Relevant material

When the Recycling Today Media Group, publisher of Recycling Today, launched its Paper Recycling Conference in 2000, paper was a prominent component of residential and commercial recycling streams. However, as paper generation has decreased and as more of the paper generated in office settings has been earmarked for destruction prior to recycling, traditional paper recycling operations have had to diversify their operations to remain competitive.

Meanwhile, material recovery facilities (MRFs) have been confronted with growing volumes of OCC (old corrugated containers) and declining volumes of ONP (old newspapers), as well as a widening stream of recyclables.

As a result, the Recycling Today Media Group has adjusted the focus of its Paper Recycling Conference, modifying the event’s name to better reflect its true scope.

The 2014 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, in partnership with the Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, will be Oct. 8-10, 2014, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.
 

Prominent plastics

The addition of the word “plastics” in the title of the conference reflects the growing prominence of plastic scrap collection, processing and trading in the business models of many recycling companies that also continue to focus on paper, according to the Recycling Today Media Group.

Balcones Resources, based in Austin, Texas, is one of many recycling companies across the nation that has recognized the advantages of accepting more materials in its MRFs, says company CEO Kerry Getter, who also is serving as one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference.

Balcones introduced plastics into its recycling stream nine years ago, Getter says. The commodity has gone from representing none of the company’s income to comprising 20 percent of Balcones’ monthly revenue. The company operates facilities in Austin and Dallas as well as in Little Rock, Arkansas, and processes nearly 10,000 tons of material monthly, including OCC, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), mixed plastics, glass, all types of paper and ferrous and nonferrous metals, Getter explains.

Getter says nearly any commercial customers the company deals with have “without exception” a plastic component to their business and, “If you’re not able to address their plastics needs, then you’re going to be at a disadvantage.”

He adds, “The paper industry over the past five years has been in turmoil and there’s less [paper] in the marketplace, whereas plastics recycling has been on the rise for anyone who participates in it; it’s becoming a greater focal point for most recyclers.”

Al Metauro, CEO of Cascades Recovery, Toronto, and COO of Green by Nature EPR, a British Columbia-based company that provides complete recovery and recycling services to its printed paper and packaging diversion clients, says he has observed scrap paper dealers recovering more materials in the past six years.

Another keynote speaker at the Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, Metauro says being on the recovery side of the industry helps Green by Nature EPR to better understand markets, and, therefore, the importance of accepting additional secondary commodities, such as plastics.

“Plastic is now what we are noticing as the next large volume available for recovery,” Metauro says, adding, “Not only because plastics are there but our business customers are demanding more material to be recovered.”

Metauro explains that as Green by Nature EPR and other companies in the industry are continuously handling materials beyond paper, “we need to know and understand what’s up-and-coming in those other material types, which allows us to offer better service of recovery.”

Even for businesses whose roots formed in plastics recycling, such as Reidsville, North Carolina-based Envision Plastics, exploring available recycling opportunities as the industry progresses is critical, says Envision Plastics Vice President Tamsin Ettefagh.

She describes how some MRFs are “tapped out” in terms of the materials they can recover in the residential stream, allowing the paper industry to expand into plastics while giving plastics recyclers the chance to also grow their markets.

“Our industry is contracting in some areas, and whenever you have that happen you have opportunities,” Ettefagh says.

She continues, “The paper recyclers need to expand in what they’re doing to survive and we do too; we’re both at the table for the same reason: We’re there to explore what our opportunities are.”
 

Packaging possibilities

The keynote session of the 2014 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference will focus on the future of the recycling and packaging industries. Led by Getter, Metauro and Ron Gonen, co-founder of the recycling initiative the Closed Loop Recycling Fund, the keynote session, “The Future of the Recycling and Packaging Industry,” from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8, addresses the push for sustainable packaging.

Ettefagh says that as plastics become cheaper in upcoming years, packaging modifications will include the use of more plastics and other changes, stressing the significance of this session.

Getter explains that there is pressure on the packaging industry to recycle its containers as more people strive to be landfill-free and aim for zero waste facilities.

“It’s a difficult objective to achieve unless you address some of the nontraditional recyclables that are out there,” Getter says of achieving zero waste. “People are making a lot of noise about certain packaging being a threat to the environment, and that’s something we deal with at our facilities on a weekly basis.”

Metauro describes how many producers want to head in the direction of turning any and all materials they collect into a usable end product, right from the point of manufacturing.

“The infrastructure we’re seeing coming to life is one where you are taking materials and finding positive end-of-life solutions for them,” Metauro says. “It’s natural because that’s the direction the industry is going,” he adds.
 

Export extras

The Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference begins at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8, with the workshop “Dealing with Claims and Rejections,” which is sure to be of interest to recyclers who are shipping their bales directly to recovered material consumers. In this session, Patty Norris of Federal International, St. Louis, analyzes how downgrades and rejections can cost companies thousands of dollars. Attendees will learn the steps they can take to lessen their chances of receiving a claim and how to respond when a consumer rejects or downgrades a shipment.

Ettefagh refers to China’s well-publicized Operation Green Fence initiative and how its changes governing imports of recyclables to that country are affecting paper and plastics recyclers alike.

