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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/08/1989 - Solid Waste Abatement Commission ij bl\if AGENDA SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA EAGAN MUNICIPAL CENTER CONFERENCE ROOMS A & B TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 11:30 A.M. I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. STAFF REPORT A. Yard Waste Ban Update - Municipal Compost Site Capacity -Role for City this Fall B. Multi - family Recycling Program Update IV. OLD BUSINESS V. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion and staff authorization - Tin can collection timetable and requirements. VI. OTHER BUSINESS VII. DISTRIBUTION VIII. NEXT MEETING IX. ADJOURNMENT MEMO TO: CHAIRS MANN AND HOEL AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION FROM: RECYCLING SPECIALIST HAGEMAN DATE: AUGUST 3, 1989 SUBJECT: EAGAN SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 8, 1989 A regular meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission will be held on Tuesday, August 8, 1989 at 11:30 a.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center, conference rooms A & B. The City will provide a box lunch to Commission members requesting one by noon, Monday, August 7. Please contact Kris Hageman or Jane Helebrant at 454 -8100 to indicate whether you will attend and your luncheon preference. I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA The agenda, as presented or modified, requires adoption by the Commission. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the minnutes of the Solid Waste Abatment Commission meeting of July 11, 1989 is enclosed on pages for your review. These minutes, subject to any change, require approval by the Commission. III. STAFF REPORT A. Yard Waste Ban On August 1, 1989 the Dakota County Yardwaste Ban went into effect. This ban precedes the statewide ban by five months. After only a few days with the ban in effect there has been a fair amount of confusion about how disposal regulations have changed. The County has taken the lead in educating residents, although I feel additional information is needed to inform the public of the new regulations. For everyone's information, residents now have four options for proper disposal of yard wastes. These yard wastes are designated as the following: grass clippings, leaves, prunings (specific size requirements), and garden wastes. The options available to residents include: 1. residents can have the refuse hauler remove separated yard waste and deliver the material to a designated compost site. 2. residents can deliver separated yard waste to a municipal compost site, if one is present in their respective city. 3. residents can deliver separated yard waste to <.re the county operated compost facility in Lakeville. 4. residents can begin a backyard compost pile. - Municipal Compost Site Capacity. We have discussed the present ban with the City Forester and he is aware of the increase in material we predict will come into the site. Currently, the space for the site is adequate and there is some room available for additional material when necessary. The site maintenance will continue to be handled by the City Forester, the parks department crews and the onsite attendant. -Roll for City the5Fa11. We are currently keeping our eyes open for a possible new location for the municipal compost site. Estimates for land need range from 8 to 10 acres. This falls volume of material should be a good indicator for future needs. The county will not allocate funds for new sites in FY90 although we feel this "new" site for the city of Eagan should be classified as "improved expansion" of the existing site. B. Multi - Family Recycling Program Update Apartments- 94 buildings, 4,641 units. Townhouses- 24 buildings, 172 units. Currently, 2 apartment buildings and 1 townhome complex have organized recycling collection. Glen Pond Estates will be starting their recycling program by the end of this month. I have begun contacting managers again to let them know of the informational material I have available. My goal is to have this informational material in each building /complex by the end of the year and continue working on organizing the collection programs throughout the year and into 1990. IV. OLD BUSINESS V. