Newsworthy

> METALS

Schnitzer Steel Industries Posts Loss for Quarter
Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., based in Portland, Ore., has reported a loss for the fourth quarter of its 2012 fiscal year compared with a profit for the same time in 2011.

For the 2012 fiscal year, Schnitzer reported $3.3 billion in revenue compared with $3.5 billion in revenue for fiscal 2011. Despite the loss, the company says the fourth quarter financial results exceeded its expectations because of higher than anticipated operational performance in its metals recycling and auto parts businesses in August.

Schnitzer says its quarterly loss was caused by a rapid decline in selling prices at the beginning of the quarter, while the supply of scrap was constrained by weak growth in the U.S. gross domestic product. As a result, average inventory costs did not decline as quickly as cash purchase costs for raw materials, resulting in margin compression, according to Schnitzer. Average inventory costs adversely affected consolidated operating income by $30 million compared with the third quarter, with nearly two-thirds of this affecting the company’s metals recycling business.

Despite the loss, Schnitzer says it plans to seek ways to maximize the value of its metals recycling and auto parts businesses in 2013.

“In fiscal 2013, we will continue to focus on maximizing value through our growth strategy of expanding our metals recycling export platform and our auto parts business and enhancing performance through advanced technologies, operational synergies and continuous improvement initiatives,” says Tamara Lundgren, Schnitzer Steel CEO.

Schnitzer reports that its metals recycling business shipped 5.1 million tons of ferrous scrap and 629 million tons of nonferrous scrap for fiscal year 2012 while continuing to invest in its western Canada facilities. Schnitzer also says it is achieving higher nonferrous yields and delivering enhanced operational synergies.

The company’s auto parts business, which has 51 locations, generated an 11 percent operating margin on an aggregate of 339,000 cars purchased in 2012, while Schnitzer’s steel manufacturing business achieved slightly below break-even operating performance.

For the fourth quarter, Schnitzer reported ferrous sales volumes of 1.2 million tons, a 13 percent decrease from the prior quarter, primarily because of reduced raw material flow. Export customers accounted for 78 percent of total ferrous sales volumes in the fourth quarter, Schnitzer reports.

Demand softened in the export markets in early June, driving average ferrous net sales prices in the fourth quarter down $46 per ton, or 11 percent, from third quarter levels. Nonferrous prices decreased 7 percent in the fourth quarter sequentially primarily because of lower commodity prices, the company says.

Nonferrous scrap volumes increased by 10 percent to 169 million pounds from the prior quarter. The company attributes the upswing to increased shipments in August.

Operating margins during the fourth quarter were compressed by the significant negative impact from average inventory accounting as well as from the effects of falling commodity prices on sales and the seasonal impact of hot weather on admissions, Schnitzer says. Operating performance exceeded Schnitzer’s fourth quarter market outlook in light of higher than anticipated ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes, the company says.

> METALS

GM Releases Zero-Waste Blueprint
General Motors (GM), headquartered in Detroit, is offering a downloadable blueprint, available at http://media.gm.com/content/dam/Media/documents/US/Word/101912-Landfill-free-blueprint.docx, summarizing its process for making its plants and facilities landfill free. The document is intended to help companies of all sizes and across all industries reduce waste through reuse, recycling or energy recovery.

GM says it recycles 90 percent of its worldwide manufacturing waste and has 102 landfill-free facilities. The company is working to make 125 of its facilities landfill free by 2020.

Its goal is to recover all resources to their highest value by managing byproducts in an electronic tracking system. GM counts $1 billion in revenue annually from byproduct recycling and reuse.

“A landfill-free program requires investment,” says Mike Robinson, GM vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs. “It’s important to be patient as those upfront costs decrease in time, and recycling revenues will help offset them.”

When GM began its landfill-free program in the U.S., it invested $10 for every ton of waste reduced. The company says it has since reduced program costs by 92 percent and total waste generated by 62 percent.

Robinson says despite company size, “a landfill-free journey involves a long-term view, bottom-line focus, innovative thinking and ongoing collaboration.”

> PLASTICS

Plastic Bottle Recycling Sees Growth in 2011
Plastic bottle recycling by consumers increased by 45 million pounds, or 1.7 percent, in 2011 to more than 2.6 billion pounds for the year, according to figures released by the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), both of which are based in Washington, D.C. The recycling rate for plastic bottles held steady, inching up one-tenth of 1 percent to 28.9 percent for the year.