“We thought it might be a short-term hiccup, and now we know it is a real long-term issue,” Ettefagh says of China’s implementation of Operation Green Fence.

She continues, “We have the perfect trifecta: The paper industry needs reasons to expand to survive as does the plastic industry, and we have the MRFs who have expanded to some degree by accepting other materials.”

Ettefagh says MRFs may not have markets for all of these additional materials.

“I think your conference has seen the opportunity to expand the conference for being the intellectual conduit,” she says of the Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference.

The issues related to exporting will be addressed in two additional sessions during the conference.

In “Financing for Export Shipments” from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8, Neal Weisenburger of Wells Fargo Bank describes what exporters need to be aware of when they conduct business overseas.

The conference wraps up with the session “Export Trends for Paper and Plastics” from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m., Friday, Oct. 10. Speakers Mike Di Placido of Khanna Paper Inc., headquartered in Amritsar, India, and Tom De Rue of Gemini Corp. N.V., based in Belgium, update attendees on the adjustments their companies have made to ship material to China since Operation Green Fence went into effect in February 2013 and whether they are developing business relationships in other regions, such as the Indian subcontinent and Latin America.
 

Current climate

The conference hosts workshops that explore several current trends affecting the recycling industry, from handling a growing variety of recyclables to helping customers achieve zero waste.

In the workshop scheduled from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., Oct. 8, “Renewable Energy and the Road to Zero Waste,” Mark Taylor, owner of Data Management Services, Thibodaux, Louisiana, discusses waste-to-energy strategies that can help customers of recycling firms reach zero waste.

Concurrent to this session, in the “Plastics from Electronics” workshop, Bill Long of Universal Scrap Metals (USM) Recycling, Chicago, will cover the steady stream of obsolete electronics that is producing a considerable amount of plastic scrap, some of it with strong end markets. Long reviews how to overcome hurdles in this market, including identifying and sorting the many types of plastics used by technology and consumer electronics OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).

In the session “Coping with Changing Requirements for MRFs,” from 8:30 to 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 10, panelists discuss the challenges of handling a half-dozen paper grades, several different grades of plastic and possibly electronics and other materials under one roof. Speakers include Calvin Tigchelaar of Resource Management Co., Chicago Ridge, Illinois; Ron Novas of Miami Waste Paper, Miami; Mark Neitzey of Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, Stamford, Connecticut; and Kelly Rooney of Advanced Disposal, Ponte Vedra, Florida. Jonathan Sloan of Canusa Hershman, Branford, Connecticut, moderates.
 

Commodities count

One of the highlights of the Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference is the “Mill Buyers Panel,” from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9. Moderated by Bill Moore of Atlanta-based Moore & Associates, a paper industry consulting group, the session features a panel of paper mill buyers—including Andrew Kern of Smurfit Kappa Group, Dublin; Chris Villano of Wausau Paper Towel & Tissue LLC, Mosinee, Wisconsin; Andrew Inneo, Resolute Forest Products, Montreal; and Jerry Donahue, Huhtamaki Inc., Espoo, Finland—who provide insights on quality requirements and demand trends at paper mills.

As transportation costs can make up a significant part of a recycling company’s overall expenses, panelists cover this issue in “Keeping a Lid on Transportation Costs,” from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Oct. 10. Speakers Sean Collins of DB Schenker, Boston; Allen Clifford of Mediterranean Shipping Co. (USA) Inc., New York; and Tim Voulopos of Cardinal Logistics, Concord, North Carolina, address how to effectively ship material, spelling out some of the current cost trends for the various modes of transportation. Joe Hummel of City Carton Recycling moderates.

Attendees get a better idea of “The Outlook for Plastics” in this session, which is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Thursday. Moderated by Ettefagh, speakers Ron Sherga of EcoStrate SFS, Arlington, Texas, and Jim Glauser of IHS Chemical, Englewood, Colorado, discuss the market opportunities for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) as well as the more challenging plastics, such as Nos. 3-7 bottles and mixed rigid plastics.
 

Face to face

Metauro says the in-person interaction at the event not only helps Cascades Recovery maintain its current business but also has brought the company new customers.

“You have to be face to face,” Metauro says of engaging with customers. “By attending this conference, you get to see what’s happening outside of your world. The situations and challenges we have may exist in many other areas, and in some cases we have found some positive solutions; if anything, there’s a discussion about it.”

Attendees can network in the exhibit hall, which features nearly 50 equipment and service suppliers to the industry.

At the conference, Metaurao says he interacts with suppliers who bring “new, emerging equipment,” while Ettefagh says Envision Plastics gained a couple of new suppliers at last year’s annual event.

In addition to the opening networking reception Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the exhibit hall hosts refreshment breaks, breakfasts and a lunch, providing attendees and exhibitors the opportunity to interact with one another.

Discounts for PSI members and for multiple attendees from the same company mean fees can start as low as $425 per person. For more information about the 2014 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, or to register for the event, visit www.RecyclingTodayEvents.com.

The author is an associate editor of Recycling Today and can be reached via email at mworkman@gie.net.