Into the Loop

The processor turns "trash" into commodities that are ready for

sale.

the United States. In total, recycling processors in 1991 handled more than 75 million tons of post-consumer scrap materials and sold these commodities to end users at a combined value of $14 billion.

This is an historic industry, for recycling processing has occurred ever since we began to use paper and metals. Much of the paper made in the 1700s and 1800s in the United States contained high levels of post-consumer fiber, primarily old paper and rags. Similarly, we've always collected scrap metals for recycling. For example, George Washington owned several scrap metal processing sites.

To portray how collected materials are converted into industrial commodities by the recycling industry, let me summarize how some specific materials are handled.

• Paper. As with other recyclables, there is little demand for a mixture of all types of used paper and paperboard. Recycling mills want specific grades of paper, not a combined mess. In fact, recovered paper is sold in more than 50 different grades. Thus, the paper processor's principal role is to make sure the mill receives the grade of paper desired. This entails assuring that a bale of paper doesn't include other types of paper or nonpaper items, such as plastic or metal. For instance, a bale of computer paper cannot include a significant amount of newspaper.

The second principal function of the paper processor, as with processors of other recyclables, is to package recovered paper in a manner desired by the paper mill. This generally entails the production of a dense, wire-bound bale, which is the easiest package to store and ship.

• Metals. The scrap metal processor performs similar tasks. For example, loads of post-consumer aluminum cans are sorted magnetically and manually to assure that other metals and other materials are eliminated. The cans are then packaged, commonly into a dense briquette.

• Plastics. Just as there are many kinds of paper, plastic products are made from numerous resins. Each has unique features in terms of rigidity, density, strength, etc. Thus, a mixed lot of scrap plastics is relatively useless. The scrap plastic processor employs mechanical and manual techniques to assure that a load of old milk jugs, for instance, contains only these containers and no other plastics or other materials. Sorted plastics are then shredded, washed, and pelletized before shipment to a recycled plastic

user.

Glass. Glass containers are commonly sorted by color before shipment to a processor. The processor uses mechanical techniques to remove metal lids and caps and to remove paper labels. The glass is then crushed before it is introduced into the glassmaker's furnace.

The only constant element of today's recycling industry is change. The domestic processing industry in 1992 is far different from that of just 10 years ago.

Considerable investment has been made in new recycling processing systems. A few examples are offered:

In recent months a number of firms, with financial assistance from the plastics industry, have developed highly automated machines that use x-ray and infra-red detection systems to sort plastic containers by resin type and color.

• Researchers at several universities, including Carnegie Mellon and the University of Illinois, are developing techniques to automatically sort glass containers by color.

• In the last decade, new scrap metal and paper processing systems have been introduced to the market.

• Major European and American manufacturers have developed highly sophisticated plastics processing lines.

A second trend is the entry into the processing industry of "Fortune 500"

firms. Processing of recyclables is no longer dominated by small entrepreneurs. Major makers of recycled products have integrated downward to acquire recycling processing operations. For instance, Wellman, the nation's largest plastics recycler, acquired CRInc., an operator of processing plants nationwide. This gives the recycled product maker access to an adequate supply of material at the lowest cost and highest quality. This trend also includes the involvement of all the major publicly traded waste management firms, such as Browning-Ferris, Waste Management, Laidlaw Waste Systems, and others. These firms have invested substantially in establishing and operating processing plants.

A third trend is the entry in recent years of local government. Cities and counties face rising costs for solid waste collection and disposal and are now, more than ever, looking to recycling and composting to reduce the burden on landfills. In addition, nearly every state has adopted a waste management law that places recycling collection requirements on local governments. In order to market the recyclables now being collected in their communities, many local governments have established new processing centers.

Many of these centers are owned by the city or county and operated by a private contractor. Many are called MRFs, or materials recovery facilities. In these plants, source-separated paper and commingled bottles and cans are sorted and processed, much in the manner described earlier.

Processors of mixed waste often call their plants "dirty" MRFS. These facilities take loads of mixed solid waste and use mechanical and manual techniques, such as magnetic separation and hand picking, to remove selected types of paper, metals, glass, and plastics.

According to Governmental Advisory Associates of New York City, the number of these commingled recyclable and mixed waste sorting plants nearly doubled in just the last two years.

24

Currently, some 116 of these facilities operate in the United States and have these features:

• More MRFS are in the Northeast than any other region.

⚫ MRFS are becoming far more mechanized than in past years.

⚫ New plants are about twice as large as the average MRF now operating. • The average MRF processes about 130 tons of material per day and costs about $3 million to construct and startup.

A fourth trend is the increasing emphasis on material quality. This means that manufacturers can accommodate higher percentages of recycled materials in their feedstock (see article on Rhode Island's experience on page 26).

A fifth trend is the growing number of new recycling grades handled by processors. With consumers demanding recycled products and with industry responding, processors are being asked to supply many new types of recyclables.

Hundreds of communities now collect magazines separately in curbside recycling collection programs. This fiber is used, along with old newspapers, to make deinked newsprint. Several market analysts predict that a shortage of old magazines will occur before 1995 unless collections grow as fast as the number of new deinking systems coming on-line in the United States and Canada.

Another recyclable that is being handled by more and more processors is plastic film-items like plastic shopping bags, trash bags, and plastic wrap for food. The United States uses three times as much plastic film as soft drink bottles, milk jugs, and water bottles combined. There are a number of high volume uses for reclaimed film, including the manufacture of trash bags.

