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September 2017

NERC’s Advisory Members

Distinguished Benefactors

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Benefactors

Coca-Cola

Samsung

Waste Management

Sustaining Members

  • Advanced Drainage Systems

  • American Beverage Association

  • Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)

  • Blount Fine Foods

  • BlueTriton Brands

  • Bulk Handling Systems

  • Casella Resource Solutions

  • CLYNK

  • Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc.

  • Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference

  • Eco-Products

  • Fire Rover, LLC

  • GDB International

  • Glass Packaging Institute

  • Henkel

  • Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)

  • International Bottled Water Association

  • Keep America Beautiful

  • Keurig Dr. Pepper

  • MRM

  • Nestle USA

  • NEWMOA

  • PaintCare

  • Plastics Industry Association

  • Re-TRAC

  • Recycling Partnership

  • Republic Services

  • Reverse Logistics Group

  • Revolution

  • Serlin Haley

  • Sims Municipal Recycling

  • Sonoco

  • Strategic Materials

  • Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC)

  • TOMRA

  • US Composting Council (USCC)

A list of all the logos of our Sustaining Members can be found under Advisory Members

New & Renewing Memberships

New Sustaining Member

Renewing Supporting Members

NERC News

State Updates

Maryland

Massachusetts

New York

 Advisory Member News

Of General Interest

New & Renewing MembershipsMembership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. We are delighted to welcome a new Sustaining Member - Organix Solutions. Organix Solutions had been a Supporting Member for several years and has enhanced their membership to the Sustaining level. We also would like to thank renewing  Supporting Members: Addison County Solid Waste Management District, Vermont; Chittenden Solid Waste District, Vermont; City of Reading, Pennsylvania; Connecticut Recyclers Coalition; and Mott MacDonald.

To see a complete listing of NERC's Members and Supporters, as well as the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page.

The broad spectrum of interests represented by NERC's Advisory Members, Individual Supporters, and Board Members and their willingness to participate significantly contribute to the unique and important role that NERC plays in recycling in the region.

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director.

NERC News

Book Your Room Early for NERC’s Fall Conference & 30th Anniversary!

NERC’s Fall Conference and 30th Anniversary will be held at the Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst, Massachusetts.  This is a great historic venue that is sure to sell out quickly.  NERC’s block rate of $110 per night is a great deal, but is only available until September 11th.   If you’re interested in staying at the Lord Jeff, call in your reservation today at 413-256-8200 or 800-742-0358.

NERC Gathers Spectacular Speakers for its Fall Conference & 30th Anniversary!  November 13 - 14, Amherst, MA

The great line up of speakers for NERC’s Conference on November 13th – 14th are sure to deliver thought-provoking presentations and create in-depth discussions about some of recycling’s most relevant topics—Sustainable Materials Management Solutions, Changes to Brand Name Companies’ Recycling Involvement Over the Decades, Extended Producer Responsibility, Recycling Train the Trainers, Plastic Grocery Bag Recycling, State of C&D Recycling in the Northeast, Role of Reuse, and the Right To Repair. They include:

  • David Levine, American Sustainable Business Council
  • Shannon Davis, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
  • Liza Casella, Casella Waste Systems
  • Lisa Skumatz, Principal, Skumatz Economic Research Associates
  • Monique Oxender, Keurig Green Mountain
  • Kathleen Niesen, Pepsico
  • Resa Dimino, Resource Recycling Systems
  • Peter Cooke, Manomet
  • Megan Pryor, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
  • Ray Dube, Sustainability Manager, Coca Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England
  • Tonya Randell, More Recycling
  • Sherill Baldwin, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
  • Jennie Romer, plasticbaglaws.org 
  • Kayla Montanya, New York Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Ted Siegler & Natalie Starr DSM Environmental Services
  • Mark Lennon, The Reuse Network
  • Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixit

Join us for the Conference and celebrate NERC's 30th Anniversary!

 GOLD SPONSORS 

MassDEP logoKEURIG LOGO

 CTA logo    panasonic logo samsung logo 

 

30th ANNIVERSARY PLATINUM SPONSOR

casella logo  

 

SILVER SPONSOR

NWRA logo 

 

BRONZE SPONSORS

  Re-TRAC_logo_final                  APR logo 2015

Organix Solutions Logo     ISRI logo

Recycling Today Logo    ResourceRecyclingLogoFramed

 For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC's Assistant Director & Conference Organizer.

