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TO: DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES, INC.Richard S. Beldner
AT&T NASSAUTerry Thompson, Bruce Rapp
MORGAN, BOCKIUSMichael Steinberg
BLANK ROMEBen Stonelake
IBMDaekyoo Hwang
FROM: Theodore Sail — Leo M. Paradoski
DATE: May 1990
RE: PLASTIC STATUS
A dozen or more weeks have passed since I last issued a summary ofthe activities taking place in plastic recycling.
So much is happening so quickly that perhaps a disclaimer isappropriate in that some of these news articles may be additionalinformation on blips and items that appeared in some of the late1989 status reports. There is little need for comments so I thinka summary of the companies involved in the new items will suffice.
l. Plastic Technology - December 1989
2. McDonald's Corp. - Wall Street Journal 4-18-90
3. Stericycle Inc. - Modern Plastics 3-90
4. Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies -Recycling Times 1-16-90
5. Proctor & Gamble - USA Today 3-28-90
6. Amex Packaging Ltd - Plastics News 12-11-89
7. Modern Machinery of Beaverton Inc. - Plastics News 1-15-90
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8. ZAG Project Development Ltd - Plastics News 4-16-90
9. Reynolds Metals Co. - Plastics News 4-1-90
10. Plastipak Packaging Inc. - Plastics News 12-4-89
11. National Waste Technologies - Plastic News 4-2-90TriMax of Long IslandPlastic Recyclers, Inc.
12. OxyPetrochemicals - Plastics NewsVermont Republic Industries
13. Sonoco Graham Co. - Harrisburg Penn Patriot 4-3-90
14. Resource Plastics Corp. - Plastic News 4-30-90Superwood Ontario, Ltd.
15. Polymer Resource Group, Inc. - Plastic News 4-30-90
16. Rutgers UniversityCenter for Plastic Recycling - Plastic News 10-2-89
17. Rensselaer - Plastics News 11-20-8918. Union Carbide - various articles
19. Dow Chemical Co. - Plastic News 4-30-90
20. Wormser Kunststoff Recycling - Plastics News 11-27-89
21. Wheaton Industries - Modern Plastics 12-90Partek CorporationNEW Plastics corp
22. Hammer Plastics - Plastics News 5-7-90
23. Waste Management, Inc. - Recycling Times 1-3-90
Beyond these specific developments, there are some other generalarticles included for your information.
1. Modern Plastic News 3-26-90
Four recycling projects planned in Europe
2. Modern Plastics - 12-89
Recycling venture in Europe by GE Plastics. Joint venturewith Ravage Plastics NV.
MemorandumMay 1990Page 3
3. Wall Street Journal - 4-18-90Article referring to a number of domestic recyclingdevelopments.
4. Various reprints and articles
Industry meetings that have just occurred, or that are scheduledshortly, is a further indication of the explosion of information,interest and industry development.
April 17-18Plastic Institute of AmericaRecycling Seminar in Sacramento, CA
May 16, 17, 18College of EngineeringUniversity of FloridaSponsored by Plastic Recycling Center
May 23, 24, 25Recycling Plastic VWashington D.C.Sponsored by Plastic Institute of America
June 20, 21Plastic Recycling Institute of AmericaElizabeth, NJ
July 11, 12, 13Plastic Institute of AmericaLowell, MAPlastic processing, technology and recycling
June 27, 28, 29Recycling Today MagazineSeminarBaltimore, MD
A recent communication from Ms. Thompson alluded to a breakdown inthe Dow/Domtar Venture. It may be interesting to share with youthe April 24, 1990 front page story which apparently indicates thatnotwithstanding a breakdown of the venture, Domtar continues buyingand recycling plastic.
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ANOTHER WA.I iu Kcl I <.*.*A polymer-reclamation project de-
veloped at Rgnsselaer Polytechnic Insti-tuteis said to show promising results inseparating commingled plastics intopure components by selective dissolu-tion with solvents. The commingledpolymers are separated through a se-quence of solvents and splvation tem-peratures. Dissolving is said to be fast atlow polymer concentrations, and viscos-ity is also low, facilitating filtration toremove insoluble contaminants, such asglass, metal, cellulose, and some pig-ments. While the polymers are in solu-tion, stabilizers and impact modifiers canreadily be added.
m one experiment, a commingledpolymer mixture of equal volumes ofPVC, PS, PP, LDPE, HOPE, and PETwas dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF)as a solvent. At 77 F, a fraction consist-ing of PVC and PS was extracted; at 158F, LDPE was extracted; a third cut ofPP and HOPE dissolved in the THF at320 F; and a final cut at 374 F removedPET. Separation efficiencies are said tobe greater than 99%.
While THF is probably not a desir-able solvent to use in such a processcommercially, others such as methylenechloride or dichloromethane are said tobe potential candidates.
PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY D DECEMBER 1989
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being explored to make landfill disposalof medical waste more viable. These in-clude a chemical treatment that isclaimed to disinfect waste and cut itsvolume by 85%; an autoclave tech-nique that encapsulates infectious wastein plastic; and microwaving of chemi-cally treated granulated waste toachieve decontamination.
