July/August 2010
Global Steel Demand Expected to Rise in 2010, 2011
World steel demand will rise 10.7 percent, to 1.23 billion mt, in 2010, followed by a 5.3-percent increase in 2011 to reach a record 1.3 billion mt, according to the World Steel Association's (Brussels) short-range outlook. The association expects the recovery of steel demand, in part, because of the resilience of emerging economies such as China, where steel demand grew 24.8 percent in 2009 and could rise another 6.7 percent in 2010, to 579 million mt. China, whose crude steel production reached 56.1 million mt in May—the most a country has ever produced in a single month—will account for 45.5 percent of global apparent steel use in 2011, the association says. In the United States, where apparent steel use declined more than 40 percent in 2009, projections point to 26.5-percent growth in 2010 followed by 7.5-percent growth in 2011.
From January to May 2010, global crude steel production totaled about 586 million mt, up almost 30 percent compared with the same period in 2009, the association reports. China produced roughly 269 million mt through May (up 24 percent year-on-year), while Japan made 45.2 million mt (up 52 percent), the United States produced 33.7 million mt (up 69 percent), Russia made 27.2 million mt (up 24 percent), and India also made approximately 27.2 million mt (up 8 percent), according to the group. Visit www.worldsteel.org.
Newark Group Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Recycled paperboard products company The Newark Group (Cranford, N.J.) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, reaching an agreement with its primary creditors to reduce debt by approximately $200 million. A majority of the members in each impaired creditor class agreed to vote for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan that will eliminate about $13 million of cash interest costs a year and give debt holders 96.5 percent of the company's equity. The Newark Group will continue normal operations under current management, and trade creditors, suppliers, and employees will continue to receive amounts owed to them in the ordinary course of business, the firm says. Visit www.newarkgroup.com.
Mayors Group Adopts Producer Responsibility Resolution
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (Washington, D.C.) has adopted a resolution urging state and federal governments to establish producer responsibility legislation. The resolution, based on a model the Product Policy Institute (Athens, Ga.) developed, seeks to shift the costs of product and packaging waste from taxpayers and local governments to the products' manufacturers and consumers. The resolution, signed by mayors from Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington, also urges Congress to support state governments' ability to establish producer responsibility legislation. USCM, a nonpartisan organization of cities with 30,000 or more citizens, reportedly is the third national association of elected officials to adopt resolutions to address product waste. Visit www.usmayors.org or www.productpolicy.org.
Crumb Rubber in Artificial Turf Is Safe, Study Confirms
A new report from the Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence, or Manex (San Ramon, Calif.), and the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley found the use of recycled rubber in artificial turf applications both safe and cost-effective. The study reviews existing research from the past 12 years and provides independent analysis to conclude that, in some cases, artificial surfaces can provide advantages over natural grass fields. Visit www.manexconsulting.com or lma.berkeley.edu.
Study Notes Benefits of Recycled Plastics
The use of recycled plastic resins in product packaging significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption during the manufacturing process, according to a new study by the National Association for PET Container Resources (Sonoma, Calif.). Franklin Associates (Prairie Village, Kan.) conducted the study, which provides life-cycle inventory data on the use of recycled PET and HDPE in the production of packaging. Findings from the report, which NAPCOR, the American Chemistry Council (Arlington, Va.), the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (Washington, D.C.), and the PET Resin Association (New York) sponsored, will be added to the United States Life-Cycle Inventory Database, a project of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Visit www.napcor.com/PET/sustainability.html.
PepsiCo, Waste Management Seek to Encourage Recycling
PepsiCo (Purchase, N.Y.) and Waste Management (Houston) have formed a multiyear partnership to support the Dream Machine initiative, a program that aims to make recycling in public spaces both convenient and rewarding. The deal will place thousands of Dream Machine kiosks—computerized receptacles that offer users redeemable points in exchange for recyclables—around the country in venues such as gas stations, stadiums, and parks. PepsiCo also has partnered with Keep America Beautiful (Stamford, Conn.) to encourage community involvement in the program. The soft drink and snack company hopes to increase the U.S. recycling rate of all beverage containers from 34 percent to 50 percent by 2018. Visit www.pepsico.com, www.wm.com, or www.kab.org.