Just One More Week to Apply for a NERC Sustainability Award - don't miss out

Through NERC’s new awards program you have an opportunity to be recognized for the impact that you have made on sustainable materials management. Nominations will be accepted through September 7, 2017 via an online application form.  Don't miss out!

Please consider nominating yourself or another worthy organization or individual.  There are three award categories:

  • NERC Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award

- Public sector
- Private sector
- Student or young professional – under 40 years of age 

  • Involvement in NERC

- Public sector
- Private sector

  • Greatest Impact from Collaboration with NERC

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, executive.director@nerc.org, 802-254-3636. 

New NERC Board Member from Maine

Long-time NERC Board Member from Maine, George MacDonald, has stepped down from the Board and Megan Pryor has been appointed in his stead. Megan is an Environmental Specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, where she oversees and administers the paint, mercury thermostat, and mercury lamp product stewardship programs.  Megan provides outreach, education, and technical assistance, working with municipalities and businesses to meet specific situational Megan Pryor photoneeds in waste reduction and recycling efforts.

Megan is currently pursuing a Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Development at the Muskie School of Public Service. Megan graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern Maine with a BA in Environmental Planning and Policy, where she discovered her passion for working on sustainable materials management.

NERC's Board and staff wish express their tremendous thanks and appreciation to George for his outstanding engagement and leadership over the years. 

Vice President of NERC Board Elected - Kaley Laleker of Maryland

Kaley Laleker of the Maryland Department of the Environment (the Department) has been elected as the NERC Vice President ofKaley Laleker photo the Board for fiscal year 2017.  Kaley is the Deputy Director of the Land Management Administration at the Department. The Land Management Administration includes the Solid Waste, Resource Management, Oil Control, Lead Poisoning Prevention, Mining, and Land Restoration Programs. Kaley formerly worked in the Resource Management Program, primarily on composting and other recycling issues, and in the Director’s Office on regulations, legislation, and other issues affecting the Land Management Administration's work. She has a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and has been with the Department for 5 years. 

Ex Officio Board Members Re-Appointed

Ex Officio Board Members, Chaz Miller and Chip Foley, have been re-elected to one year terms on the NERC Board.  This will be their third year of serving on the Board.

Chip Foley photoWalter J. “Chip” Foley, a graduate of Penn State, started his career with the Federal Election Commission in 1976.  He got his true start in public policy by serving over 7 years on the personal staff of Pa Governor Dick Thornburgh’s Washington office working on agriculture, military, insurance and environmental issues.  In 1988 he became the first director of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors’ Source Reduction Council.  That position led to his recruitment by the steel industry to open a Washington D.C. office for the Steel Can Recycling Institute (eventually becoming the Steel Recycling Institute).  Chip continued in that position as Vice President - - promoting the recyclability and recycled content of steel to decision makers.  In addition, he held the position of Director of Public Policy for the American Iron and Steel Institute’s Steel Market Development Institute.  He was an advisory member of the Northeast Recycling Council, past Chair of the industry sector of the National Lt. Governors Association, and Vice President for public policy on the Board for the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships.  Chip retired from the steel industry in May, 2014.  Chip continues to be a contributor to the on-going work of the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse and the Northeast Recycling Council.  Chip is also a member of the Titanic Historical Society.

Chaz Miller worked for EPA’s solid waste office doing recycling and other waste-related work.  After a stint at the GlassChaz Miller photo Packaging Institute, he came to NSWMA in 1991.  He has worked on a variety of issues facing recycling waste waste management including market development, state recycling legislation, extended producer responsibility, flow control, interstate and international waste shipments, truck safety, transfer station siting and organics management.  He has testified at state and Congressional hearings.   Chaz has been a keynoter and speaker at recycling and solid waste conferences in the United States, Canada, Japan and China.  He writes “The Circular File”, an award-winning column for Waste 360

30 Years Invested in Recycling Market Development

Since its inception in 1987, NERC has worked on many regional and national projects specifically addressing recycling market development. NERC is well-known for its work on specific recycled materials, including paper, electronics, and organics.

