Newsworthy

> METALS

Sims Buys Minority Stake in Chiho-Tiande Group
Sims Metal Management Ltd. (SMM), New York, has made a minority investment in Chiho-Tiande Group Ltd. (CTG), a Hong Kong-based recycler that also has operations in China.

According to SMM, the company has acquired 16 percent of the existing shares of CTG from founder and Chairman Ankong Fang and Delco Participation B.V., a Netherlands-based scrap metal company. Delco has granted SMM an option to acquire an additional 2 percent of CTG. Subject to approval by CTG’s independent shareholders, SMM will subscribe for a convertible bond and be issued warrants.

After all instruments are exercised or converted, SMM says it expects to hold 20 percent of CTG’s capital. To support CTG’s continued growth plans, Fang and Delco will reinvest two-thirds of the proceeds received from SMM into convertible bonds issued by CTG on the same terms as SMM.

CTG, which says it is the largest mixed scrap metal importer in China, has processing facilities in Taizhou and Ningbo. The company operates three core businesses: metal recycling, foundry and wholesale scrap metal brokerage. Additionally, CTG has expanded into domestic ferrous and nonferrous recycling in Shanghai and has plans to add metals and electronics recycling to its facilities in Yantai and Hong Kong.

Daniel Dienst, SMM group CEO, says, “After several years of earnest evaluation of opportunities to enter the physical recycling arena on mainland China and in Hong Kong, we have identified CTG as among the most exciting and attractive companies that will define and shape the nascent Chinese recycling landscape. Through our investment and partnership, we are validating not only CTG’s extraordinary growth prospects under the vision of Chairman Fang and his leadership team but, as importantly, the shared cultures of our two companies manifested in unwavering commitments to creation of long-term shareholder wealth, the safety of our valued employees and the health of the environment and communities in which we operate and locate. CTG, as a long-standing trusted and honorable trading partner of SMM, made this investment decision that much more compelling.”

Fang says, “As the largest mixed metal scrap importer and processor in China, we are always exploring opportunities to grow, both within China and worldwide. SMM has been one of our major suppliers for a number of years, and, given SMM’s global reach and customer network, advanced technologies and solutions in the metals and electronics recycling industry, the proposed strategic collaboration with SMM will add significant value and expertise and complements our group.

“I believe that SMM, the industry leader, becoming a significant minority shareholder shows a strong recognition of our group’s competitiveness and achievements,” Fang continues.

Michael Lion, chairman of SMM Asia Ltd. and SMM’s nominee to the CTG board, says, “The complementary expertise of SMM’s global trading reach, material recovery technology and rigorous controls married to CTG’s exceptional leadership and fast-growing presence in the China and Hong Kong recycling space provides a transformational platform for our partnership. As the domestically generated volumes of recyclable nonferrous and ferrous metals and electronics continues to grow, SMM’s and CTG’s shared vision of building a leading best-practices position in China together is an extraordinary and exciting opportunity.”
 

> METALS

Trademark Metals Acquires Gulf Coast Metals
Trademark Metals Recycling (TMR), a wholly owned subsidiary of The David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ), a Cincinnati-based subsidiary of Nucor Corp., has purchased the assets and business of Gulf Coast Metals, based in Tampa, Fla.

Gulf Coast Metals, established in 1981, operates four facilities in Florida, including a secondary aluminum melting operation in Tampa, which the company says is the state’s largest facility of its kind.

Gulf Coast’s three other recycling facilities in Florida are in Gainesville, Sarasota and Tampa. All three locations provide full-service metal recycling.

According to a news release issued by DJJ, the addition of the four locations is consistent with TMR’s growth strategy and demonstrates DJJ’s commitment to expanding its existing regional recycling platforms.

The secondary aluminum melting operation will allow TMR to convert aluminum scrap into value-added products. The smelter consumes a wide range of aluminum scrap, including used beverage cans (UBCs), old sheet, cast, painted siding. Its finished products consist of specification aluminum alloys in the form of sows, ingots and cones that are supplied primarily to the aluminum and steel industries.

With the addition of Gulf Coast Metals, Trademark Metals Recycling now operates 27 facilities in the state of Florida.

> MUNICIPAL

Chicago Reduces Recycling Costs with Competitive Bidding
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the city has reduced its recycling costs by $1 million during its first quarter of competitive bidding. Emanuel says the savings resulted from cooperation between labor unions and city government to increase efficiencies in the city’s blue-cart recycling program.

