Newsworthy

MUNICIPAL

Mixed waste processing could increase recycling and waste diversion rates

A new report that looks at processing mixed waste to extract recyclables finds potential to significantly increase recycling rates for certain materials and diversion rates for municipal solid waste (MSW) in general, primarily because of improvements in processing technologies, such as optical sensors that can identify and separate specific plastics.

The report, “The Evolution of Mixed Waste Processing Facilities, 1970-Today,” by Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB) of Fairfax, Virginia, notes that mixed waste processing (MWP) facilities use a variety of new and existing technologies to separate recyclables from MSW.

In a review of evolving technologies, the study’s authors recount how MWP facilities initially were designed to capture high-energy elements from the waste stream for combustion-based energy recovery (also referred to as waste to energy). However, today MWP is attracting renewed interest as a means to boost recycling rates. This is important because even after many residents have separated their recyclables, the average MSW stream may contain up to half of the total volume of recyclables and, in some cases, more.

Technological advances make today’s MWP facilities “different and in many respects better” than older versions, the report’s authors say, which could enable communities to recycle at much higher rates than under existing collection systems.

The authors conclude, “Based on its roots in single-stream sortation, today’s MWP technology appears promising. The results in terms of outputs, net revenue and reduced collection costs could be attractive for some communities. The combination of recycling with energy recovery for nonrecycled materials is an excellent approach to managing postuse materials more sustainably.”

The authors also suggest that coupling MWP facilities with existing large material recovery facilities (MRFs) could help communities increase diversion rates.

The Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Washington, commissioned the report.

 

METALS

Total Merchant Ltd. to purchase Metalico

The board of directors for Cranford, New Jersey-based Metalico Inc., which operates scrap metal recycling facilities primarily in the eastern Great Lakes corridor, has agreed to sell the company to Total Merchant Ltd. for a purchase price of nearly $87 million.

According to a news release issued by Metalico, the all-cash deal includes a payment of 60 cents to Metalico’s stockholders for each share of the company’s common stock they own as of the closing date. The price includes roughly $44 million for Metalico’s outstanding equity; the cost of retiring the company’s primary term and institutional senior and convertible debt, estimated at approximately $45 million; and the assumption of approximately $16 million of additional debt as of June 15, 2015.

Total Merchant is an investment vehicle seeking opportunities in the U.S. metals and commodities market. It is controlled by Chung Sheng Huang, the chairman of the board and managing director of Ye Chiu Group, a leading recycler and producer of aluminum and aluminum alloys and a prominent Asian scrap metal recycler with facilities in China and Malaysia.

Metalico says, according to the merger agreement, a subsidiary of Total Merchant will merge with Metalico, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Total Merchant.

The merger is subject to certain closing conditions, including approval of the merger agreement by holders of a majority of Metalico’s outstanding common stock and other customary conditions. However, no regulatory approval is required, the company says.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015; however, the dates for Metalico’s stockholder meeting to vote on the agreement and for closing the merger have not yet been determined. The merger agreement has a termination date of Sept. 21, 2015, however, and Metalico says it has agreed with its senior lenders that the deal should be completed by Aug. 31, 2015.

Under the terms of the agreement, Metalico says it has agreed not to solicit alternative proposals for acquisition. However, Metalico can consider unsolicited proposals pursuant to the exercise of its board of directors’ fiduciary duties, with Total Merchant having customary rights to match any proposal.

If Metalico terminates the deal to accept a different proposal, it would be required to pay Total Merchant a termination fee of roughly $2.2 million (corresponding to 3.6 percent of the value of the fully diluted equity). In addition, Total Merchant has agreed to a penalty of just over $3 million (corresponding to 5 percent of the fully diluted equity) if it fails to close the transaction, assuming all closing conditions have been satisfied.

Metalico’s investment bank, Gordian Group LLC, in-house counsel and Lowenstein Sandler LLP are advising the company on the transaction, while Total Merchant’s counsel, K&L Gates LLP, and RPA Advisors, are advising that company.

Metalico and its subsidiaries operate ferrous and nonferrous recycling facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey and Mississippi.

 

MUNICIPAL, COMMERCIAL

Canada Fibers introduces Urban Resource Group Inc.

Canada Fibers Ltd., Toronto, has introduced its affiliate company, Urban Resource Group Inc., which will produce high-quality products from solid waste. Canada Fibers’ solid waste recovery operations include four material recovery facilities (MRFs) in Ontario and two large commercial recovery facilities.