Recycling optionOne company bypassing incineration isStericycle Inc., Rolling Meadows, IL,which recently opened a Memphis, IN,plant that decontaminates medicalwaste for reuse. "We use waste gran-ules as alternate fuel, or recycle theminto molded parts with minimal impacton the environment," says vp. J. DavidLane. Gamma-sterilizing waste is thefirst step, then a high-capacity, auto-mated system shreds it. Noncombusti-bles like metal and glass are extractedto leave a residual granular alternatefuel with a B.tu. value of 9000—andwhich is said to be competitive withcoal as industrial fuel.Stericycle has identified one medical
stream, polypropylene syringes, for re-claim. Current rules require hospitalsto provide a PP holding box for usedneedles; box and contents are then red-bagged for special (and costly) disposalby a contract hauler.Boxes and syringes can be decon-
taminated via gamma-sterilization andmade safe for handling, Lane claims.The company sees this incinerator-bound cargo as a good candidate (witha volume of about 120 million Ib./yr.)for reclaim and resin reuse. He pointsout that aluminum sharps can be re-moved using nonferrous magnets. Al-though holding boxes are integrally col-ored, pigments form such a smallfraction that they have no impact onregrind properties, Lane adds. Planscall for converting granules into non-critical underhood auto parts.GE Plastics Co., Pittsfield, MA, em-
phasizes the reuse potential of a dentalsyringe made from its Ultem 1000 po-lyetherimide resin by Astra ChemicalsGmbH. It is said to be the first syringefor which the manufacturer offers anexplicit take-back-and-recycle guaran-tee. Astra delivers a new syringe for ev-ery five returned. GE claims its materi-al retains much of its virgin propertiesin reuse. [Robert D. Leaversuch]
70 Modem Plastics, March 1990
Packaging needs are forno frills, and no faults
cOST-CONTAINMENT pres-sure and recognition thatpackaging failures which af-fect product sterilization are
a leading cause of medical-device re-calls are affecting the types of resinsand package designs in use for medicalapplications.Economic concerns are leading to
smaller packages, downgaging, andthinwalling, and a move from rigidthermoformed trays with contouredcavities to less structured, semi-rigid orflexible packaging that can be formedand filled in-line.
Efforts to minimize sterilization lossfocus on improved process controls andpackage validation procedures to assurecontainer integrity, aspects of which in-volve use of stronger seals and design-ing puncture-resistant corners.Moreover, the growing use of irra-
diation in place of ethylene oxide (EtO)gas as the primary sterilization methodfor medical devices (see p. 64) is in-creasing the need for radiation-resistantresins, and also may promote greateruse of packaging that does not have tobe vented or be able to withstand thepressures of EtO vacuum chambers.
FDA scrutinyRecent figures compiled by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration revealthe extent of the package sterilizationproblem. The agency's findings indicatethat about 46% of all medical-devicerecalls involve problems with plasticpackaging. These include defectiveseals, faulty package design, and inade-
quate process controls—e.g., impropercalibration of equipment and failure tospecify sterilization parameters.The FDA recently extended its in-
spection focus, which has emphasizedvalidation of sterilization procedures, tothe packaging process as well. Inspec-tors now look to assure that packagingmaterials, design, and processing mea-sure up to the government's GoodManufacturing Practices (GMP) stan-dards. Importantly, inspectors are de-termining whether a company is check-ing packaging integrity before or aftersterilization—a critical difference forpackages subjected to the pressure ofan EtO chamber.The ability of processors to with-
stand increased scrutiny is particularlyimportant in light of the growth poten-tial projected for medical packaging.According to a recent report from theFreedonia Group, Inc. Cleveland, OH-based consultant, the demand for ster-ile plastic packaging in the U.S. will in-crease by 11.2% annually through1993, to 555 million lb., from a 1988level of 425 million lb. (see chart). Bythe end of the current decade, Free-donia projects that the amount of plas-tics consumed in sterile packaging willreach 800 million lb., with a surge inthe use of thermoplastic polyesters andpolycarbonate.The report states that buster packs—
generally made of polystyrene, PVC,acrylics, PC, and polyesters—will exhib-it the most rapid growth: 17.7% annu-ally through 1993, when the marketwill be valued at $260 million, more
Polyesters and polycarbonate are projected to achievefastest growth in sterile packaging applications
Consumption, million lb.! Annual
RMin 1988 1993 2000 growth, H
ri
Thermoplastic polyesters* 10 35 110 28.5Polycarbonate 5 17 45 27.7Polypropylene 100 130 175 5.4High-density polyethylene 30 38 50 4.8Low-density PE 25 31 40 4.4Polystyrene 20 24 30 3.7Polyvinyl chloride 215 250 300 3.1Other 20 30 50 8.4Total 425 555 800 5.5
a: Polyethylene terephihalate. PET-glycol. etc.rce; Freedonia Group Inc
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Arkansas Plant to ConvertIndustrial PlasticsA pilot plant to recover industrial plastics—and possibly postconsumer resi-
dential plastics as well—will be built in Rogers, Ark., by Springdale, Aik.-based^Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc. (AERT).AERT, a company which only recently sold common stock to the public, will
• use its RT-1 technology to reclaim packaging waste—chiefly, plastic-coatedpaper. The .company, says the plant will have an initial capacity of as much as12 million pounds (6,000 tons) annually. ........AERT has a facility in Texas which manufactures its trademarked "Bioplaste"
material, which is made out of recycled plastic and waste wood fiber. Bioplasteis being promoted as a composite material that can replace virgin-grade lumberand high-end plastic profile parts in the door and window industry. The Rogersfacility will supply reclaimed material to the Texas plant. .. AERTs initial public offering brought the company almost $5 million, in
• other news, the company and various authorities in Arkansas and the city ofRogers are studying the feasibility of commercially reclaiming HDPE milk jugsand detergent containers in the state. . • - .-