Emanuel says, “We launched competitive bidding for recycling in an effort to save money while delivering quality services, and our results have exceeded our expectations.”

The recycling competition is between two private sector companies, Midwest Metal Management and Waste Management, and Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation employees. The city has been divided into six zones, four of which are being serviced by the private sector companies and two of which city employees are servicing.

The city estimates the cost for recycling services from July through September 2011, before the city implemented its competitive bidding program, was $3.15 million. After the competitive bidding process was established, the resulting cost was $2.16 million, or a 31 percent reduction. Union employees were able to reduce the price-per-cart from $4.77 at the beginning of the competition to $3.75 per cart for the month of December 2011—a 21 percent reduction, according to a news release from the Mayor’s Press Office.

Private sector competitors posted a price-per-cart figure of $2.70, the average price they bid as part of the city’s RFP for recycling services. The city saved approximately $120,000 more than projected in the first quarter of the competition because city crews reduced their costs even more quickly than budgeted for the last three months, the news release states.

This spring, at the six-month interval, the city plans to evaluate the recycling cost data and move forward with the best plan to provide recycling services for the city.

> METALS

Western Metals Recycling Acquires Van Gundy’s AMPCO
Western Metals Recycling, wholly owned by The David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ), a Cincinnati-based subsidiary of Nucor Corp., has purchased the assets and business of Van Gundy’s AMPCO (which was profiled in the February 2011 issue of Recycling Today). Van Gundy’s operates a full-service ferrous and nonferrous recycling facility in Grand Junction, Colo.

This deal follows the acquisition by another DJJ subsidiary, Trademark Recycling, of Gulf Coast Metals in late January 2011.

Van Gundy’s processing capabilities include shearing, baling and sorting of ferrous and nonferrous scrap. The company has been servicing retail, industrial and commercial accounts in the Grand Junction area since 1929.

DJJ provides scrap brokerage, recycling and transportation services. Through its subsidiaries, DJJ operates 66 scrap recycling facilities and seven U-Pull-&-Pay self-service used auto parts stores.

 

> MUNICIPAL

Pratt Industries to Open SC Facility
Conyers, Ga.-based Pratt Industries, one of the largest paper recycling companies in the United States, has invested $3.5 million to build its newest material recovery facility (MRF) in Duncan, S.C. The facility is expected to generate 30 new jobs.

Pratt has a small collection depot in South Carolina, but the single-stream MRF will be the company’s first large-scale recycling facility in the state.

Myles Cohen, president of Pratt Recycling, says the facility will serve customers within a 100-mile radius of Duncan. “We’re extremely excited to partner with Spartanburg County and the state of South Carolina to bring this state-of-the-art recycling facility to Duncan,” Cohen says. “It will improve the recycling capability for the entire Upstate region (of South Carolina), so from an economic standpoint, this expansion benefits the state of South Carolina, area businesses and the communities in the Upstate.”

The 60,000-square-foot center, which will process residential and commercial single-stream collected material, is expected to be fully operational by April 1.

In a written statement, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley states, “It’s a great day in South Carolina when another one of our existing businesses decides to increase its footprint in our state. We celebrate Pratt Industries’ investment in Duncan and the creation of 30 new jobs.”

Carter Smith, executive vice president of Spartanburg County’s Economic Futures Group, says, “We’re pleased to add Pratt Recycling’s expansion to the area’s effort to decrease material to local landfills,” which he says is a goal of many other local companies. Smith adds, “We appreciate this capital investment and job opportunities for Spartanburg County.”

> PLASTICS

Perpetual Recycling Solutions to Open Indiana Plant
Perpetual Recycling Solutions has announced plans to open a new, food-grade PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling facility in Richmond, Ind. When fully operational the facility will produce more than 110 million pounds of recycled PET flake per year.

Once the facility is complete, Perpetual says it will be the largest producer of food-grade recycled PET flake in North America.

“We are excited to become one of the largest food-grade manufactures of recycled PET plastic flake,” says David Bender, Perpetual Recycling CEO. “By incorporating our 24 years of experience from Pure-Tech Plastics, combined with state-of-the-art technology, we are able to offer brand owners the quality and safety they require to expand their sustainability efforts.”

Perpetual says it received funding and final approvals on the project in January of this year.