Urban Resource Group has entered into agreements to acquire three companies, which will expand the portfolio of products and services available to Canada Fibers’ growing customer base, the company reports. Urban Resource Group recently entered into agreements to purchase Ecowood Ltd. and All Waste Removal Inc. Both of these purchases are expected to close during July 2015, according to the company. The third acquisition involves the assets of a manufacturer of wooden fuel pellets, which was completed earlier this year.

Ecowood produces and sells architectural garden mulch products from postindustrial wood. Sold through leading home improvement retail chains as well as through garden centers, Ecowood’s products are well-known across Canada. Over time, Ecowood will be rebranded as Urban Garden Products, according to Canada Fibers.

All Waste provides waste management services to industrial, commercial and institutional organizations and will play an important role in obtaining materials for Canada Fibers recovery and recycling business units. All Waste has begun the process of rebranding its activities as Urban Waste Recycling.

The wooden fuel pellet operation Canada Fibers acquired earlier this year produces wooden fuel pellets from postindustrial wood materials. This product line will be sold through leading home improvement chain stores in Canada as well as through distributors in the U.S. Over time, these products will be branded Urban Biofuels.

“Creation of Urban Resource Group represents another bold step for Canada Fibers,” says Canada Fibers CEO Joe Miranda. “Our expanding group is increasingly positioned to provide complete and creative solutions for its customers. We continue to explore ways that we can help our customers derive value from their discarded products.”

Canada Fibers also recently introduced a waste audit and advisory practice and launched Urban Polymers, which produces polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flake from postconsumer beverage bottles and highly formulated polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) compounds in pellet form from postconsumer and postindustrial scrap.

 

MUNICIPAL, ELECTRONICS

EPA report shows progress in consumer electronics recycling

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its “Advancing Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Facts and Figures” report (formerly known as the “MSW Characterization Report”), showing progress in consumer electronics recycling in the United States.

Consumer electronics recycling increased from 30.6 percent in 2012 to 40.4 percent in 2013, the same year EPA launched the SMM Electronics Challenge to promote responsible donation and recycling of used electronics, the agency says.

In June, the EPA notes, the G7 (Group of Seven, which comprises the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) committed to ambitious action to advance the efficient use of natural resources throughout their life cycle.

“For the first time, the leaders of the G7 have officially recognized the importance of the link between materials recovery and the global economy and established the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency,” says Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “Building on the progress on sustainable materials management, EPA is engaging the business, government and NGO (nongovernmental organizations) sectors to leverage this new report and G7 declaration to identify and act on opportunities for resource efficiency.”

MUNICIPAL

Waste Management sells Des Moines, Iowa, MRF

Waste Management (WM), headquartered in Houston, has sold its Des Moines, Iowa, material recovery facility (MRF) to a group of recycling industry veterans, several of whom formerly were members of the management team of Mid America Recycling, including Michael “Mick” Barry and Brian Meng. The Des Moines MRF will operate under the Mid America Recycling name.

Barry and Meng were part of the original team that owned Mid America Recycling from 1979 to 2007, at which time the company was sold to Greenstar Recycling of Houston. That sale included numerous facilities in nine states. (Waste Management purchased Greenstar Recycling in 2013.)

Barry serves as president of the newly revived Mid America Recycling. In addition to Barry and Meng, the business is co-owned by Kelley McReynolds, vice president and general manager, and Scott Emery, general manager.

“We feel that now is the right time to re-enter the recycling market in the Des Moines area,” Barry says. “My business partner, Brian Meng, and I will utilize our experience, resources and intellectual capital to ensure that Mid America Recycling will return to the forefront of the recycling industry in the central United States.”

He says the MRF processes 10,000 tons of material monthly, including beverage containers collected through Iowa’s deposit program; curbside single-stream recyclables from central Iowa; and commercial recyclables from throughout the state.

The Des Moines MRF is the second such facility the management group has acquired over the last year. The team purchased Midland Recycling of Lincoln, Nebraska, from a private equity group in April 2014. That MRF also was part of the Mid America umbrella when it was purchased by Greenstar in 2007.