During its first 15 years, NERC worked on front end issues, assisting in the development of recycling material markets and providing assistance to recycling entrepreneurs. Some of this work included: working with national industry associations to incorporate recycled materials in feedstock, as a strategy for ensuring demand for recycled materials; educating financiers and economic developers about the viability of recycling businesses and how commodity markets work, in order to increase their acceptance of a nascent industry; and providing direct technical assistance to recycling entrepreneurs, while preparing them for approaching financiers for capital funding.

During the past 15 years, NERC’s focus has targeted the back end issue of increasing recycling collection.  This has involved assisting states, towns, businesses, and schools with increasing recycling rates, by setting up and re-defining collection programs.  This work has also included conducting pilot collection programs, providing trainings, and developing numerous resource materials (available on NERC’s website).  In the past 5 years, NERC also began working on reuse issues.

Below is a chronological listing of highlights of NERC’s work on recycling market development projects and initiatives:

2017

  • New Hampshire Solid Waste Operator Training Program Workshops
  • Understanding the Electronics Reuse & Recycling Industries - building electronics collection infrastructure at transfer stations.
  • Compost Quality & Marketing – increasing organics processing infrastructure at the municipal level.
  • Blog Article: Food Waste Diversion Sen$e

2016

  • Innovative Strategies & Best Management Practices for Implementing Reuse Programs in Rural Communities in New York State & the St. Regis Mohawk Nation – technical assistance for increasing the reuse infrastructure in rural communities, including: reuse program planning, creating jobs, and developing new economic resources for rural communities.
  • New Hampshire Solid Waste Operator Training Program Workshop
  • Textiles Reuse and Recycling - building collections Infrastructure for
  • Blog Articles:

2014

Rural and Small Town Organics Management – developed best management practices for organics collection and management in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

2013

Marketing On-Farm Compost for Sustainability and Economic Viability – technical assistance to support farmers in marketing of compost in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. 

2012

New York State's Recycling Markets Database – developed and maintained database of reuse and recycling businesses servicing New York and contiguous states.

2010

Diverting Special Event Food Waste to Commercial Composting – implemented five pilot projects at special events to demonstrate collection of food scraps for commercial composting Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont).

2009

Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study Update - updated the REI Study data for four of the Northeast states (Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania). More information about the original REI Study listed under the year 2000.

2008

Recycling Makes Sen$e – provided technical assistance and training to towns, schools, and businesses about re-defining their recycling collection programs to capture more recyclables (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

2007

Rural Special Event Waste Management – provided technical assistance, conducted waste audits, and developed a Best Management Practices Guidebook for Special Event-Generated Waste in Rural Communities.

2005

Materials Exchange Marketing Plan - developed a marketing plan for New England and New York Materials Exchanges to enable them to develop a no- or low-cost outreach program for diverting more materials to reuse.

2003

E-Waste Toolkit - a three-part resource for setting up electronics recycling programs, with sections about setting up electronics collections;  business plan guidance for new electronics recycling entrepreneurs;  and a compendium of state, federal and other resources for recycling business development, financing, technical assistance, and regulatory and compliance issues.

2002

Rural Electronics Collection Project – designed and implemented demonstration electronics collection programs in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

2001

Recycling Finance Seminars for Business Development Specialists - developed a one-day seminar for business service providers to prepare them for assisting recycling businesses in which they might invest.

2000

Recycling Economic Information Study - released the first Recycling Economic Information Study in the U.S., which provided baseline information about reuse and recycling industries in the Northeast states: the number of businesses per industry sector, employment levels and wages, and annual revenues. It was later followed by a national study prepared by the National Recycling Coalition.

1999

  • Northeast Recycling Investment Forum – Organized and presented the fourth and final Northeast Recycling Investment Forum in Boston. 43 recycling firms seeking equity presented their business plans to 93 investors in Investment Forums held from 1996–1999. 35% of the presenting businesses received a total of $20.14 million; the businesses created or retained 221 jobs; and the businesses increased the amount of recycled materials used in processing or manufacturing new products by 181,291 tons/year.
  • Newspaper Publishers’ Purchasing Commitments – completed and publicized the Northeast Newspaper Recycling Task Force’s Final Report, with recommendations for using recycled-content newsprint in newspapers in the Northeast.