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itecycimgHOPE recycling venture_ „ • • • •brings together three O in
** m mm mm volved in a previous PVC recy-071*2111110 nPnfPllnUIQ dinS research project with VRIOlICIIIUC UGUIGIIUWO and the Vinyl Institute, has agreed
. f jK / to provide equipment and technt-By Jeanne Reall f fJnU/C!* The confectionary company cal counseling for the HDPE en-PIASTICS NSWS STAFF f jT 6 f sells containers that have been deavor. Susan Kroeger, an Oxy-
' lined with plastic bags, but must Chem spokeswoman, said theIn what appears an unlikely discard those that held sticky company has no estimate of the
partnership, an ice cream com- contents, such as egg yolk and amount it will invest.pany, a petrochemicals giant and sugar mixtures, and sometimes While blow molded HDPE con-a mental health agency division peanut butter, which are shipped tainers, such as beverage bottles,are teaming up to recycle injec- without liners. Local regulations have been recycled successfully,tion molded high density poly- prohibit those residues from be- the new project will be one of theethylene. ing washed down the drain; wa- «I ^ ^ ^ «««B ^ ««« ™Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. ter treatment facilities in the Th mln/»t will
ice cream of Waterbury, Vt, may Waterbury area are unable to ac- ' ne new Pr oJec* wl"lend a new flavor to recycling ef- commodate food waste that re- be One Of the first tOforts in an agreement with Oxy quires high oxygen levels for toct tho te^hniral anriPetrochemicals Inc. of Dalat degradation. WST Ine . °"n ,f.., 7and Vermont Kepubijc Industries Ben and Jerry's contacted the economic feasibility Ofof St. Albans, Vt. Under UT5~"ac:~ Vermont Solid Waste Depart- recycling injectioncord, VRI will recycle about ment and learned of VRI, which mn\rtor4100,000 pounds annually of pails in turn contacted OxyChem, the moiaeain which Ben & Jerry's receives third-largest U.S. producer ofingredients for its ice cream. See Recycling, page 4 first to test the technical and eco-
nomic feasibility of recycling in-about JW,uw pans eacn year, tsen <x jection molded containers, saidJerry's went to the company to find a VRI President Albin Voegele in away to dispose of some 100,000 pounds telephone interview.per year of pails which hold ice cream The University of Vermont'singredients, especially egg yolks. oUege. ofjngineering .School
We are able to sell the clean pails," with technical aspects of the pro-said Gai! Mayville, Ben & Jerry's en- ject.vironmental advisor. "But we've had VR[ was established in 1984to discard the sticky ones because local through government and mentalmunicipal regulations do not permit ness "y g' diSoTed ple
\ the residue to be washed down the without government or financialdrain." . subsidies. An independent divisionAccording to VRI President Albin °' non-profit mental health ser-
Voegele, that won't be a problem at vica' ™ ° makes reusable- 3n'MO faniitv "Tv.0,,1, » o. A iu- > ti-static shipping containers forhis facility. Thanks to St. Atom's &e el(x.tio mdustiyi recyclesstate-of-the-art water treatment facil- scrapped industrial plastics, pack-
ages organic fertilizer and per-forms assembly work, sorting andinspection of materials for areamanufacturers.The HDPE project should be un-
der way within two months,Kroeger said. Once the recyclingcapability is established, the ma-terial will be made into benchesand recycling bins. Other markets,including government contracts,will be explored, said Voegele.VRI has the capacity to process
400,000 pounds of HDPE annually.Its goal, Voegele said, is to reach300,000 pounds by June, and400,000 pounds by June 1991, us-ing material from other food ser-vice industries and the construc-tion industry.
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Darrell Morrow, project director at the Center tor Plastics Recycling Research at Rutgers University, shows the mounds of garbage thecenter collects as part of its research efforts. Ine center also recycles ma waste into reusable plastic'resins,
In search of recycling solutionsRutgers program aids industry research efforts
By Michele Raymond < -? f*?4-- 'or at the Center for Plastics Recycling plastics recycling. Morrow is consideredPLASTICS MEWS STAF=____• - "V ' Research at Rutgers University in Edison, an expert in his field, ^^
His staff and students are looking at new The recycling center, whuj Bw isEDISON. N.J.—What do piglets do when applied technology, collection and sorta- housed in a gray metal struct PIt the
there are not enough spigots on mom at tion systems to make plastics recycling Kilmer campus, provides tours and advicefeeding time? They used to die, but, more economic, to hundreds of public and private organi-thanks to piglet feeders made with recy- With three academic degrees. 20 years zations worldwide each year.cled plastic, they can survive. of research and 80 refereed papers in the With two $800,000 grants from the Plas-So says Darrell Morrow, project direc- areas of materials, polymer science and See Rutgers, page 2t>
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EDUCATIONStartS such as containers for non-food
recycling program £S£T or in construction appli"Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute p T.he tCe"ter ,for Manufacturing
is planning a new plastics waste Productivity plans to begin therecycling program to develop Pr°Sram . m Januar>'' ', ff c!f"1methods of converting plastic fu"dl"8 * ?"**• a P'lot fa,cl"?waste into usable products wl" be bullt to Produce Plastlcp
state and private industry e -55
Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Tup-perware have committed theirsupport to the program and mon-ey also is expected from the NewYork State Energy Research andDevelopment Authority. Polymerexperts at Rensseiaer will developa plastics recycling approach inwhich commingled plastic wastesare chopped into chips.
After washing and minimumpresorting to eliminate foreignmatter, the chips will be compact-ed and chemicals added as com-patibilizers— softening one type ofplastic and gluing it to another.Fillers such as glass also may beadded and, in some cases, recy-cled or virgin polymers to adjustthe composition.The product then will be used c
in plastic-lumber applications and (possibly in thin-walled products tax (tuij JU-IUKJ.