In a similar vein, Keep America Beautiful has revealed the 82 grant recipients of its Coca-Cola Co.-sponsored (Atlanta) spring 2010 recycling bin grant program, which provides recycling bins to winning applicants ranging from universities to nonprofit organizations. KAB selected grant recipients based on their potential to recover recyclables from the waste stream, their ability to sustain the program, and their intention to support collection programs with recycling education and promotion. Designed to promote community recycling, the bin grant program has placed more than 1,100 recycling bins in 225 communities since its inception in 2007. Visit www.bingrant.org.
Target Installs Recycling Stations in All Stores
In celebration of Earth Day, Target Corp. (Minneapolis) has installed permanent community recycling stations in its 1,740 locations. The company has placed the stations, which are meant to curb unnecessary waste and offer customers a convenient way to recycle, at the front of each Target store. The stations accept most recyclables, including glass and aluminum beverage containers, cell phones, and plastic bags. Visit www.target.com/eco-friendly.
AAEQ, Clark County Partner for Mower Exchange
For the third consecutive year, scrap metal recycling company AAEQ Manufacturers and Recyclers (Las Vegas) has partnered with the Clark County [Nev.] Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management to support an annual lawn mower exchange program. The program, in which Clark County residents can exchange gas-powered lawn mowers for zero-emission electric models at reduced prices, seeks to curb air pollution from older mowers. AAEQ's Las Vegas warehouse, where replaced mowers are dismantled and recycled, serves as a recycling center for the program, which runs in conjunction with Clean Air Month from May 8 until all new mowers are claimed. Visit www.aaeq.net/lawnmowerexchange.
Harris Moves Headquarters
Harris Waste Management Group has moved its headquarters offices, which house its sales and marketing and new product development groups, from Peachtree City, Ga., to 215 Market Road, Suite 1A, Tyrone, GA 30290. The company's phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and fax numbers remain the same. Visit www.harrisequip.com.
Carpet Recycling on the Rise
Carpet America Recovery Effort (Dalton, Ga.) has released its 2009 annual report, which highlights increased carpet recycling and diversion rates along with job growth. The industry diverted more than 311 million pounds of postconsumer carpet from landfills last year, almost 80 percent of which was recycled back into carpet or other products. The industry also added more than 500 carpet-recycling jobs, and the CARE reclamation network of carpet collectors grew to 65 participants. Since CARE's inception in 2002, the diversion rate has grown by a reported 400 percent. Visit www.carpetrecovery.org.
Mergers and Acquisitions
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Schnitzer Steel Industries (Portland, Ore.) has purchased Golden Recycling & Salvage (dba Golden Steel & Recycling) (Billings, Mont.), a scrap metal processing company. The move allows Schnitzer, which will operate the facility as Schnitzer Steel Billings, to expand into the Montana market, the company says. Visit www.schnitzersteel.com.
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American Recyclers of Kentucky (Georgetown, Ky.), a hazardous and nonhazardous waste management company, has merged its assets and resources with Green Metals, also based in Georgetown, to create a total waste management and recycling firm. Green Metals, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho America (Georgetown, Ky.), provides full-service recycling of both ferrous and nonferrous commodities for industrial customers in its 19 enclosed recycling facilities. The combined firm, with Steve Cecil as president, will retain the Green Metals name and keep its corporate offices in Georgetown. Visit www.gmiky.com.
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Sumitomo Construction Co. (Tokyo) has acquired full ownership of LBX Co. (Lexington, Ky.), which marketed and sold Sumitomo products under the Link-Belt excavator name. The move will aid both companies' expansion throughout North, South, and Central America, Sumitomo says. Visit www.lbxco.com or www.sumitomokenki.com.