1998

  • Recycling Investment Forum –organized and presented the third Northeast Recycling Investment Forum in Philadelphia.
  • Recycling Business Financing Seminars – developed and conducted a series of one-day workshops about the financing options available to recycling entrepreneurs. (Worcester, MA; Liverpool, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Newspaper Publishers’ Purchasing Commitments - convened meetings with state recycling officials, representatives of the newsprint recycling industry, and newspaper publishers to spur investment in the facilities needed to recycle of millions of tons of old newspapers.

1997

  • Recycling Investment Forum – Organized and presented the second Northeast Recycling Investment Forum in New York City.
  • Building a Viable Recycling Infrastructure for Discarded Printing and Writing Paper - piloted several approaches to encourage small businesses to expand paper recycling efforts.  Innovative models included a small business recycling consortium, working with several municipalities to develop recycling services to small businesses in Connecticut, and optimizing recycling by state offices throughout Rhode Island.

1996

  • Recycling Investment Forum – spearheaded the development of the Recycling Investment Forum (RIF) as a financing strategy to stimulate the growth of businesses processing or manufacturing products from recycled materials. The first RIF in the country was held in Boston.
  • Fostering Economic Development through Recycling – Conducted research into jobs in recycling and the amount of money generated by recycling industries, gathered feedback from economic developers and financiers on the barriers and opportunities for recycling businesses seeking financing, and conducted a series of state recycling economic development workshops. (Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey)
  •  Market Opportunity Forums – conducted a series of three Market Opportunity Forums to assist the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in developing infrastructure needed to collect and recycle undeliverable bulk business mail in all of its post offices, nationwide.
  •  Reports on Financial Transactions Supporting Recycling Businesses – surveyed paper stock dealers, plastics reclaimers, and compost producers to document unique issues affecting the financing of each industry sector.

1995

Old Newspaper and Old Magazine Supply Studydocumented the availability of feedstock to fuel new capacity for producing recycled-content newsprint.

1991

Yellow Page Publishers Association (YPPA) Environmental Action Plan – Assisted YPPA in developing the organization's Environmental Action Plan to reduce the environmental impacts of telephone directories.

Food Scraps Galore

In early August, NERC staff provided training on home and community composting of food scraps for the Bennington Community Garden in Bennington, Vermont. About a dozen gardeners participated in the program, which included a lecture and a hands-on demonstration of incorporating food scraps into small-scale compost systems. Composting training photo

NERC is also providing technical assistance and training to participants in a three-year pilot project to develop, monitor and evaluate small-scale, self-sustaining food scrap composting systems at community gardens in Vermont. The project was developed by the Composting Association of Vermont and the Vermont Community Garden Network, with funding from the High Meadows Fund and participating Vermont Solid Waste Districts. NERC staff conducted a site inspection and provided technical assistance at the Ludlow Community Garden’s kick-off of its food scraps composting project. A webinar Food scrap composting photowas also hosted with 33 participants; in September, a one-day training will be offered to anyone interested in learning more about community composting of food scraps. 

NERC Programs Manager Athena Lee Bradley joined Mark Hutchinson, Maine Extension Professor/Maine Compost School Instructor, as trainers for a two-day training for compost operators, held in early August. The training was organized by the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission. 

The training was held at Always Something Farm, a compost facility in Croydon, New Hampshire, with which NERC had previously worked in its Marketing On-Farm Compost for Sustainability and Economic Viability project. A lively group of 30 aspiring compost operators from around the region participated, including transfer station and solid waste district staff from New Hampshire and Vermont, an Assistant Extension Educator at University of Connecticut, and two start-up composters from Rhode Island.

Mark Hutchinson included great hands-on exercises from the Maine Compost School to test the newfounUVLSRPC training photod knowledge of participants, including some interesting feedstock to use in developing compost recipes.  

NERC also discussed worm composting with campers at One World Conservation Center in Bennington. The excited campers learned all about worms, vermicomposting, and how to harvest worm castings for use as soil amendment.