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Recycling strategiesnow target PE film
officials say they have assembled a cerned that in Newdual-stream proprietary system able to Jersey—the firstclean, separate and reclaim rigid and state'to mandatefilm scrap by polymer type. Much of curbside recy-Union Carbide takes a major step into ' n'm scrap. °y poivmer type, raucn or curbside recy-
pos consumer csreciaimbU. £ ££££3 i Sft Mibarking on a project to build a recy- ™ " lu uc P«» L-«™»"=«-><" 8-°1;T,!n,.r fnr film anri rioiH nacka^- shrmk wraP after ule..m cham itores><
mPiscataway, Si, in the first quarter ' :"f toot • worldwide search pulled together usof 1991."Ours is the first full-scale, multi-
plastic plant to reprocess film as wellas rigid containers," said GordonMounts, polyolefins vp., at a Feb. 1press briefing in New York. (He is slat-ed shortly to take a new post as Car-bide's vp./general manager for ethyleneoxide, pan of the Industrial ChemicalsDiv.). Carbide claims that the sophisti-cation and size of its recycling centerwill enable it to take a leadership rolein reclaiming a varied post-consumerscrap stream, the most notable elementbeing polyethylene bags and wraps.
A powerful logic lies behind the newfocus on PE film reclaim: In 1989, 6.5billion lb. of U.S.-made PE was used bythe domestic film market (60% of the9.7 billion lb. of domestic demand forLDPE resin, and 11% of the 7.4 billionfor high-density PE). Yet virtually noneof the resultant post-consumer scrap isreclaimed. Doing so is feasible, how-ever—a considerable volume of indus-trial low-density PE film is currently re-claimed in the U.S. A key factor isMobil Chemical, which puts 100 mil-lion Ib./yr. back into trash bags.Mobil is in fact now moving a step
beyond. On Feb. 1, it announced itsown venture for reclaiming post-con-sumer film scrap. It aims to work withWegmans Inc., a Rochester, NY, foodretailer, to induce consumers to partici-pate in a return-for-reuse program forpolyethylene grocery sacks.Mobil's test program calls for cus-
tomers to separate PE grocery sacksand return them to recycle bins at thesupermarket. It will be tried at a singlestore in the Wegman chain: the eventu-al aim is to draw in all 42 outlets. Re-covered bags are to be comingled withPE industrial wrap that Wegman al-ready collects as part of Mobil's re-claim efforts, then baled and shipped toMobil's Macedon, NY, plant for recy-cling into institutional trash can liners.Mobil says it expects later to expandits program to include departmentstores, furniture stores and additionallarge retail outlets.
key components. Some apparently pre-existing technologies have been adaptedor acquired. Specific reclaim targets arePE bags, PE shrink and pallet wrap, rig-id HDPE bottles .(oil, detergent, milk),and PET beverage bottles, 'After a pre-sorttng step, the Carbide
of 21 counties re-quire the collectionof plastics. A mea-ger 6% of rigidplastic containersare currently re-claimed. Carbidehopes to tap, and(equally important)to spur growth inthe feedstock pool,which it expects toflow at a growing
process separates material by polymer rate into emerging(including a LDPE and high-density PE multi-material re-separation), then cleans and com- covery facilities, ex-pounds scrap into pellets for sale under isting recycling net-a separate (and yet to be determined) works and
tradename. "We commercial outlets.expect our recycled Carbide's movegrades to be speci-fication materialsaimed at specificmarkets," says TedClark, businessmanager of Car-bide's new reclaimunit.
Mount* "Carbide's recy-cling center's loca-
tion in New Jersey gives us a sustain-able competitive advantage," saysMounts. He explains that the unit isadjacent to a major Carbide com-pounding facility, which he says under-lines the firm's major goal—adding val-ue to its reclaimed products. "We seean explosion of markets opening up forreclaimed material once we get suffi-cient feedstocks," he says. Mounts citespotential for reuse of PE in trash andother bags, in molded housewares, andin coextrusion layers.
In Carbide's view, the major brakeon recycling's growth in the U.S. todayis a severe shortage of available feed-stock. "This business needs people,since they generate trash," says Clark,noting that 11% of the U.S. populationlives within 100 miles (and 40% arewithin 500 miles) of the proposedplant. Carbide plans to concentrate itsinitial collection efforts on the 100-mile-radius zone. However, company
also appears in-tended to preempta worry shared by many giant virginresin suppliers—the potential loss ofvirgin sales. (Several industry observershave predicted a decline in virgin salesshould solid waste issues dent supportfor plastics use generally, and shouldthe resin reclaim business thrive.)Mounts discounts this fear. He con-cedes that virgin sales may grow at aslower pace for a while, but suggeststhat "total PE resin sales will be highershould recycling take off, since impetusand creativity would be brought tobear on the PE business."Many industry observers have
warned against a big commercial shiftto PE bags that incorporate cornstarchor other degradable additives. They saythese ingredients debase physicals anddisrupt the processing of recycled mate-rials. A Carbide researcher describedthe notion of degradability as "futile"(since, he says, the degradable bags donot in fact decompose in a landfill). Hesays he is confident, however, that theCarbide system can accommodate anycurrent or foreseeable levels of degrada-bles used in PE film. [R.L.]
