Nonmetallics Department

N.C. TOLL PROCESSOR EXPANDS

Despite the current low prices for post-consumer plastics, P&R Environmental Industries Inc. (PREI), Youngsville, N.C., has expanded its capacity for toll processing (sorting and grinding) commingled plastic bales. Profiled in the September 1997 issue of Recycling Today, PREI has since more than doubled its total annual processing capacity to 80 million pounds, according to Gary Pratt, president.

“There’s a movement in the MRF industry toward commingling, away from sorting,” he says. “Our volume is up significantly.”

In addition to its original facility containing a commingled container sorting system built by Magnetic Separation Systems Inc. (MSS), Nashville, Tenn., and a binary sorting line, PREI has added two more facilities. One of them contains a second MSS BottleSort™ system. The other houses a new MSS flake sorter capable of sorting 3,600 pounds of flaked polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles per hour, pulling out any stray pieces of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Also located in this facility are PREI’s engineering department, fabrication shop and an expanded testing lab.

Can it be profitable to sort tiny pieces of PET flake? “We are working to turn this into a profit center,” says Pratt. “We’ll be processing contaminated flake for the industry, so we’ll have volume. To make the process work more efficiently, we purchased an aspirator to remove dust and paper.”

GM ANNOUNCES PLASTICS RECYCLING ADVANCE

A new family of plastics developed in part by General Motors, Detroit, may aid in the recycling of plastic automotive components. A Lansing, Mich. GM research and development facility jointly developed the new family of plastics along with Montell North America, Troy, Mich.

The thermoplastic olefins (TPO) nanocomposites developed by the two companies reduce weight and improve dimensional stability and other physical properties, such as stiffness and low temperature impact performance, according to the two companies.

The use of the lightweight nano-composites may also improve the potential for the recyclability of plastic auto parts. “As auto manufacturers become more and more consistent in their use of mono-materials, it will become increasingly easier to recycle them,” says GM researcher Elio Eusebi. “The use of oleofin-based nanocom-posites throughout the automobile will help us make great strides in our efforts to reduce waste and protect the environment,” he adds.