The full 2011 “National Postconsumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report” can be accessed at http://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Education-Resources/Publications/2011-National-Post- Consumer-Plastics-Bottle-Recycling-Report.pdf.

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles continue to make up more than 96 percent of the U.S. market for plastic bottles. However, according to the report, the pounds of HDPE bottles collected dipped slightly (1 percent) in 2011 to 973.9 million pounds, while the collection rate for HDPE held steady at 29.9 percent. Imports of postconsumer HDPE increased by 106 percent to 51.1 million pounds, which, combined with decreased collection and fallen exports, resulted in slightly higher production in U.S. reclamation plants, according to the report.

Data on PET recycling referenced in the report were separately funded and published by APR and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Sonoma, Calif. A separate report, titled “2011 Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity,” is available on APR’s website. (See related story on p. 18.)

This year’s survey also found that the recycling of PP (polypropylene) bottles rose to nearly 44 million pounds, an annual increase of nearly 24 percent, with 64 percent of that material processed domestically as PP rather than mixed with other resins. Although PP caps are widely collected for recycling in the United States, these data are included in a separate report on recycling nonbottle rigid plastics.

In 2011, interest in lighter weight packaging continued among manufacturers and retailers, resulting in the use of plastics in new bottle applications; however, market growth was largely offset by trends toward smaller bottles (e.g., concentrated detergents), lighter bottles and the sluggish economy.

Domestic processing of all recycled plastic bottles–including imported materials–rose 89 million pounds from 2010, according to the report.

“With reduced exports and increased imports of recovered bottles, plastic bottle recycling continues to be an international business with domestic companies competing effectively,” says Steve Alexander, executive director of APR. “Being diligent about recycling your plastic bottles is a simple way to strengthen our domestic plastics recycling industry while doing something good for the planet.”

The report verified that single-stream collection continues to grow, helping to boost household participation rates.

“Even with increased collection, demand for recycled plastics far outpaces supply,” says Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council. “We need everyone to do their part to get more plastics into the bin. The good news is that with so many communities adopting single-stream recycling, it has never been easier to recycle many types of plastics.”

Moore Recycling Associates Inc., Sonoma, surveyed reclaimers for the study.

> PLASTICS

NextLife to Open Plastic Recycling Plant in Arkansas
NextLife Asset Recovery Services, presently headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., has announced plans to open a new headquarters and processing facility in Rogers, Ark.

The company says it plans to invest more than $10 million and to hire 350 employees at the processing facility, which will recycle postconsumer plastics. According to the company, it already has secured agreements with several organizations to supply postconsumer plastic scrap.

NextLife says the high performance re-engineered sustainable resins produced at the plant can be customized for use in a wide variety of applications, including consumer products and food packaging.

“We are thrilled to be opening our third location and our second processing facility,” says Ron Whaley, president and CEO of NextLife. “We are excited to bring green jobs to Arkansas. I want to thank both the state and local officials who have made this day a reality.”

“NextLife brings together a growing clean-technology center with Arkansas’s strong tradition in manufacturing,” Gov.Mike Beebe says.

NextLife’s facility will collect and sort plastic scrap in what the company says will be the first of three phases for its growth plans in Arkansas. The second phase will establish production lines to turn the plastic scrap into recycled resins and the third phase will allow the company to establish joint ventures and manufacturing facilities with manufacturers of plastic goods.

The 200,000-square-foot building is in an industrial zone in northwest Arkansas.

NextLife Asset Recovery Services is a fully owned subsidiary of NextLife Enterprises LLC, which is headquartered in Boca Raton.

> PLASTICS

NAPCOR, APR Release Annual PET Recycling Report
The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Sonoma, Calif., and The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, D.C., have released the “2011 Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity.” According to the report, the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) container recycling rate in the United States held firm at 29.3 percent in 2011.

According to the two associations, the total volume of postconsumer PET bottles collected in the United States was the highest measured to date at 1.604 billion pounds; the total amount of recycled PET produced by U.S. reclaimers reached a high of 667 million pounds.

“We are pleased to see that PET collection increased in 2011, despite some challenges,” says Tom Busard, NAPCOR chairman and vice president of global procurement and material systems for Plastipak Packaging Inc. “United States reclaimers purchased a record 916 million pounds of postconsumer bottles in 2011, and 1.04 billion pounds of recycled PET went back into new product applications. These increases happened despite the effects of PET bottle lightweighting, which really played out this year to a greater extent than we’ve seen to date.” He adds, “The incidence of lighter bottles in the stream reflects manufacturers’ commitment to improving PET’s environmental footprint, but means additional handling for PET recyclers in the short term in order to produce the same weights.”