flR500037Blown polyethylene film i* one key target in Carbide'slaunch into recycling. [Photo, Union Carbide]
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5 the deepening penetration of,WiT« into industrial markets
ni vas the deepening pencuauv... -.—low molding into industrial markets.Recycling imperative. Echoing an
industry consensus, Frank H. Wheaton-> 'u. « H tn develop practical
industry consensus, Frank H. w nemustressed the need to develop practicalnew applications for bottle regrind. Aan example, he cited Wheaton Indu&tries' technology for using ash pro-duced from the incineration of plasticswaste as a component of glass. Fusedin like the lead in lead crystal he said,the more toxic elements (lead, cadmi-um, etc.) of pigments and other addi-tives would be prevented from leachingout into groundwaters, making themsafely disposable in landfills, "five prpd-
1 uct could be used in building materials,Wheaton noted.Two companies producing commer-cial volumes of recycled plastics report-ed on the progress of their technol-ogies. Partek Corp.._yancouver. WA,has automatic equipment capable ofseparating mixed scrap at rates up to3000 Ib./hr. It is working on anotherprocess to separate by color. The firmoperates a plant recycling about 20 mil-lion Ib./yr. of scrap into "pure, highquality reclaim," and says it hopes tohave 10 plants across the U.S. by 1992.N.E.W. Plastics Corp., Luxemburg,
wi, recycles clean HDPE post-consumermilk and water bottles and industrialscrap into conventionally extrudedplastic "lumber" and sheeting. Despitea price two to three times that ofwood, the firm says its business is con-stantly expanding.Jerry Geyer of Container Corp. ofAmerica reported on research indicat-ing that HDPE drums initially used forchemicals can be cleaned and reusedwithout serious loss of initial propertiesor creating a toxic hazard. And in anoverview of HDPE markets, Dennis L.Rohlfing of Phillips Chemical said thatabout 150 million Ib./yr. of HDPE arecurrently being recycled; he projected aclimb to about 450 million lb. in thenext year or two.
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ttf expandContinued from page I open in October. The other six"environmental" company in the joint venture facilities all will becountry, with $606 million in sales on the East Coast, Hammer said.for 1989, Alder- j. Jp| "y Each plant will cost $1.5 milliondice said. Its op- fca ^ jfclt *° *l-7 million, Hammer said. Theerations include H R 'B, "mis plan to use existing facili-water and air ^ •HHJJMJ V ties. Hammer's Plastic will fabri-pollution con- I ^ E Bl, cate "s own equipment for the op-
The renew- | ^I!H%V Possible locations for the eightable, two-year H &iL- plants not included in the jointcontract, signed Ba Kr * venture include California, Louisi-in January, pro- IfcS I K' ana' Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Oregon,vides for a mini-.HHB lHi Washington and Canada.mum of eight Hammer Between the 50,000-square-foot,recycling facilities, but could be Iowa Falls plant and the Mulberryextended to encompass more, Al- plant, Hammer's Plastic employsderdico said. 72 people and processes about"Hammer has a technology that 800,000 pounds of mixed plastic
needs to be exploited," Alderdice per month, he said. The firm hadsaid. $350,000 in revenues in April.AWT entered the venture be- The new plants will employ 27-
cause recycling fits in well with its 35 people per facility, exclusive ofenvironmental business, he said. sales staff, Hammer said."There's no room for us" in A large part of his company's
markets for PET and high density business is a two-year, $2.4 mil-polyethylene, he said. "We really lion contract with the Chicagosee potential with curbside [pro- Park District. Chicago residentsgrams] picking up more mixed voluntarily drop off mixed plasticsplastic. Recycling will be a tre- at collection sites in the parks.mendous growth marset." The plastics are shipped to IowaHammer's Plastic is to provide Falls, where the firm processes it
technology, management presence into boards, park benches and pil-and future research and develop- ings for park harbors, a park offi-ment ciai said.The companies are completing Separately, negotiations for a
lease/purchase agreements for the joint venture with a British miningfirst plant, to open in New Jersey and waste .management companyin July, both parties confirmed, also are in progress, HammerSite selection is under way in Chi- said, though he declined to givecago, where the second plant is to details.
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. " v"aste Managefnehtr'lric. '(WMIJ ' curbside'cbiiectTori .oj.recjjctables. Re-ancJ'Dii' P6nt will build'triear "second "cycle America will be runnirig curbsideplaVfics''recycling plant ih.'Chicago triis programs in 21 Chicagolantf commu-.atj,;, '...\' • '.".'•j.-'n- '.,<•*.-.<. "i*'6 . serving^ more :; than lOd.OOO-Th£ 'jfaollitjr witf,naveitlie'capacifx to' ' 'households. Ll"''f T-.— . "-!v /\! •. '.