“We’re thrilled that Perpetual Recycling Solutions is moving forward with their plans to renovate and open a state-of-the-art plastics recycling facility in Richmond,” says Tim Rogers, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County. “The plastics sector is important in our community, and this will greatly strengthen the cluster we already have here.”

The facility is expected to begin operations by the end of 2012.

> MUNICIPAL

RockTenn Opens Single-Stream Facility in Memphis, Tenn.
RockTenn, based in Norcross, Ga., has announced the opening of a new single-stream recycling facility in Memphis, Tenn.

The new 150,000-square-foot facility will complement RockTenn’s established single-stream recycling plants in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn., according to the company.

The Memphis plant is the first single-stream facility in the city’s metropolitan area and represents a key investment in RockTenn’s Recycling and Waste Solutions growth plan, the company says. It is RockTenn’s ninth single-stream system of its 39 recycling facilities.

Rock-Tenn says it will continue to expand its recycling services nationwide in the year ahead.

“We are investing in new facilities across the country to support demand and provide full-service solutions through innovative technology,” says Mike Oswald, senior vice president and general manager with RockTenn Recycling and Waste Solutions. “Our growth is focused on making recycling easy by increasing our single-stream capabilities and supporting our customers’ sustainability initiatives across the country.”

RockTenn is an integrated manufacturer of corrugated and consumer packaging and recycling solutions with net sales of $10 billion. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and China. Its Recycling and Waste Solutions business processes more than 9 million tons of recyclables annually.

 

> METALS

Icahn Drops Bid for CMC
Icahn Enterprises Holdings (IEH), a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises LP, New York, has announced its tender offer of $15 per share for the outstanding shares of Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), headquarter in Irving, Texas, has expired. With the deadline for approval passing, Icahn Enterprises has dropped its bid to acquire CMC.

Approximately 23 percent of the shares were tendered, according to a news release issued by Icahn Enterprises. No shares were purchased, and all shares previously tendered and not withdrawn were to be returned.

“We did not receive 40.1 percent of the shares, and, therefore, as previously disclosed, we will discontinue our proxy fight,” states Carl C. Icahn, chairman of the board of Icahn Enterprises, in the news release.

He adds, “Since we commenced our proxy fight and launched our tender offer, the company has made a number of promises to shareholders, which shareholders appear to believe will be beneficial to the stock. We respect the views of the shareholders and hopefully their decision not to tender will prove to be the right one.”

In a new release, CMC states, “We are pleased that Mr. Icahn has ended the proxy contest following the expiration of the tender offer. The board has great confidence in the company’s future and believes that the continued execution of its strategic plan, which is already yielding positive results, will deliver enhanced value to our stockholders. We look forward to our upcoming annual meeting, where our highly qualified director nominees—Harold Adams, Joe Alvarado and Anthony Massaro—are standing for election to the board.” The CMC statement adds, “Our board and management remain focused on building on our momentum, and we would like to thank stockholders for their continued support.”
 

> MUNICIPAL

Columbus, Ohio, Joins CVP
The Curbside Value Partnership (CVP) and the Columbus, Ohio, Office of the Mayor and Department of Public Service have partnered to introduce a new recycling program that will begin this spring.

CVP is a national, invitation-only program designed to help communities grow their residential curbside recycling programs through education and increased attention to data. Since 2005, CVP has engaged 29 communities and four states to develop, execute and measure education campaigns.

The city of Columbus was chosen as CVP’s latest partner after interviewing several communities across the country. Under the leadership of Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, the city has gone to great lengths to bring a residential recycling program to residents, according to CVP.

“A residential recycling program is overdue in Columbus,” Coleman says.

Traditionally, CVP has not worked with new curbside programs, focusing instead on programs that are already well-established. However, in the case of Columbus, and in large part because of the commitment demonstrated by Coleman, CVP says it saw a tremendous opportunity to help.

“You get one chance to unveil a program to residents and to do it right,” says David Gill, CVP board chair and global account director for Novelis. “Since CVP launched in 2005, we have learned a great deal about how to effectively educate Americans about recycling, and specifically, recycling at home. We look forward to sharing these lessons with the Columbus community, the mayor and his team.”

CVP, the city of Columbus and the Columbus-based firm MurphyEpson Public Relations will work together to create, roll out and measure an education campaign to supplement the new residential recycling program.

Sixty-four-gallon blue carts will be delivered to the 227,000 residents living in single-family homes or structures with four or less units in the Columbus city limits. The carts, manufactured by Toter, will be delivered to homes in five phases, beginning this spring and concluding by early 2013.