The end-use product categories included in the record use of recycled PET in 2011 are detailed in the report and reflect increases compared with 2010 in the sheet and film, food and beverage bottles, strapping and fiber end-use categories.

The report also includes, for the first time, the recycling rate for PET thermoformed, which stands at 45 million pounds in 2011.

“It’s gratifying to see PET thermoform recycling measured for the first time this year, and we feel the APR plays a key role here by providing Design for Recyclability guidelines that specifically address PET thermoform labels and adhesives,” says Bill O’Grady, APR chairman and vice president and general manager of Talco Plastics. “We encourage all plastic packaging decision makers to review the different guidelines posted on the APR website, www.plasticsrecycling.org, as we’re certainly pleased to see increases in PET bottles collected and reclaimed but we share the concern expressed in this year’s report about the impact of increasing contamination levels,” O’Grady adds.

This is the seventh year that NAPCOR and the APR have partnered to produce this report and the 17th year it’s been issued by NAPCOR in its current format. The report is available from the NAPCOR and APR websites, www.napcor.com and www.plasticsrecycling.org.

NAPCOR is the trade association for the PET plastic packaging industry in the United States and Canada. NAPCOR says it is dedicated to promoting the PET package, to overcoming hurdles to the successful recycling of PET and to communicating the attributes of the PET container as a sustainable package.

The APR is the national trade association representing companies that acquire, reprocess and sell the output of more than 90 percent of the postconsumer plastic processing capacity in North America.

> METALS

Liquidity Services Sells More Than 2 Billion Pounds of Scrap
Liquidity Services Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., has reported that it has surpassed the 2 billion pound milestone in selling scrap material to the public. The company works directly with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a host of municipal government agencies and Fortune 1000 companies to sell a range of unwanted materials and scrap metals.

Tom Burton, president of Liquidity Services’ Capital Assets Group, says, “Many of our clients, such as the DLA, Wal-Mart and hundreds of other Fortune 1000 organizations, are seriously committed to zero-waste initiatives, which depend on the creation of global marketplaces for the sale and reuse of a wide range of material and equipment. We are delighted that our global buyer base and online marketplaces, such as www.GovLiquidation.com, are contributing to these efforts and have enabled billions of pounds of scrap materials to be reused, repurposed and kept out of landfills.”

He continues, “We are proud to be a recognized leader in identifying, processing and preparing 20 to 30 million pounds of scrap materials for sale each month on behalf of our clients.

Our top priority for each sale continues to be maximizing efficiency and recovery value while adhering to safety, environmental and security compliance.”

The company topped the $2 billion level with the recent sale of 47.6 million pounds of recycled asphalt from roadways and runways at the Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. Liquidity Services says other recent notable scrap sales included 27 million pounds of scrap metal from decommissioned military aircraft; 1.4 million pounds of compost; a 747 jumbo jet sold for its 120,000 pounds of aluminum, steel and copper wiring; and the USS Long Beach Navy cruiser, sold for its 7.4 million pounds of base materials.

> MUNICIPAL

Recyclebank Tops List of 10 Venture-Backed Green Companies
Recyclebank, New York City, a company that rewards people with discounts and deals for recycling, has taken the top spot on The Wall Street Journal’s ranking of the Top 10 Green Companies. This is the third time Recyclebank has appeared on the list and the second time the company has ranked first.

The clean-tech ranking seeks to identify green companies with the greatest potential to succeed. Recyclebank tops the list among nine other U.S.-based venture-backed businesses in clean technology and was selected based on a process that reviewed the amount of capital raised in the past three years; executive teams’, managers’ and investors’ track records; percent change in its valuation in the past 12 months; and which company offers the best odds for success.

“The distinction by The Wall Street Journal for the second year in a row is an incredible testament to the measurable impact that Recyclebank has achieved,” CEO Jonathan Hsu says. “Receiving this recognition once was an honor; receiving it twice in such a short time period is humbling and inspiring at the same time.”

The recognition comes on the heels of what the company says is an incredible time of growth and business milestones. In October 2011, Recyclebank joined forces with Waste Management Inc. (WM), Houston, to bring its rewards-for-recycling program to more than 20 million WM customers. Also, through its partnership with SC Johnson on the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge, Recyclebank is joining with communities in all 50 states as they compete for the highest reported recycling participation rate during a six-month challenge, which kicked off in July.

