Answering the Call

A New York C&D recycler steps in to help clean up after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Taylor Recycling Facility LLC (TRFLLC) of Montgomery, N.Y., acquired and mobilized more than $2.5 million worth of screening equipment, picking stations, loaders and excavators in order to handle separation, sorting and recycling of building debris created by the World Trade Center attacks. Taylor’s processing occurred at the Fresh Kills landfill.

The company also has supervised union operating engineers during an around-the-clock project processing the materials that are barged to the landfill site from Ground Zero in Manhattan.

In addition, the company is facilitating efforts of several law enforcement agencies—the NYPD, FBI, CIA, U.S. Customs and the New York and New Jersey Port Authorities—as they retrieve evidence from what has been named the largest crime scene in history.

A QUICK RESPONSE

Taylor was selected "vendor of choice" for the project on September 25, 2001, by the federal government following two weeks of contract negotiations among several competing firms. On October 14, 2001, Taylor began operations. There are several companies involved at the Fresh Kills site in various removal tasks; only one other is engaged in operations similar to TRFLLC.

"When we saw what was needed at Fresh Kills, we knew we could help. There are only a handful of companies in the state or nation with the equipment, expertise and wherewithal to handle this kind of service," comments Hans Taylor. "The only part of the project that was new to us was the search and recovery of forensic evidence," he adds. But this was a challenge that TRFLLC easily mastered. The company is capable of examining materials down to the fraction-of-an-inch and has been instrumental aiding investigators in their search on the site.

TRFLLC has recently opened a $3 million, 35,000-square foot, highly automated C&D processing building in Montgomery. The facility is due to be completed this spring.

New York Governor George Pataki, business leaders and government officials were among the hundreds of dignitaries who attended a recent open house. The celebration included a tour of the facility, which houses $1.3 million in newly purchased processing equipment designed to automate on-site operations. The investment in technology was made possible in part by $500,000 grant award by New York’s Environmental Investment Program for Recycling, administered by Empire State Development’s Environmental Services Unit. The ceremony also saw the dedication of one of America’s first, and what Taylor calls New York State’s only, drywall recycling facility.

Previously, Taylor employees sorted and separated by hand approximately 30,000 tons of C&D debris per year. With the addition of automation capabilities, Taylor is now capable of processing 60,000 tons, roughly double the previous amount.

Taylor’s automated process reclaims 97 percent of all discarded C&D materials on site, according to Hans Taylor. "Not only do we save landfill space by offering our customers a recycling alternative, we save them money as well," comments Taylor. He estimates tipping fees to be 30 percent below those charged at landfills and transfer stations. 

 The company has developed numerous ways to channel returns from the waste stream. Taylor markets reclaimed gypsum and corrugated cardboard, as well as ferrous and nonferrous metals. A number of materials are transformed into saleable products on premises. Among these are decorative mulches from wood, item-four aggregate from asphalt, brick, cement block and recovered topsoil.

Taylor also produces alternative daily cover for landfills. It is used to blanket the Sullivan County (N.Y.) Landfill each day. Alternative daily cover is ground from painted and treated wood, plastics, glued woods and other materials.

Historically the company has marketed its products to other businesses, but with its increased capabilities it is now marketing certain Taylor-made products, such as decorative mulch, to consumers as well.

The drywall recycling component of the facility employs a proprietary processing system that separates paper from the gypsum core contained in clean drywall construction scraps. Both the gypsum and the paper are then sold to a variety of end markets. The drywall recycling facility is permitted to handle 25,000 tons per year of source separated wallboard debris.

Overseeing operations at the gypsum recovery plant is Tom Kacandes. With more than 14 years experience in solid waste and recycling business development, Kacandes is a nationally recognized expert in the field. He is a founder of the Reuse Development Organization Inc., a national not-for-profit association that promotes redistribution of usable items and scrap materials.

According to Kacandes, processed gypsum is in demand primarily because it is 40 percent less expensive than mined gypsum. The gypsum used in the manufacturing of wallboard on the East Coast is, in great part, mined in Nova Scotia, Canada and must be shipped to the states.

Since Taylor generates revenue from the waste stream, tipping fees can be as much as 30 percent less than alternative disposal outlets – primarily landfills and transfer stations.