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Advanced Disposal Services (Jacksonville, Fla.) has acquired certain assets of Pat Fore Truck Lines (dba Fore Recycling) (Gulfport, Miss.) to expand its recycling and integrated environmental services in the Gulf Coast area. Advanced Disposal has incorporated the Fore Recycling assets into its recycling facilities in Biloxi and Sumrall, Miss., and it will provide paper and plastic recycling services to Fore's customers. The purchase comes a month after Advanced Disposal's acquisition of Excel Waste and Waste Removal Services (Nashville, Tenn.). Visit www.advanceddisposal.com.
Openings and Expansions
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Global scrap broker, processor, and logistics provider The David J. Joseph Co. (Cincinnati) has opened an office in Switzerland, with former Pittsburgh District Manager Brad Ford heading up the new location. The office, which allows DJJ to better serve current and potential European customers, is located at Nucor Trading, Avenue Rousseau 7, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Visit www.djj.com.
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The Davenport, Iowa, confidential shredding facility of Document Destruction and Recycling Services (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) has doubled in size with the addition of new offices and the installation of a refurbished shredder from another facility. The newly installed shredder has four times the horsepower of the shredder it replaces, the company reports. Visit www.shreddingexperts.com.
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Novelis (Atlanta), an aluminum can recycler and producer of aluminum rolled products, has begun work on a $15 million expansion of recycling capacity at its Novelis do Brasil integrated aluminum rolling and recycling complex in São Paulo, Brazil. Two new furnaces, along with related improvements, will increase the plant's capacity to recycle aluminum by one third, to 200,000 mt a year, which will allow the company to increase sheet ingot production nearly 20 percent to feed the plant's rolling mills. It expects the new equipment to come online in spring 2011. Visit www.novelis.com.
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Scraptrust.com (Boca Raton, Fla.), a membership-based Web portal for the scrap and recycling industry, has added a commodity inspection service to its member benefits. The company has secured scrap commodity inspectors in 12 geographic areas, including the United States, China, Central and South America, and most of the European Union. Visit www.scraptrust.com.
New Ventures and Agreements
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National Grid (Waltham, Mass.) has hired Appliance Recycling Centers of America (Minneapolis) to provide refrigerator and freezer recycling services for the Long Island Power Authority's residential electric customers. Through the program, which began March 1 and ends Dec. 31, 2013, participating utility customers who turn in operating but energy-inefficient refrigerators or freezers will be eligible for an incentive from LIPA.
In related news, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) has named ARCA the official turnkey provider for its appliance recycling and rebate program. Eligible utility customers who turn in old, working air conditioners will receive rebates for the purchase of qualifying Energy Star replacement units at participating retailers from May 29 through Sept. 15. A program for refrigerators will launch mid-summer and run through March 31, 2012, during which time customers will be eligible for $50 for each operating but energy-inefficient refrigerator and freezer they recycle. ARCA will properly recycle all appliances it collects through the program. Visit www.arcainc.com, www.nationalgridus.com, or www.cenhud.com.
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Recycling company Stena Metall (Gothenburg, Sweden) has developed a method to recover energy from residual materials from the scrap metal recycling process that usually get landfilled. The company, which has eight shredding facilities for complex scrap metal in Europe, has conducted full-scale trials around the continent to test the project and will continue to present it at conferences internationally. If successful, the approach could recover enough energy from residual materials to heat hundreds of thousands of homes while also solving waste problems and meeting the European Union's directive barring organic materials from land disposal. Visit www.stenametall.com.
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International Forest Products Corp. (Foxborough, Mass.) has signed a pulp purchase and sales agreement with Fortress Specialty Cellulose, a subsidiary of Fortress Paper (North Vancouver, British Columbia). Under the agreement, IFP will be the exclusive distributor for northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp produced at Fortress' Thurso, Québec, mill. Visit www.ifpcorp.com or www.fortresspaper.com.