> ELECTRONICS

Acme Electronics Recycling Achieves R2, ISO 14001 Certifications
Acme Electronics Recycling (AER), Galion, Ohio, has reported that it has received ISO 14001 and R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) certifications. The certifications require and assist in the implementation of worker health and safety, environmental management and security best practices.

“Acme Electronics Recycling is excited and honored to join the ranks of R2 certified e-recyclers,” Rodney Lewis, Acme compliance director, says. “We have always taken strides to perform to industry standards and best practices, and achieving R2 certification and third-party ISO 14001 certification has permitted us to take a step to the next level of e-recycling and has proven our commitment to our employees and customers to provide a safe and secure solution that is environmentally responsible. These certifications represent a process, rather than a goal, and the team at AER will continue to strive to improve.”

The company’s operation includes a high-capacity shredding process that uses a primary and a secondary shredder, an eddy-current separator, customized sorting stations and optical sorting. Acme also provides ITAM (IT asset management), proprietary product destruction and resource recovery services.

Acme Refining, based in Chicago, is Acme Electronics Recycling’s parent company. In addition to processing electronic scrap, Acme Refining processes nonferrous scrap from throughout the Midwest and provides document destruction and paper and cardboard recycling services.

> MUNICIPAL

Austin, Texas, Starts Multitenant Recycling Program
The city of Austin, Texas, has begun requiring owners of large multifamily apartment complexes and commercial office buildings in the city to provide recycling services for their customers, tenants and employees. The ordinance is part of the city’s plan to reach its zero-waste goal of diverting 90 percent of materials from landfills by 2040.

In the first year, the ordinance will affect multifamily apartments with more than 75 dwelling units and commercial office buildings larger than 100,000 square feet. The ordinance will be phased in over the next four years, requiring more than 4,500 properties to offer recycling services by October 2015, according to the city.

“The city of Austin collects recyclables primarily from residential units,” says Bob Gedert, the director of the Austin Resource Recovery department. “In order to get to zero waste, we need to work with commercial property owners to encourage recycling more and wasting less.”

Properties affected by the ordinance will be required to provide convenient access to recycling, collecting mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass bottles and jars, No. 1 (polyethylene terephthalate) and No. 2 (high-density polyethylene) plastic containers and aluminum cans, at minimum.

To help businesses maximize diversion, Austin Resource Recovery staff will provide free consulting for property owners, including on-site technical assessments and training.

In addition to recycling access, the city also is asking property owners to provide sufficient recycling capacity (dependent upon property type); informational signage in English and Spanish; annual education for tenants and employees; and to complete an annual Recycling Plan form.

> MUNICIPAL

Recycling Perks Adds Virginia City to Program
The city of Norfolk, Va., has joined the incentive program Recycling Perks, Chesapeake, Va. By recycling Norfolk residents can accumulate points to redeem at local restaurants and retailers.

“Our Recycling Perks program is designed to raise awareness, promote the benefits of recycling and encourage residents to support local businesses in the city of Norfolk and surrounding areas,” Bill Dempsey, Recycling Perks president, says. “We are excited to introduce Recycling Perks to the residents of Norfolk. The addition of Norfolk to our growing list of cities in Hampton Roads will allow us to have a significant impact on recycling rates in the region.”

Participating households earn points based on how often their recycling containers are placed at the curb for pickup. The points can be redeemed for various rewards at www.RecyclingPerks.com.

Launched in the spring of 2011, Recycling Perks is currently available to approximately 400,000 households.

> CERTIFICATION

Allan Co. Attains RIOS Certification
The recycling company Allan Co., headquartered in Baldwin Park, Calif., has announced that its corporate office and processing facility has been certified to the Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS). Allan Co. says the standard demonstrates its commitment to quality, environmental and health and safety management systems.

The Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) developed the standard, and certification is available from a number of independent third-party certification bodies (CBs) accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB). Designed for the recycling industry, RIOS includes operational and continual improvement elements also found in ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

> ELECTRONICS

Waste To Green Earns E-Stewards Certification
The Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN) has announced that Durham, N.C.-based Waste To Green LLC has become a certified e-Stewards recycler. Waste To Green is the first minority- and woman-owned company on the East Coast to achieve e-Stewards certification, BAN says.