process 40 million pounds. (20,000 " According to Lee A(idletnkn,' Re-ttms') per year ofpost-coiisurrier rJlaS- cycle Amencalcoordinator iti the Chi-. tics -j-primarily polyethylene: tereph- c^agolajnd, areav- moji^of .. thosethSate '(PET) and high density pojy' '. communities tiaverft •started separat-
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facilfty"announced by the two corripa- city — Arlington Heighfa— is. collecting7 which foirrfie'd a joint venture lasf '; both PET and HpPEi ddlerhan said,,The , jmrtners ip, Jcnojyn since .but. eventuallv a)} the locafmuriicipai-
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' 'fSiTff plant in ghlladejphia5, that facility _ Tlfose_ municipalities 'Currently payis.Scheduled 5'cDine.qn line' o'y'tate >'WN i a. p'er-househQJ,d feCfor recyclingMarch (See Recycling 'Times', .Vol.;. 2,' • servfce.'.1 afJle\yilIrfee'"|Aen'plaIticsNpVl, Jan. 3,J99% .,.-.,'""' J: ''P;,are'a'dd ; dlerpaf ;;smd, but the; 'We, look forward to building a' amount will' b'e site-specyTc.';'.,, ^strong p'artriership with Chicago- to re- To ensure" w million pounds, of ah-clairn usable; plastics from the area's nual production, the facility wilt'also-wjstej' said WMI President .WiUiam accept pbsf-consumer JPET and HDPE
• |Iumari.': :~~[*~ 'n,r.T'l, >.>/4:'-'r. , fr°m.°!h?r **?IPP*™S? *n^ municipal-:- Ctiicago'is anexceiienf.lpcati6n/it Jties> in the. Midwest, fiu' Pprit will pay.v^JJacHitate our ability toVpr ovld ''' ^comprehensive Tecycluig system, .in- company has "riot said how much.clud,ijjg collection,- separation, sorting, The Plastic Recycling Alliance plans..tecTanjation,. post-treatmcnj, arid" as- to ppetf a nationwide .network -of* sured1"market access.1""" '~ •'' "" ' plants; the goal of the companies is to" .-In Chicago, some waste plastics will have the capacity to recycle 200 millionbe supplied by Recycle America, a pounds of plastics per year by 1994.WMI subsidiary that provides separate . '- . —Kathleen Meade
dustrial scrap, now plans to enter thepost-consumer, market \ Expected, to be Ireadji id-ilSSO & system thai n -ll'' dudes.granulators, jnaterjals handling 1extruders, screen changers and die face rlpeUetizere. It will be manufactured in Ithe U.K.,;and assembled and adapted - Iin the U.S. /f'-"-----1'---"—'—"--«•--" 'hand!^- .izrrj;"r 1 >'5"MjriJK>i-<jatif~&rj«5 tfztjttLtOPET recycling alternative. New rec-lamation system haTbeen laiincEed" by 1'HertoIdSalesafiwosfihelyster'wereclosed'wi *"3' '" '
ipleTeiise'orplastics. APME~(3' L py>otog!pe pgm in 2 hr. are possible
He's needinga new creed:Used plasticA former Quaker leaderfinds a new calling at afirm that beats recycledplastic into "lumber."By Nancy PetersenSpecial to The InquirerSam Caldwell's moment of truth
arrived one morning while he wastaking out the garbage.Looking at all the other black plas-
tic sacks of trash on his street, hemused: "Wouldn't it be nice to recy-cle all this stuff?"For a spiritual leader, it was an
earthy revelation.Until June of last year, Caldwell
was a minister and chief executive ofthe Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, theQtJWSrt'-vSSon of a diocese.Today, he's* swimming in the
treacherous waters of environmen-» tal entrepreneurship, betting hi* fi-nancial future on plastic "lumber"made entirely from the soda, deter- •gent and shampoo bottles once
v blithely tossed away in those sacks of
"1 call it applied theology," Cald-well said.He has started his own company,
Duraplast Inc. He has rented manu-facturing and office space in Upland,Delaware County. And he's latchedon to a proprietary process that turnsout boards of lumber from finelygranulated, mixed-up, dirty plastic."It's been utterly insane," said the
43-year-old father of four. "It is bothterrifying and thrilling at the sametime, but I think that human beingsonly have a certain number of thesebig gambles that they can take dur-ing their lives. You only have somuch tolerance for the tension of itall" • • • - • •When he decided it was time to
leave the ministry, Caldwell said hisgoal was to find work in an entrepre-neurial, creative environmentwhere he could, also make a realsocial contribution. And he wantedto make money — lots of it.LumberlSade from 100 percent re-
cycled plastic waste fit the-Mil, hesaid. * ' '*r; .' '••"We've spent a lot of time and
(See PLASngSon 12-E)
Monday Oct 14, 1991 The Philadelphia Inquirer
from plasticsthe newest mission
for ex-Quaker ministerPLASTICS, from 1-E let is made of stainless steel and sells
energy developing a, process 'to ac- for $200, he said.commodate used, commingled plas- Caldwell, with a pallet made fromtics," he said. Depending on just one 100 percent recycled plastic waste,kind of recycled plastic, said Cald- said his pallets will sell for $35.well, is a very demanding, expensive But before they can be madeprocess because the plastic must be widely available, Caldwell said theseparated from the waste stream* boards must undergo rigorous test-then washed. Contaminants, such as ^ at the university of Florida'smetav must be removed. polymer processing and propertiesThe Duraplast process, which has a center and at the plastics recycling
patent pending, eliminates all those research center of Rutgers Univer-steps, virtually ensuring a never- Sftyending supply of raw material. Cald- u*w ,ye set certain targets for nhvs-flwll i<8 wnrlHnff on fl mntrnrt urith a we ve sel C6"8"1 targets I0r pnys-r n vS In H « n him mith ical properties - stif f ness, load-bear-flif ffi? PP y ing strength, tensile strength, com-•n, ~J-«, ,im <„ ,4 pressive strength and impactThe. process also is environmen- resistance ""said CaldwelT sp.** to T I™***/ JONATHAN wu.