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion item- additional material for residential recycling programs. As of September 1, 1989 the Dakota County Recyclables Collection Center will allow haulers to drop off tin cans in addition to alumunim and bi -metal beverage cans currently accepted. The tin cans will not have to be separated from the other metal at the time of delivery. The County anticipates making the collection of the tin cans mandatory for residential collection programs February 1, 1990. The question we need to discuss is whether the City of Eagan begins to require the collection of tin cans of September 1st. Resident inquiry concerning additional materials or collection has been strong since the beginning of the program and I am anxious to add tin cans to the program. Some haulers will be able to collect this additional material as of September 1 while others may not. In this particular case the information reaching the public will come directly from the individual haulers making the change. I feel a citywide promotional campaign would not work unless we required the change among all haulers. VI. OTHER BUSINESS VII. DISTRIBUTION Enclosed in your packets are the following materials: 1. On page you will find a new feature for the packets entitled "Waste M nagement News ". I will try to find short informational articles from our region to add to this section. 2. On pages g thru / will find an article about the current tin market, and an edirtorial about the wastepaper market and markets for recyclable materials as a whole. VIII. NEXT MEETING. The next meeting of the Solid Waate Abatment Commission will be on Tuesday, September 12, 1989 at 11:30 a.m. Please mark your calendars for that meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting will adjourn at or about 1:00 p.m. Rec /2 4-//7 ling peci ist -City of Eagan NOTES FOR•THE SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA July 11, 1989 These notes reflect discussions held by members of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission on July 11, 1989. The Commission was absent a quorum at the beginning of the meeting and therefore began with the staff report and continued on with open discussions. Additional members of the Commission did arrive during the scheduled meeting time and we did have a quroum as of 12:30 p.m. No official action was taken, all business was held as an open discussion. The following members were present: Cindy Ista, Brenda Marshall, Larry Knuston, Terry Schnell. Also present were Recycling Specialist Hageman, Assistant to the City Administrator Hohenstein, County Recycling Specialist Mike Trdan, representatives of the hauling community and public. Staff Report Hageman reviewed updates concerning the tonnage reports for the first half of 1989 (from both haulers and drop -off locations), yardwaste volumes, an update on adding new materials to the existing collection program. There was also a discussion of possible packaging bans and ordinance for the community. Tonnage reports As of July 11, 1989 only 5 reports of a possible 9 had been received and only 2 of the 5 turned in had been reviewed and authorized for payment. The totals for residential collections from the weights recorded reached 378 tons. Tha amount of tons reported for the drop -off locations was incorrect. It should be 226 tons versus 350 as stated previously. There have been several attempts to acquire the remaining reports and I will keep you updated as the numbers are recorded. Yardwaste volumes Hageman stated that a report has been made available to the city indicating the amount of material from Eagan that is being delivered to the County compost facility in Lakeville. This reprot records all weights from residents and waste haulers. At the present time, staff is estimating the amount of material at the municipal compost site. Recorded volumes for current piles equal 638 cubic yards or 65 tons. The old pile has been measured at 93 cubic yards. Recyclable Materials Update The Dakota County Recyclable Collection Center will be accepting tin cans along with white office type paper beginning August or possibly September 1st. At the present time County staff are 4 considering the payment schedule for the new items. Final decisions on materials and prices will be made by the County Board on August 8, 1989. It was mentioned that the County drop - off center will not be able to receive household batteries as earlier stated to city staff. The County staff is working on special use permits for the site to be able to receive the batteries. Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day After meeting with representatives of Dakota County and Unisys the date for the collection day has been changed. The new date will be Saturday, October 7th. Plastics Recycling /Packaging Ordinances /Bans An open discussion of the packaging ban began with a statement from Mike Trdan, he discussed the County's role in the future of plastics recycling. Trdan mentioned that the county is feeling some pressure from Minneapolis and St. Paul regarding their current policies. He does not know about a similar ban occurring on a countywide basis at the present time. The discussion lead into the idea of plastics recycling in the current collection programs and drop -off locations. Adding plastics to church drop -off locations was well received although the capability of the different sites to accomodate this action was not brought up. Dana Turner mentioned the idea of encouraging containers at retail outlets for returning plastic bottles. To help with the problem of identifying the type of plastic in each container, some groups are trying to devise a system to do just that. Turner also mentioned the need for additional containers for collection of plastics at the curb, both for the resident and hauler. Knutson brought up the fact that a strong educational campaign would be necessary for good compliance with the recycling options. In addition to the collection ideas for recycling palstics Hageman brought up the idea of instituting a container deposit on plastics similar to that placed on aluminum and glass containers is some communities. The representatives from the hauling community were in favor of a similar system. Knutson mentioned that retailers and manufacturers would be in the hot seat for producing the materials if such a requirement took place. The general consensus seemed to be to try and recycle plastics through current means, residential collection programs and drop - off centers. Other Business Hiar asked the staff members how commercial recycling efforts were going. Staff reported that the commercial efforts have been put on hold for a little while but it will be priority in the fall. The distribution of recycling information to area businesses and acquiring recycling activity information will be the key aspects to the effort from city hall. A quick update of the Cash for Trash winners indicated a $700 winner followed by three weeks of $100 winners. WASTE MANAGEMENT NEWS ,, -, , , "I .7 ■' ' ' n ' ,ti 1 ' tly:: t q ''' ' i 1 ' t ,: . ' ' . , t ' t ' ' , ' ■ ' t , I cm Swift County, Minnesota Tire recycling news from the Terrapin State, a state agency SOURCE SEPARATION KEY TO Here is this month's roundup of news has hired a West Virginia firm to produce MSW COMPOSTING PROJECT about tire recycling. fuel from tires left in a scrap pile in Swift County is in the bid stage for a As of this spring, Minnesota tire dealers Hughesville, Maryland. 15 to 20 ton/day solid waste composting must now accept an old tire from a cus- The State of Pennsylvania thinks J & J facility, which it hopes to have in tomer for each new tire the customer Trading may possess a useful recycling operation by October, 1989. All waste buys. This new state law is designed as technology. The firm says it can convert collected from households and a means of assuring the recycling of old scrap tire rubber into products such as commercial establishments will be tires. trash can lids, sewer pipe and fence posts. source separated into recyclables, In other news from Minnesota, Rubber A $59,000 grant has been awarded for oompostables, and rejects. At the Research Elastomerics says It has a product development. Another company composting facility, there will be a profitable method of converting scrap tires in the state is also seeking state funding. second sort of the recyclables to into a usable rubber product, but state Peter Foldes Development of Hazelton maximize recovery of materials. The officials are beginning to think otherwise. has applied to the State of Pennsylvania compostables will pass through a The State of Minnesota and a local county for a tire shredding and recycling plant magnetic separator and a hammermill put over $3 million into the firm's first plant permit. prior to composting in a windrow. The but they are now having second thoughts. RMAC International of Portland, entire inanity will be enclosed. After RRE is way behind in making rent pay- Oregon plans to build a scrap tire proc- composting, the end product will be ments to St. Louis County and RRE now essing plant with an annual capacity of screened and used initially as a cover says it needs a new infusion of $1.5 million 12,000 tires. The firm proposes to make material for the the county's term, the h. which from the same agencies. Govemment of- rubber tire chips for use in asphalt pave - is closed. Over t ficials are worried. To determine if they ment. county anticipates using the the compost for public works projects. should continue to help the firm, a study The county conducted a pilot source is being undertaken by the University of separation project with 80 households Minnesota to determine the "viability of the troubled facility." The research will in the county, and got a very good focus on the firm's process, markets and ponse, says Byron Giese, a county investment needs. _.iciaL An extensive educational The State of Maryland is also cautious program on recycling has been about tire reclaimers, following the underway for a while, and has involved problems encountered when Maryland schools, civic associations, and