Nonmetallics Department

IBM DEBUTS COMPUTER MADE FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC

IBM Inc., Armonk, N.Y., is producing what it calls the first personal computer made from 100% recycled resin for all “major plastic parts.” The IBM IntelliStation E Pro was introduced by the company in March.

IBM’s use of recycled plastics in new system production is unmatched in the computer industry, the company claims. The IntelliStation CPU contains three and a half pounds of plastic that typically is made from virgin resins. The company was able to switch to 100% recycled plastic at no extra cost, IBM claims. One of the eight components that was switched to secondary resins is now 20% less expensive to manufacture, an IBM news release states.

The end use accomplishment is coupled with the operation of IBM’s Worldwide Materials Recovery Centers, which process millions of pounds of plastic waste each year. Last year, the company was named “Recycler of the Year” by the American Plastics Society, Washington, in recognition of its recycling efforts and environmental design efforts.

RAIL TIE PASSES FIELD TEST

A railroad crosstie made from a composite substance consisting of recycled materials has passed a one-year field evaluation performed at a Federal Railroad Administration facility. The composite the ties are made of consists of recycled rubber and plastic items.

The TieTek Crosstie, made by North American Technologies Group Inc. (NATK), Houston, was tested at the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center (TTCI) in Pueblo, Colo. The tests were made to determine the effect of high volume, heavy tonnage continuous operation on the ties, including a two-million cycle accelerated wear test.

According to NATK, the composite crossties “showed no signs of plate cutting or degradation of the tie surface, no signs of structural damage such as splitting, cracking or deformation, and no signs of lateral movement of the tie plate due to spike hole enlargement.”

“We are very pleased with the positive results from the testing performed by TTCI,” says NATK president and CEO Dr. Henry Sullivan. “The strong performance of our crossties confirms the in-track and laboratory results we have obtained over the past several years, and provides a strong foundation for our commercial introduction of the TieTek Composite Railroad Crosstie.”

WELLMAN EARNINGS DOWN IN 1998

Wellman Inc., Shrewsbury, N.J., has announced both 1998 sales and net earnings figures that are down from 1997 figures. Wellman makes polyester plastic products, fibers and resins, many of which are made from recycled plastic.

“The decline in 1998 net earnings compared to 1997 primarily resulted from lower profit margins in the worldwide polyester fiber operations, which more than offset higher profitability in the worldwide PET packaging resins business,” a Wellman news release accompanying the results states.

“The U.S. polyester fiber market remains weak,” notes Wellman president and CEO Thomas M. Duff. “Demand for PET resins remains strong, which has helped to stabilize prices after they declined late last year,” adds Duff.

The company’s largest capital expense was the $220 million that went into start-up of the Pearl River Plant in Mississippi. The plant is scheduled to produce 235 million pounds of virgin PET packaging resins after they declined late last year,” adds Duff.

The company’s largest capital expense was the $220 million that went into start-up of the Pearl River Plant in Mississippi. The plant is scheduled to produce 235 million pounds of virgin PET packaging resins.

FP INTERNATIONAL RECYCLES MORE POLYSTYRENE

FP International, Redwood City, Calif., announced a 4.9% increase in the amount of expanded polystyrene (EPS) it recycled in 1998 compared to 1997.

“Our polystyrene recycling program is still growing, although at a more modest rate than the double-digit growth rate we had in the mid-1990s,” says company president Arthur Graham.

“Our Flo-Pak loose fill packaging is made of 100% recycled polystyrene,” adds Graham. “We recycled 8.1 million pounds of EPS in 1998 and still have the capacity to expand our EPS recycling operation, so we’re always looking for more EPS to recycle.”

At its five U.S. facilities, FP International recycles polystyrene foam packaging collected from equipment manufacturers, local business and individuals.

RUMBER IS NEW MARKET FOR SCRAP TIRES

Rumber Materials Inc. (RMI), Austin, Texas, has introduced a new composite material for use by manufacturers seeking to make their polymer products stronger and more impact-resistant.

Rumber composite, made from ground scrap tires along with polyethylene or polypropylene, is a granular product that can be used by itself or can be added to other compounds to help them achieve greater strength.