The recycling carts will contain information on the lid about what can and cannot be recycled, and an attached packet will offer further information about the program, collection days and other details.

Rumpke, which currently operates a subscription-based service in Columbus, will collect the recyclables.

Prior to the new program, Columbus residents had access to recycling via drop-off boxes placed by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio or by subscribing directly to Rumpke for a fee.

“There is overwhelming support in the city for at-home recycling,” Coleman says. “Residents filled Columbus City Council chambers during a recent public hearing, voicing unanimous support for the program. And the timing could not be better, as 2012 is our bicentennial.”

The campaign, “RecyColumbus,” will launch this spring and include a number of education efforts.

Columbus will measure the impact of the program using the Re-Trac data management tool that CVP provides to partner communities at no cost.

> METALS

Nucor to Expand SBQ Production Capabilities
The steelmaker Nucor Corp., headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has announced plans to continue to boost its production of special bar quality steel (SBQ) at three of its U.S. steel mills.

To accomplish this, the company has approved $290 million for projects to be completed at its mills in Memphis, Tenn.; Norfolk, Neb.; and Darlington, S.C. The expansions are expected to boost SBQ and wire-rod capacities by 1 million tons per year, Nucor says.

The investments will include the construction of quality-inspection capabilities needed to ensure the products meet the highest qualities for demanding engineered bar applications.

According to the company, engineering studies have been finalized and it expects to complete each of the projects by the end of 2013, subject to federal, state and local regulatory and other approvals.

“We are excited about these new investments in a strategic and growing segment of our bar mill business,” Daniel DiMicco, Nucor chairman and CEO, says. “Looking forward, we continue to see strength in the engineered bar markets, driven by energy, automotive, heavy truck and heavy equipment manufacturers.”

DiMicco continues, “Furthermore, we believe that manufacturing growth in the U.S. will allow the SBQ markets to continue to grow over the next several years. These investments not only enhance our steel industry leadership status, but most importantly, position Nucor to meet the growing demands of our engineered bar customers. Finally, it is important to understand that we will continue to provide our full range of merchant, structural and rebar products to all of our traditional regional customers through our existing mill network.”

Nucor also operates six cold finish facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

 

> ELECTRONICS

Green Delete Promises Faster On-Site Data Sanitization
Greg Reuter, chief technology officer of Green Delete, Chicago, says his company’s proprietary technology enables it to sanitize hard drives at client locations more quickly, using a smaller footprint, than other data sanitization methods.

“Our mindset has always questioned conventional offerings that move data prior to the eradication process,” Reuter says of his company’s on-site sanitation method. He says Green Delete provides the customer with more control over the IT asset disposition (ITAD) process and removes the potential risk of a data breach when devices are transported prior to data sanitization.

“The security of the data is what is most important,” he adds. “The concept of addressing data where it resides seems simple enough, yet most solutions on the market today fail to make it easy on the customer or the firm providing information technology asset disposition services.”

Green Delete works directly with enterprise clients as well as with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and ITAD service providers to offer high-volume, on-site data sanitization.

The company’s process involves a portable system that fits into a large suitcase and is capable of wiping data from large quantities of hard drives at once without the need for a working host computer, Reuter says. Because the company’s technology does not need to access a client’s network, it eliminates internal security and bandwidth issues, according to Green Delete.

Green Delete’s process includes a quality-control step, and its technology documents chain of custody and provides detailed reports on all of the devices sanitized for a client, Reuter adds. “We pride ourselves on our disposition report being legally defendable.” Green Delete’s system captures detailed information about the devices being serviced as well as whether the process executed correctly, Reuter says.

Green Delete is currently working on a plan to make its services available to individual consumers who may have stored data-containing devices in their garages or basements as a way to lessen the possible data risks, Reuter says. “We are in discussions with some large clients that deal with consumer electronics,” he adds.

The company was recently certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) to provide on-site data sanitization. Green Delete also helped NAID create its on-site certification standards to meet the changing needs and regulations in the data eradication marketplace, Reuter says.

Green Delete says the NAID certification process has proven its technology to be up to eight times faster than conventional software-based, three-pass overwriting.

Also, Reuter and Senior Project Manager Avery Sullivan are among 100 people who have earned the NAID Certified Secure Destruction Specialist (CSDS) accreditation.
 