other Resource Recovery Center ceased op- community groups. Participation in the erations and left a pile of 3 million scrap source separation program will be tires. MRCC and its sister operation — mandatory. Nine cities in the county Georgia s Reclamation Center, Palmetto, Georgia will be using the composting facility. g ia stopped making crumb Swift County has received a $711,000 9 —have pp� 9 capital assistance grant from the State rubber and reportedly owe millions of of Minnesota (half of the project's dollars to creditors. The state has had to capital costs), and a $37,500 technical spend money to secure the site and ar- assistance grant, which is being utilized range for cleaning ft up. In other news for marketing and education about the recycling/composting program. In addition, the county is in the preliminary stages of receiving a $200,000 environmental testing grant. 'Rots will be conducted on the compost, non- compostables, and other aspects of the composting operation as part of an information gathering effort for the state. Finally, another $20,000 will be used to build a household hazardous waste collection site. 1 Makin 1\4 k are an es 1989 Tin's Time to shine New steelmaking technology the finished product. Our problem is getting raw materials. We that makes scrap more valuable buy all we can get. We have been told by the steel companies p there is no limit to the number of steel units they will buy back." new detinning know -how that Both the economics and the technology of steel and tin today I have created the wide-open future for the recycling of tin cans. makes the process faster and Today's steelmakers can take used tin cans and charge them more economical and a renewed ' directly into their furnaces. They can buy detinned steel and I get even more production from a ton of scrap. effort to promote the recyclability The Gary, Ind. USX mill, for example, uses 5,000 pounds I of steel cans are combining to of tin mill scrap per heat, a figure which can be increased to 9 10,000 pounds of scrap if it's first been detinned, said Heenan, bring tin into its own. general manager, tin mill products. With the mill pouring 100 heats per day, 26,000 cans comprising a ton and 65,000 cans to a heat, a mill operating 365 days a year has the capacity to consume 2.4 billion tin cans a year, he said. According to American Iron and Steel Institute statistics, tin eople are paying attention to tin cans. Time was when cans enjoy a one -cent production -price advantage over alumi- a tin can was something a kid would kick along the num, which translates to $7 -$12 per 1,000 cans. side of the road— not even really paying much attention Separated from the can, "tin has value in itself;' explained to it — as he walked home from school or to a sandlot baseball John Hamilton, chairman of the Canadian Tin Plate Recyclers game or to some other destination equally important enough Council and head of the Tin Mill Products Producers Committee to make him oblivious to the metal container lying along the of the American Iron and Steel Institute. "Now it's becoming side of the street. a valuable commodity." Today, though, that homespun image has changed drama- With the collapse of the International Tin Council and its tically. The modern-day "tin can" is actually a steel can with London -based buffer -stock operation four years ago, the price a tin coating, and market values for the tin and the steel — whether of tin plumetted 75 percent, Hamilton said. Two years ago it separatcd or together — are making both sought -after commo- was near $2.25 per pound. Today it's reaching $4 -$4.50 per dities. pound. That's why detinners are opening more plants in Canada In an almost chicken - and -egg scenario, new technology has and the United Kingdom and are looking, too, at U.S. expan- forced steelmakers to look outside their plants for new sources sion, said Hamilton, manager of tin mill product sales for of scrap; that same technology has made it more economical Dofasco, Canada's largest steelmaker. to use scrap from steel cans in the steelmaking process; and "Five years ago there was not a lot of interest in recycling developments in detinning, which depends on a steady supply tin cans;' Hamilton said. Now interest has zoomed, although of used tin mill products, especially cans, have pumped new the old three -piece food can contained more tin than do today's life into an industry which finds itself in at practically the ground modern steel /tin beverage cans, manufactured, like their floor of a new wave of recycling. aluminum counterparts, using thinner sheets and, consequently, The formation last year of the Steel Can Recycling Institute less material. is likely to be a boon for detinners and steelmakers alike. With Detinning and the changes in steelmaking over the past 10 