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SMS Mill Services (Burnham, Ill.) has entered a multiyear deal with ArcelorMittal Plate (AMC) (Coatesville, Pa.) to process scrap at the firm's Coatesville steel mill. SMS will provide services including on-site transport of processed scrap to the mill's electric-arc furnace, specialized scrap processing, and alloy testing services. SMS President Larry Coe will be responsible for all startup, transition, and operations at the AMC facility. SMS also has a long-term agreement with AMC's Burns Harbor, Ind., steel mill. Visit www.sms-millcraft.us or www.arcelormittal.com.
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ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg) has hired Harsco Corp. (Camp Hill, Pa.), an industrial services and engineered products company, to provide on-site mill services for its integrated steel mill in Dunkerque, France. The new five-year contract extends Harsco's 40-year partnership with the mill and expands its on-site role to provide refractory maintenance and melt-shop services for the operation's ladle metallurgy furnace and converter operations.
In other Harsco news, the company has secured an order to process more than 1 million tons of stockpiled blast furnace slag in Utah over the next three years. The slag comes from the "brownfield" remediation of the former Geneva Steel mill in Vineyard, Utah. Harsco expects the Utah Department of Transportation to approve the processed slag for use in state bridge and highway construction. In addition, Harsco is returning to the Severstal Warren (Warren, Ohio) steel mill, which resumed production in March after a nearly two-year hiatus. Harsco's five-year contract builds on a 60-year relationship with the mill and calls for on-site slag handling, scrap recovery, and material handling, along with external marketing of slag byproducts.
In the Middle East, a Harsco-controlled joint venture in Bahrain, AluServ, is installing a rotating tilting furnace to process aluminum dross and a salt cake processing plant under a new contract worth almost $5 million over three years. In Latin America, where an unnamed zinc producer has hired Harsco to expand its on-site mill services into the global zinc industry for the first time, Harsco will receive and handle incoming zinc concentrates along with finished products and byproduct residues. Visit www.harsco.com, www.arcelormittal.com, or www.wcisteel.com.
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To support its vitamin bottle recycling initiative, supplement brand Nature Made (Northridge, Calif.) has partnered with RecycleBank (New York). RecycleBank's rewards system offers consumers credits, redeemable at partner businesses ranging from restaurants to clothing stores, in exchange for recyclables. Visit www.naturemade.com or www.recyclebank.com.
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Recycling company Resource Exchange of America Corp. (Sarasota, Fla.) is now an approved ferrous scrap metal vendor to Gerdau AmeriSteel (Tampa, Fla.). Visit www.resource-exchange.com or www.gerdauameristeel.com.
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Novelis (Atlanta) has signed a multiyear agreement with beverage can producer Rexam (London) to become the sole supplier of aluminum sheet for can production at Rexam's 10 Brazilian plants and its facility in Argentina. Novelis also will be the main supplier of aluminum sheet for can ends Rexam produces in Brazil. Visit www.novelis.com or www.rexam.com.
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Metso Corp. (Helsinki) has enlisted SKF Logistics Services (Gothenburg, Sweden) to manage the global wear parts and spare parts warehouse and distribution operation of its metal recycling business unit. From its Tongeren, Belgium, distribution center, SKF will supply Metso's Lindemann line of machinery and equipment to customers and manage inbound operations from Metso's Düsseldorf, Germany, factory. The agreement also covers external suppliers, quality inspection and other value-added services, storage of nearly 2,000 spare parts, outbound operations for spare parts and wear parts, and customer service activities. Visit www.metso.com or www.skf.com.
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SiCon (Hilchenbach, Germany) has expanded its partnership with Green Envirotech Corp. (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Plas2Fuel Corp. (Tigard, Ore.) to the European market. The partners will bring to Europe their automobile shredder residue processing systems, which recycle plastics from ASR by mechanical means and convert ASR plastics that cannot be recycled by mechanical means into high-grade synthetic crude oil. Visit www.greenenvirotech.com, or www.plas2fuel.com.