> PLASTICS

Canusa Hershman Acquires First State Plastics
Canusa Hershman Recycling Co. (CHRC), based in Baltimore, has acquired certain assets of First State Plastics, located in New Castle, Del.

The acquired operations include a 98,000-square-foot facility that houses post-industrial plastic grinding operations, a warehouse and office space as well as additional processing equipment and trucks. The addition of these assets allows CHRC’s plastics division to expand in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Ethan Hershman, CEO of CHRC, says, “Our plastics business has grown significantly over the past few years. We are excited about the addition of this new facility and expanding the services we can offer existing and future customers.”

The company has more than 135 years of experience in materials processing and commodities trading.

CHRC says the company and its affiliates market more than 2.5 million tons of recyclables per year, including more than 10 million pounds per month of post-industrial plastic.

> C&D RECYCLING

WM to Open C&D Recycling Facility in Toronto
Waste Management (WM), Houston, has announced plans to establish what it calls a technologically advanced facility in Toronto dedicated to processing scrap materials from building construction and demolition (C&D) sites.

WM acquired the facility, scheduled to be operational by the third quarter of 2012, in late 2011. The company says the plant will undergo extensive upgrades, which are expected to exceed $16 million.

The company says it expects the plant to process 87,000 metric tons of C&D material in its first full year of operation.

WM Vice President for Eastern Canada Brad Muter says the site will support local and provincial government efforts to divert C&D material from landfill.

> ELECTRONICS

E-Cycle Achieves e-Stewards Certification
E-Cycle, a mobile phone buyback and recycling company based in Columbus, Ohio, says it is the first such company to be certified to the e-Stewards standard.

E-Stewards, created by the Basel Action Network, Seattle, is a certification program that prohibits the export of hazardous waste to developing countries, requires a certified ISO 14001 environmental management system, includes industry-specific worker health and safety requirements and bans the use of prison labor in handling of sensitive data.

“E-Cycle was founded on three guiding principles—a love for the environment, technology and charitable giving,” says Christopher Irion, e-Cycle founder and CEO. “Achieving our e-Stewards and R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) certifications not only improves e-Cycle’s processes and differentiates us from other mobile recycling companies, it reinforces the essence of e-Cycle’s core brand image among the most ethical and trustworthy wireless recycling companies in the world.”

> NONMETALLICS

American Recycling Expands NC Operations
American Recycling of western North Carolina, in conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition (EDC) for Asheville-Buncombe County, has opened its newest recycling facility in Asheville, N.C. The company says it plans to invest some $1.5 million on the project, which is expected to result in the creation of as many as 30 new jobs.

American Recycling, headquartered in Atlanta, operates another recycling facility in Knoxville, Tenn., as well as sales offices in Wisconsin and Connecticut. The company handles all grades of paper as well as a number of post-consumer and post-industrial grades of plastic.

“Sustainability is as much a part of our mission as it is a part of our business model,” says Ron Moore, president and owner of American Recycling. “Efficient recycling programs and services such as ours not only save time and money but protect the environment and enhance the quality of life in the communities where we do business.”

 

> METALS

Mervis Gets OK to Build New Facility
The Urbana, Ill., City Council has unanimously approved an agreement with Mervis Industries Inc. and the Illinois Department of Transportation that allows the recycling company to build a public drop-off and buy-back recycling facility at a former drive-in movie theater.

According to one published report, the project is expected to cost $1.5 million and will cover 10 acres, though the company says it expects to use only half of the land currently.

Mike Mervis, a director with Mervis Industries, headquartered in Danville, Ill., says the new facility will be located “inside our existing footprint.” He says the facility is being designed to be consumer friendly to attract retail business.

“Everyone is looking to increase their throughput,” Mervis says. “One way is to build a facility that attracts new people. We are aiming to emphasize convenience.”

In addition to taking in ferrous and nonferrous metals, Mervis Industires’ new recycling center also will be able to accept obsolete electronics, plastic scrap and old corrugated containers, the company says.

Mervis explains that with the exception of draining liquids from automobiles delivered to the location, no processing will take place at the new facility.

While the company has received most approvals to begin construction, it is waiting for final approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

Mervis adds that once the company receives final approval from all government agencies, construction could be completed as soon as the end of the third quarter of 2012.

Mervis Industries has nearly 20 locations throughout Indiana, Illinois and Texas employing nearly 400 people.