tin cans' "newfound" recy- years are inextricably clability, both industries linked, said Heenan. For 70 claim, the demand for used -..1 years, steel was made by cans appears limitless. ingot casting, which gen- erated in -house scrap. That Tin scramble scrap was re-used for the "The steel can is a new production of more steel. mine," said William Heenan • But with development and Jr., SCRI board chairman, industry acceptance of the in viewing the potential for 1" continuous- casting process re-using can scrap in the — whose efficiency yields production of raw steel. significantly less in -house Likewise, Allan M. Gold- scrap — melters are being stein, chairman and chief forced to look elsewhere for executive officer of AMG We" scrap supplies. Resources — the world's 1 . I ; I . "Before, steelmakers largest tin -can recycling and - were steel -scrap producers detinningoperation — said, and consumers. Now," M t is poured into ingot molds following separation from tin cans and "Our problem is not selling other tinplate products. (Photos counesy of AMG Resources) Heenan said, "they are just 66 / RKYCLMS TODAY / APRIL1989 i 1 .. r71rr?y: ,l y,.rfev......,,.•,,...,. 1.,.1 II j / / SA • I l j l t f t r:� consumers. The pendulum has swung the other way, Ten - , ' • ,� years ago, scrap was $40 a ,. • I ton. Today, that cost is $130- 4 `.� _ 1 li $150 per ton" z t - . r New detinning technology � } "t , \ _ K • I At the same time the re cycling demand for the steel i• _ �=:i ; I from tin cans is soaring, ' technology brought to the r n y U.S. from the U.K. by AMG _ `N. • Resources has created new i potential for the detinner as } • ' ` "� I well The supply of used ;. J1 r Li J r cans likely to be generated _ _ ' by steelmakers' efforts will *. _ ? :~ , '+ • feed the detinners' growth. ' .. _ ti `_ I "The problem in the busi- •r 1 ` _ 1 • mess has al ways been that you ' • L' '� `- -- : k � I needed a fairly clean product • - y ` , .4 '. ` ( , ' 7 ` • `• _4-.,-, - . i • going in," Goldstein said of • traditional detinning opera - �' � � " • ♦~ , ~" x tx tions. •"Blending' — having materials other than simply : i' r ;,. . ,; - : `' . • ' .'1Q' tin and steel — affects the 1 _ � j 1 ai economics. With our new • ! system we can use all used cans, a 100 percent feed. ♦ / ' i. , t t. ti •! Cleanliness is not important . ` G, � ' to us, We get rid of the resi- t " - ' we clean the • . '. _ r , - - 1 � , . dues when a � ~ � .. cans . • AMG's detinning tech- ,i,. • . , '.: • nology consists of its pat - _ • • ented shredder and its elec ' • '- 4 h • � '` �.. • ., trolytic processof removing _ ► _'� 1` `� . t _ . .,' ' - tin from tinplated steel. Nuggets of detinncd stet teel pour out of a plant after processing, and collect for shipment to steel mills. The industry in the U.S. probably spent tens of millions of dollars looking for a method air - classification system and through magnetic extraction. to effectively separate the tinplate from other materials for Aluminum is sold to a smelter. detinning," Goldstein said. "It was already patented in the U.K. ' Typically, scrap entering the shredding process is composed We just brought it over here" of 80 pecent tinplate, 10 percent dirt, 9 percent heavy ferrous AMG operates five tinplate processing centers worldwide: metals and 1 percent aluminum. Processing yields "nuggets" • at its Pittsburgh headquarters; Baltimore; Gary, Ind.; in Har- — ready for detinning — that are 98 percent tinplate, 1.8 percent tlepool and Llenella, England; and a new plant in Thessalonika, dirt and .2 percent aluminum. Greece, the first facility of its kind designed exclusively for the The clean tinplate scrap is washed in solutions which remove detinning and recycling of used tinplate cans. the tin. Detinned steel is bundled and ready for shipment to ' In the detinning operation, tinplate scrap — food and beverage steel mills, while the tin is plated onto cathodes. Plates of the cans, industrial scrap and material from sources such as municipal reclaimed tin are melted, then molten tin is poured into ingots refuse — is first processed through the shredder. Rather than to be sold, usually not for new plating operations but for use using hammers or knives — as do conventional shredders -- in applications such as solder for electronics and stannous fluoride the unit spins and flings material against itself at high speeds, for toothpaste. separating the tinplate from contaminants such as dirt, plastic, "The tin we produce is Grade -A .999 or better purity," said can labels, food particles and non - ferrous tramp metals such Goldstein. "It's not used for plating because they don't need • 1 as aluminum. The separated tinplate scrap leaves the shredder quality as good as we produce. We actually upgrade the qual- in a "nugget" form, and most contaminants are removed