ARCA Recycling adapts to changing recycling landscape

ARCA Recycling Inc., a Minneapolis-based wholly owned subsidiary of Appliance Recycling Centers of America Inc., has announced its successful reworking to trends affecting the recycling of appliances and consumer electronics by negotiating contracts with utilities and manufacturers that reflect the industry’s changing landscape, notably the sharp decline in scrap metal prices. In addition, the company says it has raised its pricing over the past six months.

Scrap steel prices have fallen 22 percent the past year and are down 57 percent over the last two years, ARCA Recycling says. Nonferrous metals have had similar price declines. U.S. steel imports have dramatically increased over the past year and the European Union recently launched new probes into Chinese steel imports, claiming unfair competition. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington, called on the U.S. government to “address injurious import surges,” ARCA Recycling says.

“We’ve become less reliant on scrap metal revenue by adjusting our utility contracts and raising our pricing over the past six months,” says Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, ARCA Recycling president. “We’ve been very busy with new utility contracts, as we announced last month.”

Cameron adds, “Utilities, manufacturers, retailers and consumers are all realizing the landscape has changed dramatically, evidenced by many private and public recycling programs struggling financially. Sharing costs ensures the long-term viability of a recycling market that delivers important environmental benefits.”

For the recycling of every 1,000 refrigerators that were more than 20 years old, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates more than $800,000 in benefits through lower energy consumption and fewer harmful emissions, according to ARCA.

ApplianceSmart, ARCA’s retail arm, was the first independent retailer to join the EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program, which launched 10 years ago, the company says. National appliance retailers Home Depot, Best Buy and Sears—also RAD members—have recently started charging fees for recycling TVs, monitors and select appliances. ARCA says industry trade media expect more fee-based recycling initiatives going forward as a more sustainable business model is developed.

ARCA says it has nearly 40 years of leadership in appliance recycling, including regional processing centers across the U.S. and state-of-the-art technology that removes environmentally damaging substances and produces byproducts for recycling.

ARCA’s three business components work together to provide a full array of appliance-related services. ARCA Advanced Processing LLC employs advanced technology to refine traditional appliance recycling techniques to achieve revenue-generating and environmental benefits. ARCA also is the exclusive North American distributor for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technologically advanced refrigerator recycling systems and recycling facilities for electrical household appliances and electronic scrap.

ARCA’s regional centers process appliances at end of life to remove environmentally damaging substances and produce material byproducts for recycling for utilities in the U.S. and Canada. Eighteen company-owned stores under the name ApplianceSmart Inc. sell new appliances directly to consumers and provide Energy Star options for energy efficiency appliance replacement programs.