“The Rumber composite can act as an impact modifier for a myriad of polymer products,” says Harold Fischer, president and CEO of RMI. “For example, garbage bin lids are usually made from HDPE plastic and would break if run over by something like a forklift. On the other hand, if the lid is made with material that includes 10% to 20% Rumber composite, it usually will not break—even when run over by a dump truck.”

“We make buckets out of both rubber and plastic,” says Rumber user David Bowell, president of Miller Manufacturing, St. Paul, Minn. “By adding Rumber composite, we have a combination that gives us the better features of both, including enhanced pliability. Tests showed that by using Rumber composite, our buckets were more resistant, especially in cold weather, as far as cracking, pliability and durability goes.”

TEXAS DOT USES SCRAP TIRES AS EMBANKMENT FILL

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has used 6,000 tons of scrap tires to fill in an embankment near El Paso, Texas.

According to the department, thehredded tires provided a lightweight, low-pressure, durable, free-draining and inexpensive material when it was used as fill in a Loop 375 bridge embankment in El Paso.

TxDOT has also conducted research into rubber asphalt, and has been monitoring a test site near Odessa, Texas.

The agency is also trying crushed glass as bedding around two pipe sections in Beaumont, Texas.

SCRAP TIRES YIELD AWARDS

Is it recycling or incineration? While that debate surrounds many waste-to-energy efforts, several companies and governmental entities have found waste-to-energy processes a way to provide solutions to waste disposal problems.

A combined effort by the Missouri departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Corrections has cleaned up several hundred thousand scrap tires and provided thousands of dollars in annual fuel savings to the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Missouri’s Waste Tire to Energy Team has received state and national awards recognizing the innovation and the inspiration of the four-year-old project. In July 1998, the team received the Missouri Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity. At the end of the year, the team’s work received recognition as one of “America’s Best Innovations” from the Council of State Governments at the council’s annual meeting in San Antonio.

“When the project was submitted for recognition in March 1998, 360,000 scrap tires had been processed,” says Missouri DNR director Steve Mahfood. “By August 1998, another 782,000 tires had been picked up. The projects have reduced state tire disposal costs by $100,000. The university has reduced smokestack emissions by 250 tons per year and is saving $100,000 annually in fuel expenses.”

Since the passage of Missouri’s scrap tire law in 1990, more than 145 scrap tire sites have been cleaned up. About 2.5 million scrap tires have been removed from Missouri’s environment for about $1.4 million.

N. J. TIRE RECYCLING FACILITY OPENS

Lakewood, N.J. is home to a new 80-ton-per-day scrap tire recycling plant operated by Rubberecycle LLC. According to the Ocean County Recycler newsletter, the Class B facility accepts truckloads of used car and truck tires, with or without rims. The company shreds the tires and processes them into chips to market as surface products to be used in areas such as playgrounds, equestrian stables, or as a soil amendment for playing fields or golf courses.

WELCH’S WINS FOR RECYCLABILITY

An effort to convert a frozen juice can to a recyclable plastic container has earned an award for Welch’s Foods Inc., North East, Pa. The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, presented its first “Design for Recyclability” award to Welch’s Foods in February.

Welch’s converted from a mixed materials non-recyclable package for its frozen juice concentrate to a recyclable plastic package. The new can is made of HDPE with a heat-transferred label and a linear LDPE cap.

“The can is blow molded with the same HDPE resin used in pigmented bottles and the cap and label are compatible with the recycling of other pigmented HDPE containers,” says Gerry Claes of Graham Recycling in York, Pa. Graham Recycling helped Welch’s develop the new package.

“Welch’s wanted a can that was leak-proof and recyclable,” says Claes. “The recyclability was very important to them.”

APR chairman David Smith says Welch’s effort was important. “This package serves as a wonderful example of an innovative packaging concept created with recyclability in mind,” he comments. “The effort to convert to a completely recyclable package while working with a recycler is a positive notion for the plastic recycling industry and we are proud to herald that effort.”

“Welch’s is proud of what we did and it’s even nicer to be applauded for it,” says Welch’s Foods Inc. director of special markets Joe Eifler.