NonMetallics

Kansas Firm Looks to Recycle Tires

Rubber Tech Inc., a Kansas-based company, is looking to convert used tires into a host of recyclable materials and into a viable business. The goal is to allow the company to handle several million tons every year at its facilities, according to Larry Garner, president of Rubber Tech.

The company is presently talking with government officials from Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas about building a tire recycling facility in one of their states. The cost, Garner estimates, is around $5.5 million, which would include up to six machines which would be capable of handling a total of six million tires a year.

While processing six million tires a year, the company also expects to have around 250,000 tires on hand at all times, meaning an even more significant space requirement.

The machines would convert tires into a multitude of sizes, with sizes larger than ¼ inch being used to generate electricity. Crumb rubber smaller than ¼ inch would go into making coating for roofs and highway construction.

The process is not grinding. Rather, the company will be using hydraulics to process the tires. Further, the end product will not contain any steel or other material, making the crumb rubber product very clean.

The company hopes to have its first facility up and operational within six months, making a decision about where to locate pressing. To avoid any environmental problems, Garner says that the company is looking at a facility that would be as large as 150,000 square feet, and totally enclosed.

One possibility is a closed American Tire Recycling facility in Ringgold, Ga. According to local press reports the company has been in discussions with the owner of the former tire recycling operation about leasing several buildings that American Recycling operated when it was recycling tires.

While Rubber Tech has been in some discussions with state and local government officials, Garner says that there is some skepticism about the viability of the project due to the failure of other tire operations.

According to Garner, there is interest, although many of the government officials want to see the facility built and operational before they allocate any type of financial assistance for the project.

SAFETY-KLEEN OFFERS COLLECTION SERVICE

Safety-Kleen, Columbia, S.C., is offering a used oil collection service that includes pick up, transport and processing of customers’ used oil at Safety-Kleen’s refining centers. Service is available at 230 locations throughout North America.

Safety-Kleen Oil Collection Service is designed to help businesses collect and properly handle their spent oil in compliance with federal and state regulations. Participating businesses receive assistance from a Safety-Kleen service representative in completing all required paperwork and computer-generated reporting and servicing cycles.

Additionally, Safety-Kleen’s "We Care" Program is an integrated program designed to inform and to educate employees and customers about environmental good citizenship. Safety-Kleen provides decals with the "We Care" logo.

COKE BUYS RECYCLED PET

The Recycle America division of Waste Management Inc., Houston, has signed an agreement to supply Southeastern Container Inc., a manufacturing cooperative owned by a group of Coca-Cola bottling franchises, with PET flake produced from post-consumer PET containers.

The agreement calls for Waste Management’s Recycle America to supply PET flake that will be used to manufacture soft drink containers. Recycle America’s plastics facility is located near Raleigh, N.C. Formerly knows as P&R Environmental Industries, it is the nation’s largest facility handling mixed plastic containers.

Tom Francis, president of Southeastern Container Inc., says, "This is an important step in ensuring a steady supply of material that meets our stringent quality standards. We appreciate both the expertise of Waste Management Inc. and the dedication of the many residential curbside recycling program participants who separate their materials each week for collection in municipal programs."

"Our facility uses advanced technology that provides superior mixed bottle sorting capabilities," says Steve Ragiel, Waste Management’s vice president of recycling. "This state-of-the-art equipment ensures that there will be a stable supply of recycled plastic material well into the future."

Manufacturers Agree to California Plastics Program

Nearly two dozen companies who use rigid plastic packaging have signed recycling compliance agreements with the California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento.

Twenty-three companies signed the agreements in mid-October to bolster efforts by the State to enforce California’s Rigid Plastic Packaging Container (RPPC) law. That law requires the State to work with business and industry to achieve higher rates of plastic recycling.

The RPPC law mandates that businesses must ensure that product containers sold in California meet the state’s plastics recycling and minimum-content requirements.

Among the companies that have signed the agreement John Deere Consumer Products Inc., Lundmark Wax Company, Orange Glo International Inc., Sierra International Inc., Sunbeam Corp. and its subsidiaries, Turtle Wax Inc. and Foam Seal, Inc.

Some examples of plastic containers subject to California’s minimum-content recycling law are soap and detergent bottles or jugs, household buckets, cleaners, paints, and motor oil containers.

California’s RPPC law offers businesses several options for complying with the recycled-content provisions of the law. Companies may comply by using 25 percent post-consumer resin to make their containers; reduce by 10 percent the amount of plastic in their containers; make RPPCs that are reused or refilled at least five times; or they can ensure that 45 percent of their containers are recycled.

EPA FACTSHEET NOW ONLINE

"Electronics: A New Opportunity for Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling" details steps the EPA is taking to promote product stewardship of electronics, such as increasing the reuse and recycling of used electronics; ensuring that the management of electronics is safe and environmentally sound; and fostering a life-cycle approach to product-stewardship.

The fact sheet also includes a link to the American Plastics Council report "Plastics from Residential Electronics Recycling: Report 2000," as well as other related publications and organizations.