NERC’s work on these exciting activities is funded through a USDA grant.

State Updates

Maryland

New Maryland Department of the Environment Study oMaryland Waste Sort Study photon Marylander's Waste Habits

A new study commissioned by Maryland Department of the Environment found that nearly 70% of materials sent to landfills could be composted or recycled.

READ THE REPORT. 

Massachusetts

Massachusetts’ Environmental Agencies Launch Innovative Online Data Information & Public Access System

System Delivers Online Permitting, Greater Data Accessibility, and Government Transparency

The Baker-Polito Administration has launched the first phase of a transformative environmental data and public information access system. The new system will deliver online permitting, greater data accessibility, and provide increased transparency in state government operations for businesses and stakeholder groups across the Commonwealth and the public at-large. The Energy and Environmental Information and Public Access System (EIPAS) will provide the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and its agencies with a modern, digital platform to more efficiently and effectively execute its mission of protecting the Commonwealth’s environmental and energy resources. The first phase establishes online permitting for 30 permits, which includes many for air quality, hazardous waste, solid waste, Toxic Use Reduction, water supply, special use permits and pesticides.

“Providing timely environmental and energy permitting options for businesses and immediate public access to relevant state data and documents are important and responsive services for state government to provide,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “This new, innovative system will bolster those processes and make the public-private dynamic more interactive.”

“With technology rapidly evolving and improving, it is essential that governmental agencies keep up with the needs of the public,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “Importantly, the Energy and Environmental Information and Public Access System will enable finding environmental and energy information online in real time.”

EEA has implemented online permitting for some permits through EIPAS for three agencies: the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP); the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Pesticide Applicator Licenses; and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Special Use Permits (coming soon for the 2018 season). As part of the first phase, virtually all of MassDEP’s air quality permits can now be submitted online.

“The EIPAS initiative will update EEA’s existing legacy systems by replacing them with a highly functional and integrated online system,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “This is just the beginning of the process, as we plan to implement additional phases and agency permits over the next year that will continue to increase automation, improve citizen experiences, and increase governmental transparency.”

Through EIPAS, EEA and its agencies have also activated two public-facing online portals:

  • The Public Comment Portal allows citizens to access information on EEA and agency permit applications and final decisions, as well as to submit and view public comments pertaining to permit applications; and
  • The Information Data Portal’s initial release includes 20 years of MassDEP’s permit, inspection, facility and enforcement data, providing both data query and analytical dashboard capabilities.

“The online data portal is a ground-breaking initiative that provides a way to search MassDEP permitting, facility, inspection and enforcement data all at once,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “The portal allows traditional search capabilities and enables the user to link a specific permit back to a regulated facility and then to inspections or enforcement actions associated with that facility.”

“EIPAS is a tremendous, positive game-changer for one of MDAR's largest customer groups: licensed pesticide applicators,” said MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux. “With this system's introduction, our customers may now quickly and conveniently process essential licensing and examination transactions on-line, a vast improvement over the previous method.”

“The Energy and Environmental Information and Public Access System will truly benefit those seeking permits from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and other agencies by streamlining and simplifying the process,” said DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. “This new system is an excellent example of the Baker-Polito Administration’s priority to make state government more user friendly for businesses, the public, and other stakeholders.”

The initial phases of EIPAS are permitting and the online data portals. The permitting component of EIPAS is part of a larger Commonwealth-wide online permitting initiative, “ePLACE,” which stands for Permitting, Licensing, Authorizations, Certifications and Eligibility. When fully implemented, EIPAS will include features that support key regulatory business processes, including permitting, compliance and enforcement tracking, and online reporting.

The fully implemented EIPAS platform will provide benefits and value to citizens and the regulated community by growing the Commonwealth’s ability to:

  • Facilitate transparent sharing of data with citizens, regulated entities, energy and environmental professionals, and other public agencies;
  • Automate transactions with the regulated community through expanded online permitting and environmental reporting, resulting in streamlined interactions with EEA and its agencies; 
  • Enhance and streamline EEA agencies’ compliance and enforcement efforts through data-driven compliance strategies – automating manual compliance and enforcement processes; and
  • Enable EEA and its agencies to more quickly adapt their processes to evolving environmental issues.

