Nonmetallics Department

As part of its ongoing plastics recycling and market development activities, the American Plastics Council (APC)—a part of the American Chemistry Council—has launched www.PlasticBagRecycling.org, the most comprehensive online resource for plastic bag and film recovery in California.

The site is designed to further increase the recycling of plastic shopping and retail bags and clean plastic film, such as commercial stretch wrap and shrink-wrap.

Developed in conjunction with Moore Recycling Associates of Sonoma, Calif., the interactive Web site educates consumers, businesses and public agency employees about local film recycling opportunities.

Consumers can access the Web site to generate a list of grocery stores, recycling centers and transfer stations locally that are willing to accept plastic materials from the public. The Web site also includes a film identification section to help users determine acceptable material for their local drop-off locations.

Commercial users are able to access a number of sections of the Web site designed to assist them in developing a film recovery program. The various sections include information on markets, film identification, equipment, a calculator tool for determining the economics of recovery, clip art, sample market specifications and general handling and loading guidelines.

In addition, APC and Moore Recycling Associates will work to facilitate the development of new recovery programs within the commercial sector.

"This Web site is a very positive step towards sustaining and developing plastic recycling programs," Mike Vatuna, director of bulk materials with Trex Co. Inc., says.

Trex is based in Winchester, Va., and uses recycled plastic film to make composite decking material.

"As we see it, two of the biggest impediments to effective plastic recycling are understanding what needs to be done, and having effective communications to allow recycling to move forward. This Web site communicates both," Vatuna says.

Sun Valley Worldwide, a recycling and environmental services company based in Delray Beach, Fla., and Sigma Stretch Film Corp. of Lyndhurst, N.J., the largest U.S. and Canadian producer of industrial stretch film, have entered into a strategic relationship. The program, called NextLife, is designed to recycle used stretch film from the marketplace.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sigma will market and promote the program to its sales force and customers, while Sun Valley will purchase the materials and recycle them.

Bob Nocek, president of Sigma Stretch Film, says the NextLife program provides stretch film waste producers a recycling channel that is convenient, reliable, consistent, profitable and environmentally sensitive. "Diverting millions of pounds from the landfill to a productive alternative is a win-win for Sigma Stretch Film, our customers and the environment," he adds.

Daniel Schrager, president of Sun Valley, notes that the resins produced from the recycled stretch film will be used in the production of products in multiple industries, including construction, automotive, agricultural and consumer goods.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty has announced that the department is using the state’s largest tire pile in Greenwood Township, Columbia County, to encourage new markets and innovative techniques that will help to promote the beneficial reuse of waste material and hasten cleanup at the 14-acre site.

To hasten the cleanup, DEP is seeking innovative approaches that demonstrate the ability to beneficially use scrap tires and to promote a sustainable market-based outlet for the remaining tires on site. Ideas ultimately should remove tires from the site while finding ways to manufacture consumer products or to consume the tires in lieu of other raw materials.

Projects should not require more than two years of funding. All the information received will be considered in the possible development of a grant program to fund innovative uses of scrap tires from the property.

In March, DEP finalized terms of a legal agreement with Max and Martha Starr, owners of the property where an estimated 6 million to 10 million scrap tires have accumulated since the early 1980s. Aside from a $400,000 civil penalty for failing to remove the tires from their property, the Starrs also had to relinquish operational control of the pile to DEP but maintain liability insurance. DEP already has contacted more than 40 businesses that sent tires to the property to request removal.

A report released by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), Washington, finds that expanding markets now take in around 80 percent of the scrap tires generated in the United States.

The report shows that 80 percent, or about 233 million of the 290 million scrap tires generated in 2003, went to end-use markets, compared to just 11 percent in 1990.

Ground rubber reuse is one of the largest markets for scrap tires, consuming more than 28 million tires in 2003, the report states. One of the fastest growing markets for the material is in athletic and recreational surfaces.

The report also shows a 41 percent growth in the use of tire shreds in civil engineering projects, such as road and landfill construction and septic tank leach fields, since 2001. Tires add positive properties in these applications, such as vibration and sound control, alternatives to prevent erosion and landslides and drainage in leachate systems, according to the study.

"Civil engineering markets are continuing to gain wider approval with annual usage increasing from 56.4 million tires, compared to 40 million in 2001," Blumenthal says. "California, Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia are all using or planning tire shred projects in their states."

Tire-derived fuel use, the leading use of scrap tires, has increased almost 12 percent to nearly 130 million scrap tires since 2001, the report states.

Additionally, stockpile clean-up efforts continue. Since 1990, the number of scrap tires in stockpiles has been reduced by 73 percent.