 

METALS

Metallix acquires North Carolina facility

Metallix Refining Inc., a precious metals recycling company based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, has purchased a precious metals recycling facility in Maxton, North Carolina, from Brussels-based Umicore. The state-of-the-art scrap catalytic convertor processing facility was built four years ago and will allow Metallix to significantly increase its catalytic converter recycling capacity, the company says.

The Maxton facility can process 4 million pounds of ceramic converters annually. It also is one of few locations in the world with a PGM (platinum group metals) recycling process for metal foil converters with the ability to process 3.5 million pounds per year.

This new facility complements Metallix’s existing refinery in Greenville, North Carolina, that recycles and refines other types of precious metals scrap from the electronics, jewelry and specialty chemicals industries.

Metallix says it will retain the majority of the site’s employees in an effort to ensure a seamless transition and ensure maximum near- and long-term growth.

Eric Leiner, CEO of Metallix Refining, says, “We’re excited to own and operate this state-of-the-art auto catalyst recycling facility. This acquisition gives Metallix another opportunity to better serve the precious metals recycling market. Our business model and advanced technology makes investments like this possible. The Maxton facility will support our future PGM Pipeline endeavors as well.”

Metallix’s PGM Pipeline recycling program is a strategic alliance of companies that refine and recycle PGM metals.

LEGISLATION & REGULATIONS

President Obama signs Trade Promotion Authority legislation

President Obama has signed the bill designed to revive “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The measure passed the House June 12, 2015, and the Senate June 24, 2015. The Trade Act of 2015 gives the president enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord.

According to a New York Times article, “With congressional support for ‘fast track’ authority, the president can press for final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a legacy-defining accord linking 40 percent of the world’s economy—from Canada and Chile to Japan and Australia—in a web of rules governing Pacific commerce. His administration can also bear down on a second agreement with Europe—known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—knowing that lawmakers will be able to vote for or against those agreements but will not be able to amend or filibuster them.”

The article says the two accords “would put much of the globe under the same trade rules, not only lowering tariffs and other import barriers but also creating new standards for Internet access, intellectual property and investor protections.”

Senate leaders added a provision that allows faster action against foreign competitors that are found to be “dumping” steel and other products in the United States at artificially low prices, the article notes.

Responding to Senate passage of the Trade Act of 2015, the Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman, says, “International commerce is vital to the pulp, paper, packaging and wood products industry. … Either by direct or indirect exports, our industry will benefit by opening new international markets and breaking down foreign trade barriers.”

Mario Longhi, CEO of U.S. Steel, Pittsburgh, also acknowledged the legislation, saying it will help protect steel industry jobs in the U.S. “This legislation will open new markets for American goods and services but also clarifies the injury standard in dumping and counterveiling duties cases to better protect our workers and companies from the harm of unfairly traded products,” he says.

 

INTERNATIONAL, LEGISLATION & REGULATIONS, METALS

BIR welcomes India’s latest scrap metals import provision

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, has issued a statement applauding the latest provisions issued by India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) with regard to self-certification of imported, processed scrap metals.

The BIR, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), Washington, and the Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI), Mumbai, had contacted Indian government ministries to ask that appropriately equipped scrap yards be permitted to self-certify the quality and safety of their processed scrap metals.

As a result, the BIR reports, India’s DGFT in late June 2015 issued Public Notice 23/2015-20, adding requirements for those recyclers seeking to self-certify exports of processed scrap metals.

In its statement, the BIR says it welcomes the changes while also pointing out that three written guarantees are now required.

The eligible categories of processed metallic scrap include shredded, cut sheared and rotor sheared; briquetted, baled and bundled; and turnings, borings, granules and nodules.

According to the DGFT public notice, the exporting scrap company wishing to self-certify must complete its own “Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate,” while the importer has to complete a “Self-Declaration cum Legal Undertaking” and provide a bank guarantee.

Furthermore, the importer must provide a copy of the contract, with the exporter giving certain guarantees and agreeing to take back material in case any explosive or radioactive material is found upon the shipment’s arrival in India. The notice also provides for penalties if the declaration given by the importer is found to be false or incorrect.

The scrap metal shipments are required to pass through the scanners/radiological detection equipment at the designated Indian customs ports of Cochin, Ennore, Goa, Haldia, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kolkata, New Mangalore, Tuticorin or Visakhapatnam.

