Reclaiming Disposed Metal

Some scrap processors are cashing in on an niche market recovering scrap metal from landfills and waste-to-energy facilities.

Back in the early sixties, Sam Gershowitz began pulling cars out of landfills to reclaim the auto body metal for scrap. That was the start of Gershow Recycling -- and just about everybody in the Medford, Long Island area thought Sam was crazy.

Today, autos are no longer dumped in landfills, and the landfills on Long Island are closed. But Gershow Recycling is cruising along in its thirty-second year selling all grades of ferrous and nonferrous scrap.

The reason is simple. "Scrap has a bounty on it," says Kevin Gershowitz, vice president of Gershow Recycling.

Yet the solid waste industry and the recycling industry have not always strolled hand-in-hand. Though both have existed for hundreds of years, they only began their mutual courtship in the 1980s.

Two principle financial factors fueled the romance. Municipalities realized that scrap metal processors could decrease their landfill costs, remove waste and give them added revenue for the metallic content of garbage that would otherwise go in the ground. Scrap processors, likewise, found an opportunity for profit.

By the end of the 1980s, the waste-to-energy industry was anticipating dramatic growth directly tied to diminishing landfill availability. At least, that was the perception.

"Over the last couple of years," says Steve Wulff, vice president of planning for the ferrous division of the David Joseph Co., Cincinnati, "there’s been so much success in reducing the volume of materials that have to be buried, that landfill space has not been in such short supply as predicted."

Yet, conditions vary from region to region. Like Long Island, a number of states are closing their landfills. Florida has landfill problems related to the high water table. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have problems relating to population density. And both a sprawling population and a sensitive political climate has led the state of California to actively discourage further landfill development.

MINING METAL VEINS

In landfills that still remain open for business, the lure for processors is ferrous metal. A 5 to 10 percent metallic recovery rate is considered a "rich vein" worthy of mining, while a 1 to 2 percent recovery is generally viewed as insufficient to cover the costs of extraction. As for nonferrous metal, very little is reclaimed from landfills as homeowners increasingly pre-sort aluminum appliances and other consumer items like lawn furniture.

Profitable ferrous "veins" may be found in either of two common landfills. Construction and demolition debris landfills contain recoverable quantities of light iron and I-beam, but they are also filled with debris like brick and wood. Reprocessing initially requires mechanized sizers and shakers to adequately handle the job of separation.

Level 2, or sanitary landfills, cover their metallic content with a mix of paper, rags, plastic and other domestic garbage that forces a mix of mechanization and human labor to complete the task of sorting.

In both C&D and sanitary landfills, the recovered ferrous material is then shredded -- or baled if no on-site shredder exists. Ferrous scrap may also be sold to independent shredders, who, in turn, deliver the shredded materials to the mills.

Even in states like Ohio, where the expected landfill crisis hasn’t materialized because of strong conservation and recycling efforts, the long view does not include an unbroken chain of usable landfills.

"We’re in a short-term moratorium," says Drew Luntz, president and CEO of Luntz Corp., Canton, Ohio. "Landfills are still looking for tonnage to go in the ground because currently there’s a need. But inevitably there will come a time when landfills will not be as aggressive."

WASTE-TO-ENERGY

In a climate where landfills are filling up, closing up and driving usage costs up, waste-to-energy plants have emerged as a far more reliable -- and profitable -- source of recoverable ferrous and nonferrous metallic scrap.

Nearly 200 of these plants exist nationwide -- and more are on the way, from all reports.

Production figures for ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal reclamation at waste-to-energy plants are influenced by a shifting array of factors led by the relative strength of recycling programs in communities surrounding a given facility -- and whether the waste received by the plant is primarily residential or light industrial. These factors, in turn, influence the metallic content of the waste stream feeding into the plant. Industry analysts estimate a 3 to 7 percent reclamation rate for ferrous metals and a .5 to 1 percent recovery of nonferrous aluminum. The high market value of aluminum scrap makes even this smaller figure a profitable recovery target.

In terms of volume, a good size waste-to-energy plant can recover 1,000 tons of steel per month. Last year, the 13 waste-to-energy plants built and operated by Wheelabrator Technologies reclaimed 180,000 tons of ferrous metal. The company also reached a personal milestone at its Falls Plant in Bucks County, Pa.

"We recovered our millionth ton of ferrous metal," says Pat Scanlon of Wheelabrator.

William Lensmyer, of Resource Recycling in Fla., hears the question: "how much can be recovered?" -- and finds it nearly impossible to answer. Instead, he answers with another question: "how much is out there?" Lensmyer prefers to gauge his results in terms of efficiency.

"The only way to properly evaluate a system is by its efficiency in recovering the metallic content of the waste stream. We market our systems by guaranteeing a minimum of 95 percent efficiency for ferrous recovery and the 92 to 95 percent efficiency for nonferrous recovery. We’ll guarantee the efficiency of what we do, but not what’s actually in the waste stream."