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The Bureau of International Recycling (Brussels) has selected Bryan Cave International Trade (Singapore), a customs and trade consulting firm, to provide legislative and regulatory intelligence on the recovery and recycling of scrap commodities in China and India. BCIT will submit quarterly reports, available to BIR member companies, on scrap-related legislation, notifications, draft policies, and draft proposals from the Chinese and Indian governments. Visit www.bir.org or www.bryancavetrade.com.
Awards and Milestones
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The David J. Joseph Co. (Cincinnati) is marking its 125th anniversary this year. Joseph Joseph, a German immigrant, began a hide and fur trading business in Cincinnati back in the mid-1800s. When his brother Samuel joined him in the business in 1885, they renamed the firm The Joseph Joseph and Brothers Co. and made scrap metal their primary focus. In 1921, David J. Joseph—son of Joseph Joseph—renamed the business The David J. Joseph Co.
From its small-time origins, DJJ has grown to 60 scrap processing facilities in the United States, including 15 automobile shredders, as well as seven car dismantling operations in its U-Pull-&-Pay division. The company also has extensive scrap brokerage operations, with 15 offices around the world, and it operates a logistics division that provides custom railcar purchase or lease packages to industrial rail users.
DJJ supplies scrap, scrap substitutes, ferroalloys, and nonferrous metals to steel producers, foundries, and aluminum smelters. The company has 300 employees in the greater Cincinnati area and more than 2,000 employees around the world. Visit www.djj.com.
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Steel producer Corus (Scunthorpe, England) has named Tube City IMS UK, a steel mill and foundry products and services provider also based in Scunthorpe, its contractor of the year. This is the first time Tube City IMS has received the award, which recognizes excellence in safety performance and customer satisfaction. Visit www.corusgroup.com or www.tubecityims.com.
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Carpet America Recovery Effort (Dalton, Ga.) has recognized Shaw Industries, also based in Dalton, as its Recycler of the Year for its continued investment in the diversion of postconsumer carpet from landfills. CARE honored the full-service flooring company with the same award in 2007, when the company purchased and launched the Evergreen Nylon Recycling (Augusta, Ga.) facility. Industry networks Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership (Darien, Conn.) and ReSource Commercial Flooring Network (Aurora, Colo.) also received honors, accepting Awards of Excellence for their commitment to CARE and support of its aligned dealer membership program, which allowed Starnet and ReSource dealers to join CARE as individual members. Visit www.carpetrecovery.org, www.shawfloors.com, www.starnetflooring.com, or www.resource
connect.com.
Electronics Recycling Roundup
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Electronics recycler E-Structors (Elkridge, Md.) has obtained both its Responsible Recycling (R2) and ISO 14001:2004 certifications. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-endorsed R2 program for electronics recyclers assesses environmental, worker health and safety, and security practices, while the ISO certification verifies that company environmental management systems meet ISO standards. Materials Processing Corp. (Mendota Heights, Minn.), which is already ISO 14001 certified, also received its R2 certification. Visit www.e-structors.com and www.materialsprocessing.com.
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Intercon Solutions (Chicago Heights, Ill.), an electronics recycler with facilities across the United States, Canada, and England, has obtained its OHSAS 18001 certification. The designation recognizes above-standard occupational health and safety management systems. Visit www.interconrecycling.com.
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Phone recycler and reseller ReCellular (Ann Arbor, Mich.) has established comprehensive trade-in programs for both consumers and phone retailers, offering SecureTradeIn.com to those interested in buying and trading in refurbished phones and a point-of-sale system for vendors hoping to improve customer retention and product upgrades. Visit www.recellular.com.
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The automated electronics recycling system ecoATM (San Diego) has won the International Electronics Recycling Conference & Expo's Innovative Product of the Year Award. EcoATM stations automate the process of pricing and buying used consumer electronics for trade-in and recycling. The company has installed its first automated eCycling station that will provide cash for used phones at Westfield North County Mall in Escondido, Calif., to test the effectiveness of the kiosk in high-traffic retail locations.