in an 4 ontinued on page V) 1 I APRIL1989 / RECYCLING TODAY / 67 V111 chloride, used for "weighting" in the silk of ours, promoting the recycling of steel k calmed fmm rage 67) goods and knitting industries. Vulcan, in cans." response, developed its own chlorine AMG's newest facility — in New Bruns - ity of the tin. It has a higher purity when process. wick, N.J. — is expected to be operational it leaves here than when it comes in to us" By 1928, the electrolytic process — later this year. Curbside recycling programs The steel scrap, too, has high value when foundation for modern-day detinning — was are an asset both to steel -can recyclers and it leaves the detinner. Incoming cans weigh developed and in place. The Pittsbugh to detinners. about five pounds per cubic foot, said Neville Island site that today is AMG's "We'll take all the dirty cans available;' Goldstein. Whendensifiedafterdetinning, headquarters had been opened in 1912. said Shope. "They can be from curbside the No. 1 bundles weigh 70 pounds percubic Vulcan Detinning joined with Birmingham source - separation, mi xed with other foot. In addition, he said, each bundle is Slag in 1956to form Vulcan MaterialsCo., materials or magnetically separated from test - drilled to assure quality before it is and in 1967 it acquired Aluminum and municipal trash. A shredder plant and a shipped to a mill. Magnesium Co. of Sandusky, Ohio, detinning plant should ideally operate "There's a significant freight saving in creating the Metals Division. Vulcan together at the same site, he said, so that densifying the scrap;" said W. Richard Materials Co., which in 1981 had purchased the supply of cans comes in and clean, II Shope, AMG vice president. "You get more the long-established detinning business of bundled, detinned steel and high - quality in a truck or rail car, increase the intrinsic Batchelor Robinson & Co. of the U.K., was tin ingots come out." value of the product and mills will offer the centerpiece in the formation of AMG "If any area can show us enough total a significantly higher price." Resources in 1988. material to process 20 tons or more per year Batchelor Robinson's technology was through our plant, we'll work within gov- III Not a new industry brought to the U.S., and today AMG's emment parameters to do a total operation," AMG's history as a detinner dates back research and development and engineering Goldstein said. So confident are detinners to 1890, when Vulcan Metal Refining Co. department in Pittsburgh comprises eight today of their future tomorrow that, was established in Sewaren, N.J., and people. Goldstein said, "We'll guarantee them an Vulcan Western Co. set up shop in Streator, With increased emphasis on recycling of `evergreen contract' to buy their materials III. They combined in 1902 to form Vulcan steel cans, detinning will he a major bene- forever." Detinning Co. U.S. competition in the ficiary, according to Goldstein. Steel -can recycling has already been industry heated up in the early 1900s, as "The perception might have been accepted in England, where there are no the 3oldschmidt detinning operation, accurate, until June of last year, that there mandatory recycling regulations. In a nation which began in Germany, brought a was no market for dirty cans," he said. where aluminum once claimed 60 percent chlorine -gas processing technology to the "Steel companies avoided them. But long- of the can industry, the tide in the U.K. has U.S. That operation produced tin tetra- term, we see the steel companies as allies (continued on page 72) -. ; SWEATING A LOAD • Make it more pro _ . , •• _ _ _ • - . s • _„ •.: .._. s.• „...., ,, . .,.. _,. ,,,........._. __, ... f '1•,-- 1p'�G. -.L i ' V «.': . M : R} -1,.+- -i tw v J►.1 -"` o f - ..p.' +^ ' - y i -- •'• } - ;� r ` z s'I.1 .4 ` . 4/ x, ,- 1.' 1' `4 _+ F <t -- >. - - - - -- -. ....i.e.— n ,F L / Xt t t #1 ti #}f,. /11 �. _ .t — — ..' ■ ,i:. .:w.4. .. , xK X' lea 4 M , -. , ik LA IC /II �UUI�JA�II 9 �+r`t #"3 j A . � a �i� f bb,, ✓ R • � , 3 ``.� - � tc.k ,�,t 1.1, ;•. p 3 �� gg ! �• • r 1Y: c 1 r ,-•. is � ; ,: r. i -. J K 4 + 51 /1 - +' :.r 1x'14.*! ,,it • c ' +1 � III g,�J ...,-1-, , v. 1 ,...,;.. ) a w f . . . - + ` — �� + Tx pf • > F r.. 4 l � € t _ ? Q( 1 Y i/ 1 +• I J�y�r},L , L IB e f l L \ : x .t1 r. u.. �' � Jr i- ] . _ +1r•i� . M- .�� ..0 ! '..u./ -r� � •.M - .. ii.Y...'