                New York

CleanSweepNY Offers Chemical Waste Disposal

CleanSweepNYis a program that offers chemical waste disposal services to agricultural and non-agricultural entities such as farmers, owners of former farms, NYS certified pesticide applicators, landscapers, tree service providers, pest management companies, golf courses, cemeteries, marinas, and schools. Homeowners may not participate and are encouraged to take advantage of their Hazardous Household Waste collection programs.  The CleanSweepNY collection program also accepts for recycling triple-rinsed HDPE (#2) plastic pesticide containers.

Each container of unwanted or outdated pesticides or hazardous chemicals collected through this program helps to keep these materials out our conventional waste streams and landfills. Through proper disposal and recycling of these materials, CleanSweepNY is helping to preserve the quality of the state's natural resources, groundwater and surface water in particular.

The CleanSweepNY program was started in 2002 as a NYSDEC Environmental Benefit Project with a funding level at $2.2 million from three pesticide compliance cases.  Funding is administered by the Natural Heritage Trust while the program is administered by NYSDEC Central Office staff in Albany and regional staff across the state.

CleanSweepNY targets counties within each NYSDEC region with usually two collections per year, one in the spring and one in the fall.   Pre-registration is required.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, twenty-three collection programs have taken place across New York State with between two and five locations used during each collection program. 

CleanSweepNY is on its third cycle across New York State and has thus far collected for disposal over 1.73 million pounds of chemical wastes, over 5,000 plastic pesticide containers, and over 879 pounds of elemental mercury.

CleanSweepNY has provided these services to over 2,852 entities including 1,288 from the agricultural community and 1,564 from the non-agricultural community, which includes 586 laboratory chemical collections from schools across the state.

New York State Sustainability Efforts

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is reducing its environmental footprint by undertaking numerous sustainability projects each year. These projects, which range from diverting organics from landfills to reducing energy use, decrease DEC's impact on the environment, save money and provide examples of actions citizens can take to be more environmentally friendly and save money. “Being good stewards of New York's environment means limiting our impact on our natural resources," said Commissioner Basil Seggos. "Sustainability is a journey, not a destination, and the agency will continue this important work to ensure a better environment and future for all New Yorkers." For more details, go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/110755.html.

Advisory Member Updates

Keurig Announces New Target: 100% Recyclable K-Cup® Pods in Canada by End of 2018

June was a special month at Keurig Green Mountain (Keurig). On Tuesday, June 13, Keurig launched its twelfth annual Sustainability Report, showcasing Keurig’s efforts in local communities and across the globe, including environmental responsibility. The report reiterates that a top priority continues to be ensuring 100% of Keurig® K-Cup® pods are recyclable by the end of 2020. Then, on Tuesday, June 20, Keurig announced an additional target milestone: it aims to produce 100% recyclable K-Cup® pods in Canada by the end of 2018.

To celebrate the announcement, Keurig Canada’s President Stephane Glorieux kicked things off with a LinkedIn post, sharing the company’s commitment to brewing a better world by sourcing and making our products the right way, for the long-term. Excerpts include:

“We’re excited to offer Canadians a solution that works. In tests conducted with a number of recyclers across North America, we found that on average 90% of Keurig’s recyclable K-Cup® pods have the potential to be processed and captured in a recycling facility, a rate comparable to soft drink and water bottles.”

“We designed our recyclable K-Cup® pods with the end in mind. Keurig has been partnering with recyclers across North America for the past two years to ensure that our pods are valued and can easily travel from recycling bins at homes to recovery facilities to a useful second life as a new durable good. They’re made of polypropylene, a material that’s widely accepted for recycling in Canada, and yields a much higher market value to them because of the growing demand for that recovered material.”

Processing Shredder Fines - BHS Sonthofen

Assessing Opportunities

In processing shredder residue, whether from a small scrapyard or a multimillion-dollar car shredder, the integrated metal recovery systems utilized have moved on from a simple shredder and magnets to sophisticated systems that can include sorters (eddy and optical), rare earth magnets and air tables, to name a few.