In other IERCE news, its Sustainability Leadership Award went to Sprint Nextel (Overland Park, Kan.), while Best Buy (Richfield, Minn.) received its Green Retailer Award. Visit www.electronicsrecyclingexpo.com, www.ecoatm.com, www.sprint.com, or www.reconnectpartnership.com, www.dell.com, www.microsoft.com, or www.goodwill.org.
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Electronics recycling operations at four federal correctional institutions may have exposed inmates and staff to excessive levels of toxic metals, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Washington, D.C.). In a report for the U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.), NIOSH claims that Federal Prison Industries (Washington, D.C.), the government corporation responsible for producing goods and services from inmate labor, provided inadequate engineering controls, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, and industrial hygiene monitoring, based on evaluations of the group's electronics recycling operations at four federal prisons (Elkton, Ohio; Texarkana, Texas; Atwater, Calif.; and Marianna, Fla.). Researchers found that the work exposed inmates at the Atwater facility to levels of cadmium and lead above the occupational exposure limits in 2002 and 2003, and it found the potential for such exposure at the other facilities, which failed to collect necessary data and provide proper training to inmates. Visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/.
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Former RadioShack (Fort Worth, Texas) Chief Executive Officer David Edmondson and Ron LeMay, former chief operating officer of Sprint (Overland Park, Kan.), have co-founded eRecyclingCorps (Irving, Texas), which will help carriers resell and recycle used phones bought from consumers. Sprint is the first carrier to employ eRecyclingCorps' buyback system, which offers consumers trade-in incentives, in-store collection, and strict privacy controls along with a Web-based platform that integrates directly into the point-of-sale system at carrier retail stores. Visit www.erecyclingcorps.com, www.radioshack.com, or www.sprint.com.
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Redemtech (Columbus, Ohio), an information technology asset disposition and technology change management service company, has received the e-Stewards electronic recycling certification for all of its U.S. facilities. Visit www.redemtech.com.
Equipment Sales and Installations
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Sadoff Iron & Metal Co., a subsidiary of Sadoff & Rudoy Industries (Fond du Lac, Wis.), has purchased an SC shear from Harris (Tyrone, Ga.) for installation in its Fond du Lac facility. Visit www.sadoff.com or www.harrisequip.com.
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Green Zone Investments (dba Tire Recyclers) (Charles City, Va.) has bought a new zero-waste tire-derived fuel system from Columbus McKinnon Corp. (Sarasota, Fla.). The system, which is designed to produce high-grade TDF with minimal steel content, has a CM dual-speed tire shredder and a CM2R Liberator to separate wire from rubber. Visit www.cmtirerecyclingequipment.com or www.tirerecyclersinc.com.
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The Federal Metal Co. (Bedford, Ohio) has selected Management Science Associates' (Pittsburgh) application service provider version of the Blending Optimization Software Suite as its raw materials blending optimization platform. The ingot producer will use BOSS ASP in its operations, taking advantage of the automated management of raw materials and melting operations to optimize mixtures and find lowest-cost melting combinations. BOSS also offers an alloy addition calculation and a purchase planning feature. Visit www.federalmetal.com or www.msa.com.
Manufacturers Add New Distributors
Material handler manufacturer Sennebogen (Stanley, N.C.) has added three new dealers to its network of U.S. distributors. Great Southern Equipment Co. (Tampa, Fla.) is the new Sennebogen distributor in Florida (except in the Panhandle region), with locations in Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Bejac Corp. (Placentia, Calif.) will sell Sennebogen products in California from its branches in San Diego, Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Sacramento, Redding, and the Oakland Bay area. Leslie Equipment Co. (Cowen, W.Va.) will carry Sennebogen's material handlers at eight of its 10 locations in West Virginia and southern Ohio. Visit www.sennebogen-na.com, www.gsequipment.net, www.bejac.com, or www.lec1.com.