Waste To Green founders Amritpal Chatha and Harpreet Cheema say they experienced firsthand the need for truly accountable electronics recyclers. While working for a major electronics manufacturer, Chatha, who holds a master’s degree in information security management, recognized the gap between new electronics entering the market and those being recycled.

Waste To Green President Harpreet Cheema likewise witnessed the problem while studying pollution in Indian slums. “There were piles of electronics stacked up everywhere,” Cheema says. “These slums were like mini electronic graveyards with young kids stripping copper wires from DVD players and broken leaded glass all over. I began to understand that those electronics made their way from the western world under the guise of reuse and recycling. I was certain that their original owners had no idea that this was the result of their best intentions to recycle.”

The e-Stewards Standard prohibits export of hazardous e-scrap and untested or nonworking electronics to developing countries and requires certification to the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard.

“The process of becoming a certified e-Stewards recycler provided powerful checkpoints around all essential electronic recycling business issues,” Cheema says. “In addition to qualifying that we’re sending all of our material to responsible final recovery operations, it also delved deeply into environmental, health, safety, data security and other essential business aspects. We wanted to achieve the gold standard of the electronics recycling industry, which is why we are proud to be a Certified e-Stewards Recycler.”

> METALS

Six Charged with Scrap Cargo Theft in Tennessee
The Tennessee Highway Patrol Criminal Investigations Division (THP-CID), along with the Marion County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Department, have charged six individuals for allegedly stealing tractor trailer loads of scrap metal cargo worth $1.8 million. The theft ring continued for more than two years, according to authorities.

According to the THP-CID, Jay Sanders and Gary Alto, who were employed by SCS Trucking, were responsible for hauling loads of scrap metal from a company in Ashland City, Tenn., to South Pittsburg, Tenn. The two allegedly devised a scheme in which they would pay off security guards at one plant and workers at another while diverting the shipments to Dodson Scrap Metal Yard, Whitwell, Tenn.

The owners of Dodson Scrap Metal Yard, Randall and Melissa Brown, allegedly did not document receiving the metal and hauled it on their own tractor trailer to an Alabama scrap metal dealer.

Those charged with theft of property of more than $250,000 include Sanders, Alto, the Browns, James King and Craig Meeks. Theft of more than $250,000 is a Class A felony in Tennessee, which carries a standard sentence of 15 to 25 years in prison.

“Cargo theft is a nationwide issue with a significant impact on the United States economy,” says Sergeant Matthew Minter with the THP-CID. “It is estimated that cargo crime accounts for a direct merchandise loss of $15 to $30 billion per year. Virtually all goods manufactured domestically and internationally are transported by truck and train within the continental U.S. Studies indicate that 80 percent of all cargo thefts are ‘inside jobs,’” Minter adds.

> NONFERROUS

Alcoa Names 2012 Top North American Scrap Suppliers
Alcoa, headquartered in Pittsburgh, has announced its top North American scrap suppliers for 2012. This is the eighth consecutive year Alcoa has honored its suppliers.

The company’s top 10 North American suppliers for 2012 are American Iron and Metal LP, Montreal; Atlas Metal & Iron Corp., Denver; Commercial Metals Co., Dallas; Jack Engle & Co., Los Angeles; Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Co., Holland, Mich.; Omnisource & Omnisource SE Corp., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lyman, S.C.; Service Aluminum Corp., Baltimore; Schupan & Sons Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich.; State Metal Industries, Camden, N.J.; and United Scrap Metal Inc., Cicero, Ill.

Gary Doughty, Alcoa North American scrap materials manager, says, “Working closely with suppliers and recognizing their efforts to deliver high-quality scrap in a safe and reliable manner continues to be an important component of our overall plan to continue to grow the usage of scrap into our locations.”

> METALS

SMM Sells Assets in Colorado, Stake in Metal Management Nashville
New York-based Sims Metal Management Ltd. (SMM), through its North American metals recycling division, has sold the assets of its Colorado facilities to Evraz Inc. N.A., the North American affiliate of global steel producer Evraz Group S.A. SMM continues to own the Utah facility, however.

SMM also sold its joint venture stake in Metal Management Nashville LLC and two small scrap yards in Bowling Green, Ky., and Owensboro, Ky., to its joint venture partner Houchens Industries. The Kentucky facilities operated under the name Southern Recycling.

Evraz is the main consumer of the scrap metal produced at the Colorado locations, which include a shredding yard in Denver and a full-service yard in Colorado Springs.