"l nave no toterest to Producing a Sam Caldwell, Duraphurt's proprietor, cradles samples of 1product thatsurvives on sympathy," company's "lumber" which ig made from recycled plasti,
Environmental Resources he said. "The product has to compete .fw,fc«rfi Mr*! niironb t'o invon structurally, materially and in without them." , the prototype phase of producti
tor • 1. JjaSewnTtcT b? Uiecom" price> ®tlierwise' no one 'to 8oi»g to And he is reveling in the entrepre- Caldwell said he expects to be at :pany frector of manufacturing bav **"" neurial milieu, saying it is not that speed by the first of the year, turnJameson has 25 years of experience K's a hardi capitalist attitude from different from what he was doing for out 4,000 linear feet of plastic himmanaging plastic-extrusion opera- a man who freelv s ts he is a the Quakers. The trick, he saysj, is an hour. The pallets are being matMwTwhen he met Caldwell, Jame- prodoct of f» 1960's and proud of it recognizing that no one person can factured by a firm in New Jersey,soa was installing machinery for a Call him a realistic liberal. ., do the entire job and have all of the said, which is also test-marketBelgian company that makes molded "I believe in the power of capital- answers. them. Ultimately, he said, he \plastic lumber. ism to change things," he said. The "j pUii together the creative folks need 50 mfllion pounds of pla:Many have tried the recycled plas- c°st of solving today's environmen- to do a job," Caldwell said. "I'm not attnuatty for the Upland plant alo
tic lumber route, Caldwell says, and tal problems is skyrocketing and an expert plastics engineer, but I "H we could consume every pi
and weak. The Duraplast product S81"- While the elastic lumber is still-in "I'd be a verv nannv manlicks those problems, he says. The traditional capitalists, how- wmie me piasac lumDer w srai m l a ** a very fiappy man'At three-quarters of an inch thick, ever» are hardly beating at hfe door,
it resembles boards of yellow pine, Caldwell said Shunned By banks andthe most popular kind of lumber. It venture capitalists, he has managedcan be sawed, drilled, milled, nailed, to raise funds from private investors;,planed and routed. Its strength and including his Upland landlords, wholongevity equal or exceed that of believe Duraplast is a winner.yellow pine, plus it wont rot or cor* A major partner, Theodore First, isrode, and bugs will not eat it a fellow Quaker. His general man-And it's competitively priced for ager, Barbara Rose Henderson, had
the market Duraplast is after. been director of education for the u R h f) H fl /, OCaldwell's company is targeting Socfcity of Friends. w u w U 4 O
the industrial wooden-pallet market, The company also has received awhich consumes nine billion board $25,000 innovation award from thefeet of lumber each year, according Ben Franklin Partnership and an-to Ron McNally, an industry spokes- other $94,000 grant from the stateman. Last year> he said, about 530 Department of Commerce's Environ-million new pallets were produced, mental Technology Research and De-more than half of them destined for velopment Fund.one-tjgfcpse. "Our institutions' have lost theirMcfl ty said the price for a typical nerve," Caldwell said. "Nobody is
wooden pallet ranges from $5 to $20; taking any gambles. I tip my hat tomolded plastic pallets sell for from our dozen investors, who believe in$60 to $100. The most expensive pal- our , project We wouldn't be here
ir ^^ will
n iava launcted»<awJ>Sr'recycling.pro- M • make it easier and.,4ess,axpensiva for mem-,-giWTiMrwh« 45Q;jQf-*«r natwral. fast-food • iiDnATc •'. bera to dispose .of,scrap.-andiwill ease landfillch 'si kw Er arri nwtaurants.. Customers-m uruHic ,» proWerns. Recycled vinyl -is. currently being.araxfflquested ta>putEO*8d>PS.items (including ^ f madetirrtOi certain types of pipe and fittings,-foarosckmsheils, literate, salad,txjntainers, -and . ^ ^ ^ ^ drainage systems, and. into, garden furniture, lawnhot-rdnnk and sundae cops) .in trash bins marked • ^ edging, and fence posts. - j »»«•.fofttfecyetette plastic.only.1'.McDonald's will..send,;?--.. ,a = :: .-/Mtsoe«an80u& Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute,ceOtected ps.to NPRCs Plastics Again PS recycling.facility :.Troy, Ny, is developing methods, to convert non-returnable
• in.taominater, MA (Plastica Again was acquired by NPRCr;plasfic wastes into varkws products. A.combination of NewfraotJrfobil.Ghemical-and Genpak Corp. in October). Hecy- .-York; state and private industry .funding) is:expected to sup-
L cteckwaterial.will be.used In such products as videocassette cport the. three-year program.. So far, Colgate-Palmolive andi,offica and.household.itenns, and McDonald's res- ; Tupperware have committed:support to the program. Fund-«y«i!- • •" •. -> 3m«rt-.ii -.-? ? ane. - • <«";•,/, .f-iogjJa,also*expected from tha-N«w -York.State Energy
If-for program works weH in Maw England, McDonald's Research and Development Authority. Polymer experts atin sirrilarprogranre m areas tb« hav»Nra"as. (NPRC.say3*'H;,is: buflc ; four?plar ;*Tiia8tjc wastes.-ara,wasned, son oVarrf into chips.j-running-by th«iandlof r iyeafi'.JrVTSan Thedlips will.be compacted under pressuraand compatibi-i Anoete, Cricagb and PWIadetpWa:) '' :l2arslard fidersiaclded. Potential-end uses include railroad
Ithe \UJS.',; Environrnental Pfotecto Agency* atJes,1;telephone potes, waterfront bulkheading, erosion barri-'d's-for-its:effbrt3..r3Ofne eriviutinientafets yara and thjcvwaMed containers,for nonfood products.ff-labeted1Ka;rjd relertiorisplo¥.'SiS(rie -*—- »•-•-»•
f.ta address-thecnatkjn'a.garbago'cri!IjnpW WaU Street:Jowna/.'atfcla in, lataUOctoben;•" '' hiashool dfstrktearoundrtha U.aiafcwaiic
swiyytpfoyi'&iTis* %o rsciaint :E'S;Tnat0ri3is_'UJ36cli irttscliQol^ lunctwoorns. Examples: Students in 165 Montgomary"tlu~*'" IMD,, schools-arajsortirift-ps'for .SimsportatJonv-to
PRolystyrene Recycling Irt:. (PRI) plant in Brooklyn,,\170). East Rockaway schools in Nassail.Cobn-~ tlslipscrootarJriSiiffolkCkxjntyrNY arelafeo
products, which will be taken to PRI_forI sdxmls Srcjokfieki, Newtown.M
L avoomfnercfeii-poDgnirh.for recycling PVCixit-ny says itpwit.buy baled empBes-irr kjf*bf
- .. Sanytspokesman-aays. •••_ -*.&&
r PVC reclaim program, vinyl aiding t;m, are planning: to reoyde home siding-waste.vis co3Donsored.by.-the local Home Improve-
c Industries CisDct'fig liBi'ShurnanrPlastics. HilCV/
\Modem Plastics, December 1989 113
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,.»~ehind-the-scenes efforts to meet the challenge of recycling thermoset
automotive parts'came out into the open at the recent SPI CompositesInstitute Annual Conference in Washington, B.C. Spokesmen for Genera
Motors, the largest user of automotive composites, and the SMC AutomotiveAlliance an SPI group that includes 25 of the largest SMC molders and materialsuppliers, reported the results of two years of feasibility studies on SMCrecycling. What they reported was that SMC can indeed be recycled—all theway back to oil—but a lot more work will be needed to make that technically and
;>- fc'J f, -; ~j- ,»' i>: ft.,v .-.-een June 1988 and January 30 of this year, both GM
f the Alliance investigates pyrolysis as the most 'lmg avSuefor disposing of SMC manufacturing waste and old car parts.
