Volume is valuable

In today’s world, environmental concerns are at the forefront, and recyclers and manufacturers play a crucial role in shaping a sustainable future.

A win-win proposition for recyclers and manufacturers is to adopt procedures in line with the idea that taking back material is not only good for business but is a truly sustainable practice. By participating in the circular economy, companies can establish themselves as industry leaders committed to environmental stewardship, and a proactive approach helps build a positive reputation and creates new business opportunities.

Value is assigned to each commodity—materials like metals, paper, plastic and glass—when put on the market. Paper prices stem from the timber and forestry industry market; plastics, depending on the type, are assigned a value based on the price of a barrel of crude oil; glass comes from sand, which makes the value very low given its ubiquitousness; and metals are valued based on their alloy of origin.

So, how can manufacturers and recyclers collaborate in the circular economy to maximize value?

Using recycled content

When assessing material needs, companies can shift their methods of production and take proactive measures to reuse, reclaim and recycle their products. This encourages consumers to return recyclable items through various convenient channels.

In turn, such sustainability-minded companies won’t need to buy so much virgin material. This saves them from creating virgin-based products and embraces circular economic practices, ensuring the longevity and resilience of their business model.

Years ago, Westminster, Colorado-based Ball Corp. enacted a soda can production process that uses recycled aluminum to make new aluminum rolled material, reducing the need to mine bauxite ore. According to figures from the Arlington, Virginia-based Aluminum Association, aluminum cans contain an average of 73 percent recycled content, up to 20 times the recycled content of plastic bottles.

Takeback programs

For manufacturers, collaborating with shipping carriers such as FedEx and UPS, for example, and providing prepaid labels for customers to easily mail back expired or old products, simplifies the return process and promotes participation in takeback programs.

Hewlett Packard Inc. (HP), Palo Alto, California, is leading the way in mail-back programs, setting a precedent for achieving reuse and recycling in our global communities. When a printer ink cartridge is purchased online, it is shipped to the customer. From there, the customer swaps out the empty cartridge with the new one and sends it back to HP. When HP receives the empty cartridge at its warehouse, it can be refilled and reused, or empty cartridges can be collected at a central location to be shredded, and that material can be used in a new product with recycled content.

The implementation of a production process that prioritizes reuse can create a circular business model and begin to reshape product manufacturing into a circular process rather than a straight line to the landfill.

The benefits of RVMs

Reverse vending machines (RVMs) are another solution used to create value for products and their packaging.

RVMs are much like soda and candy vending machines; but, instead of paying the machine to receive merchandise, the machine pays the user for the plastic bottle or metal can placed inside. Only 10 states—California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont—employ the RVM model. This circular value chain concept could be expanded nationwide without legislation and raise the recycling rate, which currently is 32 percent, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Prioritizing recycling

While recycling efforts begin at the individual decision-making level, it is equally essential for decision-makers within companies to prioritize recycling practices.

For example, the Germany-based Sport Group created a closed-loop process called Aptrusion, developed by its FormaTurf business unit, that uses 100 percent of the materials from previously installed synthetic turf fields. FormaTurf deconstructs, cuts, pulls and shakes the sand and rubber from the artificial turf, then grinds and shreds each piece. The downsized turf materials go through an extrusion-like process—Aptrusion—and are made into new products, such as pavers, bricks or boards, creating a circular life cycle for the synthetic turf field material.

In the U.S., Tom Beck, vice president of recycling at the Recreational Group (RG), is on a path to replicate that technology for all synthetic turf fields installed by the consortium of companies under Dalton, Georgia-based RG and the synthetic turf industry in general.

RG has taken proactive steps to minimize waste generation in its operations. It optimized its tufting-line scrap and fabric cuts, repurposing turf trimmings into smaller, more residential-friendly rugs. Moreover, RG has implemented an efficient companywide waste management system, recycling material generated by its employees at a local material recovery facility in Dalton.

In commitment to the circular economy, RG not only sells scrap material to BestPLUS to produce plastic lumber but also has introduced a 100 percent-recycled brick paver into its product lineup, further emphasizing its dedication to sustainability and waste valorization.

The role of legislation

A circular economy presents a promising path for recyclers and manufacturers to remain competitive while contributing to environmental preservation.

As manufacturers proactively reduce their dependence on virgin materials, establish partnerships with shipping programs, incentivize RVMs and embrace extended producer responsibility (EPR), a mutually beneficial ecosystem emerges as recyclers experience increased demand for their commodities, while manufacturers distinguish themselves as central players in the circular economy.

While national policies receive substantial attention, these private sector strategies offer scalable solutions that can meet the specific requirements of companies’ manufacturing processes. These approaches extend beyond legislation, demonstrating their potential to reduce waste across the entire country.

Elevating a company’s recycling initiatives not only aligns with overarching environmental principles but also offers a chance to bolster a manufacturer’s image, which can draw conscientious consumers eager to see how companies are taking responsibility for their products and their environmental impact.

Brandie Townsend is a senior consultant at Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., an international solid waste management consulting firm based in Vienna, Virginia. For more information, click here.