In North America, the typical focus has been to increase the recovery of metals found in material greater than the ½” to 1” range. Now, many operators are interested in processing this ½” and smaller material.

The reason for this interest is due to:

  • China’s enforcement of Operation Green Fence
  • Efforts to improve cost-effectiveness by reducing landfill costs while recovering this formerly lost landfill material
  • Desire to capture the heavy non-ferrous metals (primary interest is the red metals)

While there are economic benefits to processing this material, its complex nature and intertwined (co-mingled) properties call for a different processing approach to those used in processing larger fraction sizes.

BHS has installed many systems for ½” to 1” material using the BHS rotary impact mill (RPMV model). To process material less than ½”, BHS has introduced and installed the RPMX rotary impact mill.

In Europe, our customers have found that the selling price of non-ferrous metals was significantly higher—an ROI of between 9 and 18 months has been achieved.

New Processing For Shredder Fines & Additional Benefits

The BHS Fines System is a two-stage process. The initial stage is a mechanical step that focuses on cleaning the metals and the separation of composite compounds.

The second stage focuses on the separation of the material into fractions with similar density properties. The Fines System can be operated as part of a new complete system or added to an existing metals recovery process. Alternatively, the Fines System can be operated as a stand-alone process, either at the same site or at a satellite location. For operators with multiple primary processing plants, a stand-alone system allows them to build a single system conveniently located to service multiple facilities.

Mechanical crushing

The BHS rotary impact mills (Models RPMV or RPMX) are the key to the recovery of the material. The model RPMV is for ½” to 1” input material and the model RPMX is for input material of ½” and less. Both units crush the brittle material (minerals, glass, etc.), liberate the complex composites and shape the non-ferrous material into balls. For the RPMV the output material ranges from 5 to 30 mm, and for the RPMX the range is 0 to 15 mm.

During the mechanical crushing stage, the input material—which is often dirty, long, flat and composite— is cleaned and balled, allowing for more efficient separation in subsequent processing stages. Non-ferrous output materials are cleaned and shaped into dense balls during the process, which is necessary for a clean separation from other materials in the downstream process.                                                                         

Each loaded batch is recirculated through the mill and “concentrated” to the required level of purity demanded by the end-user. Before each loop, light material and dust are separated out and discharged from the mill. This is necessary to ensure the machine has the maximum effect on the non-ferrous metals. The rotor speed, mill gap and the number of cycles are adjustable so that the process is optimized to each individual operator’s input material and desired end product requirement.

Stage 2 – Separation

After the last cycle in the rotor impact mill, the material passes to a surge hopper and onto a screening deck. The screen separates it into either three or four fractions (0 to 3 mm, 3 to 6 mm, 6 to 12 mm and greater than 12 mm). Screen cuts are chosen to ensure optimum density-specific recovery, with the fractions separated into “heavy” and “light” categories. The heavy material containing the metallic components is separated into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions using magnetic separators.

The non-ferrous metals are then immediately separated into heavy (copper, precious metals and brass, for example) and light (aluminum and zinc, for example) fractions. This ensures that all of the metals are cleanly separated into density-specific fractions during a single processing stage without having to be reintroduced to a previous process within the plant. Moreover, the plant also generates a light fraction that primarily consists of plastic pieces. This fraction is suitable for thermal utilization and does not need to be disposed of at landfills.

The design of the system allows for virtually continuous operation.  

Results & Economic Benefits

Operating systems are achieving throughputs as high as 11 tph of highly clean non-ferrous metals.  While every operation has its own financial picture, customers have reported an increase in the price per ton of material, allowing for an ROI ranging from 9 to 18 months.

Finally, the process is automated so that staffing is at a minimum. In a typical installation, only one employee is required to control and monitor the plant while another is required to devote half of their time to material handling.

Conclusions & BHS Testing Center of Excellence

The BHS Shredder Fines Processing System provides both economic and operating benefits, with the two-stage approach allowing for increased revenue resulting from the “balling” effect of the BHS mills and improved separation. There is also the added benefit of plastics recovery. The system has low manpower needs, so resources are not diverted from other areas of the site. Finally, the BHS testing center of excellence, shown in Figure 6, allows BHS to run your material and prove these results.