Pyrorysiis is ade«vdes d technology for decomposing organic materials at hightemperature (1400 F, in tKis case) in the absence of oxygen. It's being evaluatedby the'tire and rubber industry, and the trials were conducted at a pilot facilitynear Seattle that was designed for reclaiming tires.
The investigators found that pyrolysis could be made self-susfcfeeding back the resulting off-gas into the process as an energy soPyrolysis also yielded oil that could be used as boiler fuel. The third bwas a friable mass of filler, glass fibers and carbon char. - "• ••••••', Unquestionably, the biggest question remaining is how to chop SMCefficiently. SMC is tough stuff, and defeats most grinding machinery. General-purpose waste-shredding equipment had the undesirable effect of breaking thefibers away from the matrix resin, producing the result seen in the left-handphoto'above. The most promising device was a peculiarly nasty-lookingcontraption called a "universal refiner," devised for tire shredding. It producedsmall chunks at close to the target rate of 1 ton/hour. The second problem iswhat to do with the solid residue. The investigators tried milling it to a 20-microrpowder, which preliminary results suggest could be used as a filler in other SMCor BMC, or perhaps in concrete or asphalt.
Speaking for the Alliance, Donald R. Norris, general manager of moldingmaterials for Eagle-Picher Plastics Div. in Grabill, Ind., concluded that pyrolysismay turn out to be a usable disposal method in two to five years. Now that thethermoset guys have picked up the gauntlet thrown down by their thermoplasticcompetitors, it remains to be seen whether "recyclability" will have any futureeffect on the selection of automotive body materials.
Editor
ICSTECHNOtOGYDAPRIL 1990
10« ifedarfi Plastics, Fetxuaiy 1990
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tckgconiar, but the recycling company p l i e r s a p j sort bet- work with as." Economically. Sc&ttcaine-jioj the same conclusion about jts ter.' . ^ ^ j -J ^ . said, a plant would have1 to process
veness. "WeJiave nq.inten- Soirfl f p rn tar's -pli c waste .is at least 20 to 30 million pounds an-. .p .jjf. buying, Dow's technology. ..It nowibfifi Id paih -p nimarke)— nually.-
'v Scott saW..:,;,-; r~? '••„.. - if il I? "... ...... • , •••-••-, ....... -._£ji Jr s"-"-•,-i. i i ' exam" As for Dow, the chemical company, As Jhe recycling company looks for pie. /rf reMlabje opposedto will probably scratch its chlorinated
another partter.,vmh the possibility of wareh g i Jve bjMa selling it," solvent-based separation technology,a different technology, Domtar plans Scott,.sajAgaj. auUri't ake eco- mainly "because of the expenses in-
. to cut its plastics inventory by only a nomic nK K ehouse.teally good vo|ved. said Dow representative Karlsmall amount: but it will also try to stuff." ZigS xZ -. Kameria '"' 'eliminate PVC from its loads. -The ™ " Scott'declined'to~ say "exactly'how (i -- ' • • • • . • • . : . • - • • •only people we will be cutting off are much. mixed; post-consumer .plastic " &6ory< t"6 system was good,1those who were selling iis mixed botife waste has been stockpiled by Domtar, Kam«ia, said. "The system could begrades, and on purchase order (non- but he did say jr. was "a lot.;' He said made to work'" But existm8 Plas"contractedsuppliers)only,"Scottsaid, he is not worried, however, that.the tic separation technologies—such as"We will continue buying plastics company will,rind another buyer:, a tne hydrocyclone process—are good
from our contracted people, But PVC_ number of .firms', have already ex- enou&h and less expensive, he added..is a problem. We. are asking them to" pressed interest;, •••..._;;;, -.-..•'.'••• •:,,„; ; -This is definitely not the end of plas-do iheir best to switch over. We have Whether the new Domtar venture tifcs recycling ventures for'Dow, how-indicated to them that PVC is a prob- will handle up to 80 million pounds ever. "We- are actively interested inlem,and have asked them to consider of plastics per year.-is, question- moving ahead with other recyclingnot sending it. I think all of our sup- able. "That's up to whoever wants to projects," Kamena said.
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