Resource Recycling prepares an evaluation for prospective customers by processing samples of municipal waste and quantifying the levels of metallic content. Their final numbers are remarkably close, ranging within plus or minus 5 percent.

INDIVIDUAL FINGERPRINTS

But there is no way to examine the scrap metal reclamation possibilities at waste-to-energy plants without assessing the technology. And as you speak with processors throughout the country, what quickly becomes apparent is the customized nature of each facility. Off-the-shelf is definitely not a concept that applies here -- it’s more like individual fingerprints.

Each system is designed according to specified recovery goals and a plant’s physical capacity to incorporate the necessary technology.

Some plants only reprocess ferrous metal, others do nonferrous as well. Some plants recover their metals "pre-burn," at the front end, while most reprocess their metals from the "post-burn" ash. Some processors design, build and operate their own plants -- with recovery systems part of the original construction. Other processors are sub-contractors who arrive on the site of an existing waste-to-energy facility offering to turn ash into cash by installing state-of-the-art scrap metal reclamation systems "in line" with the plant’s mass burn technology. They can also build a system on site that is set physically apart from the plant -- or they might even be instructed to haul the ash away and reprocess it elsewhere.

Of course, costs also vary. The difference between modifying equipment already in place or installing a highly efficient system could stretch a budget from a couple hundred thousand dollars to several million.

What they all have in common is the essential incineration action of a waste-to-energy plant.

In terms of the scrap metal industry, there are two basic reclamation technologies relative to incineration: refuse derived fuel and mass burn. The latter is, by far, the preferred system of most waste-to-energy plants. A mass burn facility incinerates whatever garbage it receives without pre-sorting anything. Scrap metal – primarily ferrous – is then recovered from the ash stream at the back end of the plant.

Though it’s difficult to imagine reclaiming anything after it has passed through an incinerator stoked to 1,800 degrees, ferrous metal normally requires in excess of 2,000 degrees to change its shape. Thus, what emerges in the ash may be as large as a water heater or as small as a soup can.

The next trick is to get the ferrous scrap to rise from the ashes.

There are a number of tried-and-true ways to separate the recoverable scrap metals from the wet ash and non-combustibles that have been cooled by the water baths. When diagrammed out, the sequence of technology resembles an elaborate Rube Goldberg-style conveyance. In practice, however, this sequence is carefully designed and customized to meet very exacting specifications.

But whatever the style or configuration, requirements vary from plant to plant.

"The biggest challenge to magnet manufacturers is the idea that some processors have that they will only need one magnet for all their separation requirements," says Rustin Ross of the Alan Ross Machinery Corp. "Mostly you’ll find they need a combination: a crossbelt and a pulley, or a pulley and a drum."

For example, at the Pinnellis plant outside St. Petersburg, Fla., ferrous materials are magnetically recovered and then shredded. The shredded ferrous is then magnetically recovered a second time and introduced to an additional series of screens to clean and further remove the remaining ash and dirt. When it meets the specifications of individual steel mills, the shredded steel is shipped out.

The Pinnellis plant is one of the few mass burn facilities where ferrous and nonferrous scrap is processed to meet mill specifications and then delivered directly to the mill. By processing upwards of 3,000 tons of metal a day, Pinnellis has the economy of scale necessary to profitably recover nonferrous scrap.

FRONT-END RECOVERY

Unlike mass burn plants, RDF facilities are designed to recover metals at the front-end -- before incineration. The result is a refuse derived fuel free of ferrous and nonferrous metals, as well as other items unsuited for burning.

Straight ferrous items like hammers may be easily lifted out of the waste stream by magnets.

But other materials from MSW – such as old sofas or bicycles – are more difficult to separate.

The more contaminated the product -- whether by metallic blends or mixtures of nonmetallic materials, the less valuable it is in the marketplace. Some mills won’t accept any contamination. Others, such as mills that make rebar, are more far more tolerant. One thing is certain, however. Each mill has purchasing specifications that must be met by processors.

"The name of the game is getting materials into a form that’s suitable for the marketplace," says Wulff.

Nationwide, the recovery game is still in its early innings. There are relatively small numbers of companies actually contracting with waste-to-energy facilities to reclaim scrap metal.

"The potential for growth is there," acknowledges Lensmyer, "but it's a very difficult business to design and successfully operate these systems."

Only a few companies, like Resource Recycling, offer the high-end technology necessary to recover ferrous and nonferrous metal, as well as provide the full marketing services essential for placing scrap directly in the mills. A handful of additional companies offer high-level ferrous recovery, while several others reclaim nonferrous. The numbers swell slightly when companies operating simple magnetic recovery systems are included – but product contamination is an obvious concern when technology is minimized.

Luntz surveys the landscape of the industry and sounds a cautionary note that is ultimately optimistic. "Not all municipal scrap is created equal," he says. "If steel mills go out and buy all kinds of municipal scrap, they’re going to get quality from A to Z. But if mills are knowledgeable and the scrap is presented properly and responsibly, this material can and will be successfully used."