 

> ELECTRONICS

European Parliament Approves Changes to WEEE Directive
The European Parliament has adopted changes to the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive designed to tighten exports and strengthen the recovery of electronics.

The revision will require EU countries to collect 45 percent of WEEE generated annually by 2015. By 2019, the amount will grow to 85 percent.

The legislation also calls for large retailers to collect discarded phones and other small electronic devices and introduces a requirement aimed at prohibiting European companies from shipping hazardous WEEE outside the EU.

The 27 EU countries have until mid-2013 to incorporate the new directive into their national laws once approved by the EU Council of Ministers.

> MUNICIPAL

Taylor Garbage and Recycling Builds Single-Stream MRF in NY
Taylor Garbage and Recycling, headquartered in Vestal, N.Y., has begun construction on a 30,000-square-foot single-stream material recovery facility (MRF) in Apalachin, N.Y. The company presently operates a recycling facility in Owego, N.Y., which it has operated for 20 years.

Les Paine, a spokesman for Taylor, says the new facility will allow the company to sharply increase the amount of recyclables it can process.

When fully operational, the MRF is expected to process nearly 35 tons per hour of recyclables. Equipment for the MRF is being provided by Green Machine, a New Hampshire-based equipment company.

The Green Machine system Taylor is installing includes pre-sorters, OCC (old corrugated container) separation screens, glass breakers, optical sorting equipment and magnets and eddy-current separators.

> PAPER

Enviro-Log Expands Waxed Cardboard Collection
Enviro-Log, based in Atlanta, has expanded its recycling program to enable more retailers to recycle their waxed old corrugated containers (OCC).

The company says it has worked with more than 100 retailers and recycling partners throughout North America and diverted more than 75,000 tons of waxed OCC to date.

Enviro-Log uses 100 percent recycled waxed OCC, originally employed for the transport of produce to grocery stores and restaurants, to manufacture its fireplace logs.

The company refers to its product as “the greenest and most versatile fire logs on the market” because it “saves thousands of trees from use as firewood and millions of pounds of waxed cardboard from going into landfills every year.”

In related news, the company has rolled out a new product, Firestarters, designed as an alternative for kindling, petroleum-based starter blocks, lighter fluids and ethanol-based gels. Firestarters are made from 100-percent recycled-content eco-friendly wax, the company says.

According to Sam Miller, Enviro-Log vice president of recycling, approximately 1.5 million used waxed boxes are sent to landfills each day, amounting to approximately 600,000 tons annually. “Clearly retailers can make a huge environmental impact by participating in our recycling program,” Miller says.

“Retailers are seeing their trash diverted down more than they ever thought it would be,” adds Miller, who says 2011 proved to be a good year for Enviro-Log. “We set a record in 2011 for the number of logs shipped and we’re looking for a better year yet in 2012.”

Through its partnerships, waxed OCC is routed to Enviro-Log’s manufacturing facility in Fitzgerald, Ga. In some cases, the 100 percent recycled-content product is sold by the same retailers who supply waxed OCC. The company says its closed-loop experience makes for a fast and easy program that allows retail partners to see immediate financial benefits.

“Our recycling program offers a win-win for retailers,” says Ross McRoy, president of Enviro-Log. “Not only are we helping retailers significantly reduce their waste removal costs and improve their environmental impact, Enviro-Log provides value-added services to help retailers improve their sustainability and reach their carbon footprint goals.”

Enviro-Log bills itself as the largest waxed OCC recycler in North America and the third-largest producer of manufactured fireplace logs in the U.S. Enviro-Log products are sold by a number of U.S. retailers, including Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s, True Value and Rite Aid.

> PLASTICS

Coll Materials Expands Texas Operations
Coll Materials, headquartered in Zanesville, Ohio, has announced plans to open a second production line at its Waco, Texas, plant. The new line, expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2012, will give the plastics recycling company the capacity to produce about 200,000 Ecotrax railroad ties per year for Axion International.

In June 2011 Axion signed a contract manufacturing agreement that allowed Coll Materials to expand its operations in the Southwest while helping to service Axion’s growing customer base there.

Axion, New Providence, N.J., has developed technology that is used to produce 100 percent recycled plastic Ecotrax railroad ties and Struxure industrial building materials.

Brian Coll, CEO and president of Coll Materials, says, “Contract manufacturing has been a great avenue to supplement our recycling business.”

Axion CEO and President Steve Silverman says the expansion will allow the company to recycle up to 37 million pounds of plastic scrap per year.