MUNICIPAL, PAPER

Pratt opens two recycling facilities in Midwest

Pratt Industries, Conyers, Georgia, officially has opened recycling facilities in Gary, Indiana, and Wichita, Kansas. Both facilities have been designed to support Pratt’s new paper mill in Valparaiso, Indiana, which the company says will come online in September 2015.

The 110,000-square-foot plant in Gary and the 38,000-square-foot plant in Wichita are the company’s 16th and 17th recycling plants. Combined, they will be able to process more than 120,000 tons of recyclables, primarily recovered paper but also some metal and plastics, annually.

“The Midwest has long been a strong area for Pratt’s converting operations with nearly a dozen corrugated box and display factories, including our Valparaiso box plant, which happens to be the largest box plant in the world,” says Myles Cohen, president of Pratt Recycling. “Now, with the upcoming addition of our fourth, 100-percent-recycled paper mill, adding recycling assets and infrastructure is the next logical expansion strategy for us.”

He continues, “As an integrated paper and packaging company, the addition of recycling plants allows us to fully close the loop for our customers. Not only do we manufacture the paper required to make their packaging and then convert it into boxes and point-of-purchase displays, but now we can become their recycling provider as well.”

Cohen says Pratt plans to expand staffing at both recycling centers as volume increases. Currently, 30 people are employed across the two sites.

The Gary facility, which will process more than 70,000 tons of recyclables annually, is the company’s first in Indiana. Cohen says Pratt chose the city because of its proximity to the company’s new mill and the greater Chicago area and because of its access to transportation.

Among other equipment, Pratt has installed dual shredders at the plant to process approximately 2,000 tons of used books monthly.

The Wichita plant replaces an older facility that the company outgrew.

Both facilities will serve the recycling needs of businesses within a 100-mile radius of each plant.

These recycling facilities and the new mill in Indiana build on other investments Pratt has made in the Midwest. Late last year the company opened a box plant in Lewisburg, Ohio, and recently broke ground on a box plant in Beloit, Wisconsin.

 

PLASTICS

Plastic Revolutions expands processing capabilities

Plastic Revolutions, Reidsville, North Carolina, has added equipment to process mixed rigid plastics. Since February 2015 the company says it has been processing 5 tons of this material per hour.

When a European company needed 20 million to 30 million pounds of ground mixed plastics per year for its U.S. operations, Plastic Revolutions decided to expand its processing capabilities to fulfill this need, adding a processing line from Vecoplan LLC, Archdale, North Carolina.

Plastic Revolutions Plant Manager Dee Pyrtle and Plant Engineer Mike Blackwell helped to design the line, which includes conveyors capable of transporting entire bales through the process and a shredder capable of handling metals.

The shredder reduces incoming material to 2-inch flakes, which travel by conveyor to a magnet system that extracts ferrous metal and then to an eddy current, which removes nonferrous metals. A conveyor then transports the plastic to a traditional grinder.

“This processing line will allow us to take more of the lower-grade mixed rigid bales than some of our competitors,” says Plastic Revolutions Vice President and General Manager Ed Handy. “It is good plastic if you can process it.”

John Hagan founded Plastic Revolutions in 1991. In the early 2000s, he began installing the company’s own processing equipment prototypes in the plastics washing line. Currently, Plastic Revolutions operates two washing lines that can handle 84 million pounds per year, six granulating lines with 110 million pounds of capacity per year and two extrusion pelletizing lines with 30 million pounds of capacity per year.

The company’s 300,000-square-foot plant also runs a wastewater pretreatment system.

METALS

ISRI updates scrap metal specifications

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has released its “Scrap Specifications Circular 2015,” which contains three amendments, two additional specifications and one deleted specification (rails, under the nonferrous category).

The first amendment affects 207/No. 1 Busheling under the ferrous specifications, while two amendments have been made under the nonferrous specifications and affect radio, or mixed hard/soft scrap lead, and relay, or lead-covered copper cable.

The following nonferrous specifications have been added:

• Vader – Sealed Units shall consist of whole steel cased compressors originating from condensers from air conditioner units, freezers, refrigerators or the like, containing a motor inside. Free of hazardous materials, including chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) or other refrigerants and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). No loose iron or extra iron attachments such as framework permitted.
• Darth – Ballasts (fluorescent) shall consist of whole and complete fluorescent light ballasts containing copper inside. Must not contain PCBs. Electronic ballasts subject to agreement between buyer and seller.
   

The updated specifications circular can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/1CLKnmf.