Evraz says the acquired scrap yards will become part of Evraz Recycling, a division of Evraz N.A.

Bob Kelman, SMM North America president, says, “We’re pleased that we have found the best fit for these two businesses and their valued employees. As we looked at our geographic footprint and the opportunities that await our company, it made sense for us to act decisively and redeploy precious capital to those markets with the greatest near- and long-term return and strategic characteristics, as evidenced by our recent acquisitions and by the formation of our new Gulf Coast and New England subregions.”

> METALS

AERC Recycling Partners with Firm to Reclaim Rare Earth Metals
AERC Recycling Solutions, Flanders, N.J., has signed a partnership agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. (GTP), Towanda, Pa., to recover rare earth metals from spent fluorescent lamps. The agreement allows for GTP to extract rare earth metals from fluorescent lamps and to identify new sources of rare earth metals.

AERC and GTP started working together in 2008 to develop a process to recover rare earth materials from fluorescent lamps. AERC’s mercury retort process enables GTP to gather samples of retorted phosphor powder. Fluorescent lamps require mercury in conjunction with phosphor powder to create light. However, the mercury must be removed prior to recovering the rare earth metals.

Andreas Lackner, president and CEO of GTP, says, “GTP is pleased to be working with AERC to take the recycling of fluorescent lamps further. The recycling of rare earth metals found in used fluorescent lamps will help GTP minimize the uncertainty surrounding the supply of these critical materials. Like AERC, GTP understands that in addition to being good for the environment, recycling is also good for business.”

Lindsay Kissel, vice president of sales for AERC, adds, “We are always looking for ways to improve our processes, recycle more efficiently and find new uses for our recycled materials. The recovery of the rare earth metals is one more way to lead the way with best practices in the industry and contribute to the reuse of rare materials.”

In addition to its Towanda facility, GTP operates a manufacturing facility in Bruntal, Czech Republic.

AERC operates five R2/RIOS (Responsible Recycling Practices/Recycling Industry Operating Standard) certified facilities. They are located in Allentown, Pa; Ashland, Va.; West Melbourne, Fla.; Houston; and Hayward, Calif.

> TIRES

Rubberized Asphalt Foundation Develops Online Library
The Rubberized Asphalt Foundation (RAF), Chevy Chase, Md., a research foundation that promotes the science and practical use of recycled tire rubber in asphalt pavements, is developing a clearinghouse for rubberized asphalt research and documentation. In addition to original research, the foundation is soliciting material from academics and industry experts whose work includes the study of rubberized asphalt materials and processes.

“A large amount of information already exists but is languishing without an organized, centralized archive,” George Way, RAF chairman, says. “Creating an online library ensures universal access to vital data and will serve to increase our collective knowledge of rubberized asphalt,” he adds.

RAF is gathering project profiles, studies, specifications and other data valuable to professionals exploring or deciding on the use of recycled rubber in asphalt pavements. The foundation says its searchable online database is catalogued for usability and updated with the latest developments in rubberized asphalt technologies and processes.

Papers for RAF’s online library can be submitted by contacting Professor Walaa Mogawer at editor@ra-foundation.org. Submissions for consideration elsewhere on RAF’s website may be sent to Elizabeth Dempsey Becker at ebecker@ra-foundation.org. More information is available at www.ra-foundation.org.

> ELECTRONICS

USPS Expands Electronics Recycling Program
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has expanded its electronics recycling program to 3,100 retail locations

“The U.S. Postal Service is making recycling your old cell phone quicker and easier than ever before,” says Gary Reblin, vice president of domestic products with the USPS.

The USPS will work with MaxBack, an electronics recycling company that buys back and recycled electronics.

If MaxBack does not offer money for a device, free envelopes will be available at participating USPS locations to make it easy for customers to ship used small electronics (cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, digital cameras or used ink jet cartridges) for recycling.

Cell phones and electronics that are damaged and unusable are remanufactured or recycled by MaxBack’s parent company, Environmental Reclamation Services (ERS), a reverse-logistics company owned by Clover Technologies Group Inc. ERS, headquartered in Erie, Pa., provides recycling services for printer cartridges and small electronics.

USPS Chief Sustainability Officer Thomas Day says, “Our network infrastructure and logistical capability to deliver to every residence and business in the U.S. make the Postal Service a logical partner with a premiere recycler like MaxBack.com to maximize this green initiative.”

More information is available at www.usps.com/ship/recycle-through-usps.htm.