� 70 / RECYCLING TODAY / APRIL1989 Circle 133 on reader service card 71N Lulled to sleep two North American producers of tin mill knnrinued farm page 70) The success of the detinning industry and products — Canadian steel makers Dofasco the ability of steelmakers to keep scrap and Stelco Steel — have joined. turned, with tinplate now claiming 55 supplies coming for their furnaces still The scenario for steel -can recycling today percent of the market. That contrasts with depends on the success of the renewed effort has changed, stressed Heenan. "We need the U.S. aluminum industry's 96 percent to increase awareness of the recyclability steel cans; we have room to take every can; domination of the total beverage -can mar- of steel cans. "Steel lost its market share we can take a proactive approach to the ket. by its failure to properly push its product," solid -waste problem and the shortage of The U.K. scrap supply is removed from Goldstein said. "The aluminum people are landfills. trash magnetically. bright. They charge different prices for the "We, as an industry — through the In the U.S., however, only about 12 lid stock in order to subsidize the body so American Iron and Steel Istitute — saw the percent of the conventional tinplate pro- it can compete with tin. PR aside, tinplate problem. People see cars as a recyclable. duced is recovered, according to Stan is more recyclable than aluminum , although One car makes a ton of scrap, but it takes Bryning, AMG group operations director. aluminum is more valuable.' 26,000 can units to make a ton. People "The other 88 percent ends up in garbage. - "The steel industry was lulled to sleep understand that steel is recyclable, but retail Even if we could have 50 percent of that, on the value of recycling;" Heenan agreed. and wholesale scrap dealers never looked that's a lot of tinplate out there to be re- The aluminum industry was "forced" into at cans as recyclable. It was too much to covered" recycling, but found it a good place to be, convince the consumer to clean food cans. AMG's three domestic plants detinned he said. "Environmentalists forced them It's the job of the Steel Can Recycling about 500,000 tons of tinplate in 1988, with into it. They pointed to steel, which will Institute to coordinate and promote the a capacity for 750,000 tons, Bryning said. rust away in 18 months, and said aluminum recycling of steel cans. It's going to grow They could be doing 1 million tons in three would just sit in a landfill. Our advantage from here. years, he said ... if the feed is there. now is that steel cans can be magnetically "Over the next 10 years we see growth Proler International, another major U.S. separated, mechanically pulled out and sent in steel cans, maybe 1 to 2 percent," Shope detinner with plants in Randolph, Ariz., through the stream without having to use predicted. "The steel people have been and Seattle, is building the nation's largest human hands. You can't do that with paper, losing before. Now it's time to regain some detinning facility in Houston. Proler last plastic or aluminum." of the market share" month announced a joint venture to develop The Steel Can Recycling Institute was "As it takes off;' Heenan said, "the steel a mini -mill in Houston for annual pro- founded last summer as a cooperative ef- industry will take more scrap per load. It duction of 800,000 tons of flat rolled steel. fort of the six U.S. producers of tinplate will triple or quadruple." —Arnie Rosen- Much of the steel-scrap supply for the new products: LTV Steel, National Steel, berg Buffalo Steel plant will come from Proler's Bethlehem Steel, USX , Weirton Steel and own detinning operation. Wheeling - Pittsburg Steel. The only other The author is editor of Recycling Today. PAPER WASTE, INDUSTRIAL REFUSE, BUILDING AND DEMOLITION WASTE WHAT TO DO WITH IT ? Contact B.V. MACHINEFABRIEK BOA, ENSCHEDE, manufacturer of machines and installation for the processing of all sorts of refuse and waste. Long years of experience together with an immense technical knowledge show themselves in every product. The BOA range of products: • CHANNEL PRESSES for household and industrial refuse, used paper, plastic refuse, woodchips j) • TRANSFERPRESSES • SHREDDERS for waste wood, cardboard, paper I )�0� • COMPLETE SORTING INSTALLATIONS for all kind of refuse • CUTTING MACHINES for rolls of paper, plastic waste l • CONVEYORS for all purposes • FEEDING and TRANSPORT INSTALLATIONS %Imp wad • DOCUMENT DESTROYERS for banks, insurance companies and governmental institutions • AIRCUSHION CONVEYING SYSTEMS forcardboard You may contact us under: industries, mail order companies and warehouses • PNEUMATIC SYSTEMS, ventilators, cyclones, BOA MACHINEFABRIEK BOA cyclocondensors, separators BINNENHAVEN 44 - 7547 BH ENSCHEDE • FILTERINSTALLATIONS P.O. BOX 212- 7500 AE ENSCHEDE- HOLLAND • HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS TEL. 053-300 300 - TELEX 4 42 45 - FAX 053 V iimmink 72 / RECKIMG TODAY / APRIL19R9 Circle 141 on reader aervke card RECYCLING VIEW IMPROVED MARKETS -YES PERFECT MARKETS -NO It The consensus among industry- While these figures are encouraging, watchers is that the success of these new there are some problems. For example, programs hinges on public participation mixed -paper