa.gov/region9.

• The Carpet America Recovery Effort has recognized Shaw Industries (Dalton, Ga.), Los Angeles Fiber (Los Angeles), Mohawk Greenworks (Calhoun, Ga.), and Universal Fiber Systems' Brendan McSheehy Jr., a CARE board member, as innovators in postconsumer carpet recycling.

  Visit www.carpetrecovery.org.

• The Baxley, Ga., manufacturing facility of Harris (Peachtree City, Ga.) has received the Georgia Department of Labor's award for excellence, which recognizes companies that surpass a minimum of 250 workdays without lost-time injuries, illnesses, or fatalities.

  Visit www.harrisequip.com.

• SEDA Environmental (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the United States.

  Visit www.seda-environmental.com.

Resources

• The 2009 Scrap Tire and Rubber Users Directory features more than 2,000 listings of scrap tire processors, material suppliers, and tire steel and fiber recovery operations, among other companies and resources. The directory, from Recycling Research Institute (Leesburg, Va.), also provides updated data on state scrap tire laws and markets, including a three-year price index of average prices for crumb rubber, tire-derived fuel, and buffings.

  The directory costs $75 for U.S. companies, $85 for Canada/Mexico orders, and $95 for all other international recipients.

  Visit www.scraptirenews.com.

• The World Steel Association (Brussels) has released its 2008 Steel Statistical Yearbook, which provides a cross section of steel industry statistics. The book is available as a free download at www.worldsteel.org.

• MillerCoors (Milwaukee) and RecycleBank (New York) have launched an animated video, The Cycle, which shows viewers what happens to recyclables after they are collected. The video received the best educational resource award at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

  Visit www.recyclebank.com/recycling.

• Environmental-Expert.com has relaunched its Web site with an enhanced search function; easier, faster, and more intuitive navigation; a footer filled with related content; and a new design and updated corporate image. The site is a portal for those who sell products and services or provide news and information for environment-related industries.

  Visit www.environmental-expert.com.

University Designs Sculpture for Harris' Anniversary
Harris (Peachtree City, Ga.) worked with Georgia Southwestern State University (Americus, Ga.) to create a sculpture celebrating Harris' 120th anniversary. For inspiration, the art department faculty viewed videos, read brochures, and toured Harris' Cordele, Ga., manufacturing facility. They made impressions of several tools to create molds for a bronze sculpture—made from scrap—that pays tribute to the company's anniversary, implies signature forms used in Harris machines, and creatively displays the world of recyclable metals.

Visit www.harrisequip.com. •

The U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.) has begun posting the names of entities reporting vehicle identification numbers to the official National Motor Vehicle Title Information System Web site.