And there is considerable attention nationwide on recovering and using construction and demolition wastes. New facilities are opening daily that sort and crush these wastes to produce new materials for use in construction and other applications. Of particular note are the growing number of wood

waste processing plants and facilities that process scrap gypsum wallboard.

Some emerging trends for processing recyclables bear watching. Transportation of recyclables, especially paper, by railroads is becoming increasingly common. For example, state legislation requiring recycled newsprint has caused many Canadian newsprint mills to bring back old newspapers from the United States in the empty box cars returning to the mill.

Another issue is the health and safety concerns from processing recyclable materials, especially manual sorting of these materials from mixed waste. Worker exposure to high levels of microorganisms and the poor design of the working environment in many processing facilities have been documented in Denmark.

Recycling cannot occur without collected materials being processed. The processing industry--the quiet giant of recycling-has undergone significant changes in the past decade. Even so, tomorrow's processor will be different from the processor of today. O

When It Doesn't Make the Grade

Quality control is crucial

by Edward F. Connelly

Too much broken glass makes it hard to sort out glass by color, as the market demands.

arbage in; garbage out." The expression wasn't meant to describe the solid waste industry, but it is very applicable to the collection and processing of recyclables. Recycling programs are businesses that market commodities. If the commodities are being treated like trash, that is what they become.

Quality control is essential to ensure that recyclables can be marketed. This does not mean producing the cleanest stream of recyclables no matter what the cost, but striking a balance between the needs of the market and the cost of producing recyclables to meet those needs. To achieve this balance, recyclers must combine a clear understanding of the market, the nature of the waste that is to be

(Connelly is the Recycling Program Manager for the Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation.)

recycled, and the capabilities and operating cost of the collection and processing system.

Markets for recyclable materials are constantly changing in response to traditional market forces and to the expansion of recycling programs. Recycling managers must regularly review and adjust their collection and processing operations to account for increases or decreases in the amount the markets pay for material, changes in minimum quality, or technological advances in manufacturing. Several years ago, when the economy was booming and there were fewer recycling programs, it was relatively easy to market newspaper that contained up to 5 percent other paper. Today, markets demand 100 percent newsprint.

Similarly, in the past, it was not difficult to sell mixed plastic bottles. Today, however, manufacturers take only sorted material, and they pay less for it. Recycling programs that collect and market glass must now ensure that the product is free of ceramics, like coffee mugs and dishes, because ceramics can explode in glass furnaces. Programs that cannot deliver ceramic-free glass will lose their markets. On the positive side, new markets are developing for material such as magazines and textiles, and technological advances in plastics manufacturing promise to allow recycling programs to market mixed materials.

The key to success is understanding what the recycling program has to produce in order to sell products every day. Knowledge of the market tells the manager what has to be produced, but it does not tell him or her how to consistently produce quality products. This requires monitoring at all three major steps: at the source, during collection, and during processing. Quality control at these points is necessary whether the program is designed to collect industrial scrap or paper from classrooms.

As the source of the material to be recycled, generators-residents,

businesses, etc.-must understand exactly what materials are to be separated from the waste stream, the condition they must be in, and the contaminants that are not allowed. A thorough, initial training must be followed up with reference materials and periodic reminders.

In Rhode Island's municipal collection program, residents are informed of a program start by postcard. They are invited to attend public meetings or call special phone lines to get answers to questions about recycling. Newspaper advertisements also explain the program. A flier with a list of materials to be recycled is delivered to each residence. All this is done so that participants will know exactly what can be collected for recycling and what can not. The approach applies to any type of recycling; time and money are well spent on education because education. results in a cleaner stream of

recyclables and thereby reduces the cost of removing contaminants before marketing.

The collector is the only regular link between market and source and plays a major role in maintaining quality. All collectors must understand the nature of materials that are acceptable and should be instructed to reject materials that do not meet specifications. There is no better way to convince a generator to improve quality than to reject an unacceptable load. Warnings are useful, but they must contain instructions on how to improve. If a generator needs help, the collector can provide educational material or can arrange for a site visit by his home office.

In Rhode Island's residential recycling program, truck drivers play a major role in reducing contamination by monitoring the materials they collect. When the drivers spot unacceptable material, they place brightly colored stickers on the contaminant to notify the resident. This system has proved effective in reducing contamination and improving quality.

After collection, most recyclables are processed before they are marketed. The processor's knowledge of the market tells him how much processing is necessary, but worker training determines how effective the process will be. Some processing facilities use bonuses as a means of encouraging workers to improve quality and keep vigilant for contamination.

The importance of the worker's contribution to quality control can be illustrated in the following anecdote. Rhode Island's material recovery facility operator learned that the processing and sorting equipment was breaking significant amounts of glass, making it difficult to separate by color and causing a large percentage of it to be lost because the pieces were too small to sort. By cushioning the fall of the glass, the operator reduced breakage; more material was recovered; and contamination by small pieces of glass was reduced.

Recycling programs must be prepared to pass up markets if the needs of the market cannot be met efficiently by the program. Rhode Island's residential recycling program produces large amounts of high-quality newsprint. Metal, glass, and plastic are collected with the newspaper, and some metal cans get mixed in with the paper. Not all the cans are removed, because the cost of removing them is high, and most markets can live with a small percentage of the combination. An offer from a local buildingproducts manufacturer to purchase large amounts of metal-free newsprint had to be rejected, because the price the company was willing to pay would not have justified the cost of the equipment and labor to remove the metal.

Even the best quality control system cannot protect against every mishap when the raw material of the business is trash. Early in Rhode Island's municipal collection program, an entire load of newspapers was contaminated because of a promotional vinyl record that was included in a Sunday newspaper. That time, it was recyclables in, garbage out.