Alta Equipment Co. (Wixom, Mich.) is the newest authorized dealer for Genesis Attachments (Superior, Wis.), covering lower Michigan. Visit www.altaequipment.com or www.genesisattachments.com.
Resources
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The World Steel Association (Brussels) has published a report on steel industry byproducts. The report focuses on the generation rates, recycling and reuse rates, and management techniques of various byproducts, including ironmaking slag, steelmaking slag, and dust and sludge. The report is available for purchase on the association's Web site at www.worldsteel.org.
Recycling Pet Food Cans Is the Cat's Meow
Cat food companies Friskies and Fancy Feast, both subsidiaries of Nestlé Purina PetCare (St. Louis), have launched the "Together We Can" campaign to demonstrate to consumers the recyclability of pet food cans. Aluminum pet food cans often are overlooked as contributors to landfills, with consumers reportedly recycling less than 20 percent of such cans each year, compared with 54 percent of aluminum beverage cans. To encourage more recycling of their packaging, Friskies and Fancy Feast enlisted the help of cat-owning artists and celebrities nationwide to create artwork from used cans. A "RePURR-posed" gallery in New York displayed the pieces, with select works sold on eBay to raise funds for Keep America Beautiful (Stamford, Conn.). For each pet owner pledging to recycle aluminum pet food cans on the Together We Can Web site, Nestlé Purina PetCare also promised to donate $1 (up to $100,000) to KAB. Visit www.togetherwecanrecycle.com and www.kab.org.
New Installation Shatters Ideas of Conventional Recycling
Want to vent a little frustration in an eco-friendly way? Try "Glassphemy!" The project, a creation of developer David Belt's company Macro Sea (New York), gives participants an opportunity to shatter glass bottles with impunity in a controlled environment, with the resulting cullet recovered for recycling. The centerpiece of the "Glassphemy!" project is a 20-foot by 30-foot box of steel and bulletproof glass, located in an undisclosed private space along Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. Macro Sea invites guests to stand armed with bottles donated from neighborhood bars on a high platform at one end of the box while other guests stand on a lower platform at the opposite end, protected behind a bulletproof glass wall. In this process of environmentally friendly belligerence, bottles thrown from the upper deck toward the guests below shatter against the bulletproof glass, triggering vibration-activated lights and collecting at the bottom of the box for eventual recycling or reuse.
Some of the cullet is recycled via a bicycle-powered glass polisher assembled from a cement mixer, which yields smooth glass for various uses, including decoration. Another application pulverizes the glass shards into a granulate the company intends to use in a beer garden planned for the site. Macro Sea invites other suggestions, with the best ideas possibly earning the individual an invitation to participate. ReadyMade magazine also is sponsoring a contest for its readers to submit additional recycling ideas for "Glassphemy!" Visit www.macro-sea.com or www.readymade.com.
Gowns Put Eco-Friendly Spin on Graduation
Regardless of a school's official colors, cap and gown company
Oak Hall Industries (Salem, Va.) is making graduations a little more "green" with its GreenWeaver line of academic apparel. The eco-friendly products, which the company makes from 100-percent postconsumer recycled plastic bottles—about 23 per gown—have already found their way onto graduates at more than 100 institutions, including Wake Forest University and the University of Pennsylvania, the company says. Though they look just like traditional polyester graduation garb, GreenWeaver gowns are softer, more breathable, and use soy ink stamps instead of tags to denote sizes, according to Oak Hall.
As of March 1, the gown line reportedly has reclaimed more than 3.5 million bottles. What's more, campuses can collect the GreenWeaver gowns after graduation, and Oak Hall will arrange to recycle them into carpet fiber. The company says that manufacturing recycled plastic fabric rather than virgin polyester reduces carbon dioxide emissions almost 55 percent. It also ships its products in recycled plastic bags and recycled corrugated cartons, uses recycled cardboard in its caps, and pledges to donate to a campus environmental group for every gown purchased. Visit www.oakhalli.com or www.greenweavermovement.com. •