usage in new product manu- I and on wastepaper markets. The public facture has been decreasing for the past has clearly demonstrated by its partici- 10 years; however, I predict a 3% per pation in recycling programs that it in- year growth in demand over the next 5 tends to be part of the solution. The re- years, caused primarily by overseas de- '* maining concern becomes the future of mand. Also, the new capacity demand for ,. , " wastepaper markets. wastepaper will not arrive soon enough In 1988, the U.S. recycled nearly and will not always align geographically 3,500,000 tons of newspaper domesti- with points of supply. • cally and 840,000 tons through the ex- Another problem may be that industry port market for a total of 4,340,000 tons. power brokers are adjusting prices to Peter L. Grogan There are currently 404 U.S. and Cana- slow government involvement in waste - dian paper mills using wastepaper in the paper recovery. Local governments, how - ASTEPAPER markets are to- manufacture of new paper and paper- ever, are in solid waste recycling to stay. day the recycling industry's pri- board products. I project that the U.S. They have no choice. Landfill costs are mary concern. For the past year, will develop the capacity, over the next 3 skyrocketing and long -term liability the industry has blamed successful resi- years, to process at least 1,280,000 tons along with old site cleanups and on -going dential curbside collection programs for a of additional waste newsprint. I also an- environmental hazards are driving local recession in wastepaper markets. The ticipate the expansion of Canadian mills governments away from disposal as the Northeast states are experiencing a de- to create demand for an additional sole solution to our solid waste dilemma. cline in market demand and the accompa- 500,000 to • 750,000 tons of U.S.- It is important to remember that mar - nying effects of negative pricing. Nega- generated waste newsprint. Discounting kets for a variety of commodities are not tive pricing— paying wastepaper brokers expected growth in the overseas export, I perfect. That is why dealers offer year - to accept paper — appears to be cheaper project a minimum new capacity of end sales on automobiles. Farm commod- than other disposal options. 1,780,000 tons. Some of this new capac- ity prices are another example of a prob- The wastepaper market experienced a ity will be filled by the use of magazine lematical supply and demand market. dramatic downturn during 1973 and stock, because of the recent trend by That is why I believe that the answer to 1974 as well as a recession during the newsprint manufacturing mills to use the age -old recycling question "What early '80s, but the industry has experi- waste magazines in the manufacture of about markets ?" will be found in the long enced similar recessions and depressions recycled newsprint. term. Markets for recyclable materials long before residential collection pro- Newsprint manufacturers are receiving are adjusting to the supply increase that grams were ever instituted. Government- pressure from their customers to manu- will allow more and more citizens to par - supported residential collection pro- facture and supply recycled newsprint, ticipate in waste reduction. I believe the grams were so scarce in the '70s and which may translate into additional pro- broker /mill network will accommodate early '80s as to be insignificant. Yet some duction of newsprint containing recycled this activity. Markets in the U.S. have industry representatives are still pro- fiber. met the public's demand for consumer claiming gloom and doom, blaming local Capacity is also growing for the use of products and will respond to the public's government for the potential demise of old corrugated containers (OCC). Mann- desire to reduce waste and purchase recy- the wastepaper business. While it is no facturing mills have announced new ca- cled products. secret that the traditional wastepaper in- parity of 1,014,000 tons and are seriously dust'' would like government to stay out considering an additional million tons. Peter Grogan is the Director of Materi- of its business, most large city govern- The use of OCC has grown at a rate of als Recovery and an Associate with R. W. ments have no choice but to develop ag- 12% per year for the past 6 years and the Beck and Associates, a national engineer - gressive recycling programs to reduce op- use of high -grade office paper has grown ing firm. He was the Executive Director erational costs, extend landfill life, and at a rate of 4.5% for the last 10 years. of Eco- Cycle, Inc., a community solid reduce the environmental hazards of Both U.S. and Canadian mills expect sig- waste recycling program in Boulder, Col - landfilling. nificant expansion of use. orado for 11 years. BIOCYCLE JUNE 1989 85