Full test reports—including economic justifications, production scale-up and detailed photographs—complete the report. The BHS approach to testing and idea generation provides clients with optimized process solutions for critical and difficult material conditioning and separations.

The BHS Fines treatment and separation plant can be used to increase the value and yields of recovered non-ferrous metals from a variety of fines feedstocks. These range from automotive shredder residues to materials such as WEEE recovery fines, incinerator ash fines and aluminum and waste shredder fines containing recoverable metals.

For additional information, please contact Peter G. Schirk - Sales Manager - Recycling Division.

Of General InterestRecycling Contamination Creates Extra Work for Everyone

Thursday is recycling day in my neighborhood. When I do my morning walk that day, I always see recycling bins in front of every house. I also occasionally see the wrong materials in those bins. These “contaminants” are creating a recycling problem.

Let’s face it, taking out the trash is simple. Everything goes out together because it has no further use. Taking out the recycling isn’t as simple. We have to remember what goes into which bin (or bins) to ensure that our recyclables have a further use. 

Sometimes we forget that recyclables are simply industrial raw materials. Manufacturers create specifications for those materials so that their suppliers will know what they need and what they won’t buy. Specifications for secondary raw materials (aka “recyclables”), describe both “contaminants” and “prohibitives.” The former can be tolerated to a minor degree. The latter cannot. By putting the wrong materials in the collection bins, people are creating extra work and problems for everyone in the recycling chain. 

From the very beginning, contamination has been a problem for curbside recycling. The first recycling bin was designed in the early 1970’s specifically to keep newspapers dry. Created for University City, Mo., the bin had one side that was longer than the other three sides. The idea was that if it was raining on collection day, the bin should be placed on its side with the long side on top to keep the paper dry. Back then (and still today), no one wanted to pay extra for water, especially when it also weakened the paper fiber. 

So what can be done to eliminate contamination? Education and enforcement are the usual suspects. We need to remind people why and how to recycle correctly. Moreover, when crews are collecting recyclables, they should not pick up contaminated recycling bins and instead leave some kind of notice about what went wrong. For anyone with much experience in recycling, this is not new.

But once again, the problem of contamination has shot to the forefront. China is tired of finding garbage in the bales of recyclables shipped to end markets in that country. As a result, the government wants to ban some paper and plastic recyclables from coming into China. This is a problem for American recyclers because Chinese manufacturers are some of their biggest customers. 

Losing Chinese markets would be a serious blow, but I think American recyclers will withstand this latest challenge. We have a reputation for shipping better recyclables than the Europeans and we have a strong incentive to improve collection and processing to ensure that our recyclables will find end markets.

So expect to hear more about better education and enforcement so that you and I can do our job the right way. Processing will get even more attention because that is where the bales of recyclables are created. The good news is that today’s MRF is lightyears more advanced than those of 2000 and the MRF of even five years from now will be even better. I’ll leave those improvements to the engineers and the MRF operators. 

But what else can we do? Some people say we shouldn’t mix our recyclables together, so let’s banish single stream recycling. In a sense they are right. The cleanest recyclables will always be kept separate from one another. But very, very few of us are willing to do that amount of separation, nor do we want the hassle of keeping that many containers for each type of recyclable. For that matter, I live in a dual stream county. As noted above, it’s not perfect either.

So let’s get radical. Maybe we need to rethink how much we want to recycle. If recycling’s goal is to maximize greenhouse gas reduction, we don’t need to recycle everything in the waste stream. Some materials have a bigger greenhouse gas reduction impact than others. We only need to recycle what we can before the law of diminishing returns kicks in. After all, the more materials we try to recycle, the more confusing it becomes. If recycling is going to provide raw materials for end markets, why do we keep making that more complicated? 

I don’t expect to ever go out on a Thursday morning and see perfection when it comes to recycling. But with better education, stepped up enforcement, and a focus on getting the most efficient bang out of recycling, I will see even fewer contaminants in the bins.

Chaz Miller is director of policy/advocacy for the National Waste & Recycling Association in Washington, D.C. & Ex Officio Board Member of NERC.  Reprinted with permission from Waste360.