Equipment and technology company’s white paper directed to metals shredding plant operators.

Erie, Pennsylvania-based global equipment provider Eriez has issued a white paper on shredded metals separation titled “Processing Zurik to Zorba.” The document “highlights separation equipment that efficiently upgrades zurik to a more desirable and profitable zorba fraction while also reducing scrap yard fire hazards,” states the company.

The white paper, written by Eriez Recycling Market Manager Mike Shattuck, posits that stockpiles of zurik generate “a significant fire risk due to the hot metals surrounded by flammable debris.” It then outlines a procedure for “transforming relatively low-value zurik material into a copper-rich, high-value zorba product that is easier to market and sell,” says Eriez.

Shattuck says size reduction and liberation of zurik is key to ensuring the process improves profitability. “This copper-rich Zorba also commands a higher price than standard zorba and also is easier to market and sell. Additionally, this system creates a fine saleable stainless steel product.”

According to the white paper, equipment used within the zurik-to-zorba process consists of a ring mill, a small drum-type magnetic separator, an ultra-high-frequency (UHF) eddy current separator and a stainless steel magnetic separator.

Achieving maximum recovery and grade of the Zorba (more than 95 percent aluminum) requires the technology of a UHF eddy current separator, according to the firm. “Standard eddy current separators are only capable of recovering material coarser in size due to less frequency changes found in this type of magnetic circuit design and the larger size distribution,” states Eriez.

The white paper can be downloaded from this web page.

Robin Morris Collin will advise Administrator Michael S. Regan as the agency works to advance environmental justice and civil rights in communities that suffer from disproportionately high pollution levels.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the appointment of Robin Morris Collin to be EPA’s senior advisor to the administrator for Environmental Justice. Collin will advise Administrator Michael S. Regan as the agency works to advance environmental justice and civil rights in communities that continue to suffer from disproportionately high pollution levels, including low-income communities and communities of color.

Collin is nationally recognized for her leadership and scholarship in the areas of sustainability, energy and environmental justice and joins the EPA after serving as the Norma Paulus Professor of Law at Willamette University in Oregon. Collin was one of the first U.S. law professors to teach sustainability courses in a U.S. law school and served as founding chair of the State of Oregon’s Environmental Justice Task Force, among other positions on local, state and federal environmental justice organizations.

“From my first day at EPA, I have committed to embedding equity, environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of the Agency’s programs, policies and processes and to [deliver] tangible results to underserved communities. That’s why I am so pleased to welcome Robin, one of the nation’s foremost experts and a lifelong advocate for overburdened communities, as my senior advisor for environmental justice,” says Regan. “Robin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the agency and is the ideal person to ensure our most vulnerable populations have a seat at the table as we work to deliver environmental justice.”

“Climate change is the single greatest environmental challenge of our time. Environmental justice is the way a multiracial, multi-ethnic society engages that challenge.  I am honored to serve in this role to protect our land, air and water and, as part of that work, lift up underserved communities so that we may all thrive together,” says Collin. “I look forward to the privilege of working with Administrator Regan and the experienced, thoughtful and collaborative leadership team at EPA.”

Prior to her time at Willamette University, Collin held professorships at Tulane Law School, McGeorge School of Law and the University of Oregon and visitorships at Washington & Lee Law School and Pepperdine Law School. Her work on environmental justice has also been published in numerous academic journals.

Throughout her career, Collin has been recognized for creative and entrepreneurial leadership and her ability to develop equitable solutions, receiving the EPA Environmental Justice Achievement Award, the Leadership Award by Oregon State Bar as founder of the Sustainable Futures section of the Bar, the Judith Ramaley Award for Civic Engagement and the David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award.

Collin comes from a family of academic and entrepreneurial achievers. Her great grandfather, an enslaved person, became a professor of math and Greek at Bennet College in North Carolina, and her father, John Payton Morris, founded an ocean-going vessel line in Maryland. Collin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College and a Juris Doctor degree from Arizona State University.

“Professor Collin is an excellent choice to lead the EJ efforts at the EPA,” says Beverly Wright, founding executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ). “We look forward to working with her and Administrator Regan to continue this important work on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to address the urgent needs of underserved communities that have been left behind for way too long.”

“I am thrilled that Professor Collin has been appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to serve in this critical role at the EPA,” says Robert Bullard, professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University. “Professor Collin has dedicated her entire life’s work to uplifting communities in need and I know that together we will work towards delivering meaningful results to those that need it most.” 

The facility will be dedicated to recycled polystyrene and will process 15 kilotons annually.

Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, has announced that plans for a chemical recycling plant in Belgium are progressing rapidly. The facility is in the design phase and construction is expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Synova, a technology provider based in Maassluis, The Netherlands, and global engineering services company Worley out of Sydney, Australia, currently are working on an engineering package and preparing Trinseo’s material handling facility in Tessenderlo, Belgium, for recycling operations.

The plant will be dedicated to recycled polystyrene (rPS), meeting increased demand for the material as brand owners seek sustainable options. It will process 15 kilotons of rPS flakes annually that will be converted into recycled styrene to enable further production of polystyrene (PS) or a styrene derivative including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and styrene acrylonitrile (SAN).

PS is one of the most widely used plastics and can be fully circular. Due to its simple chemistry, it can be converted to its monomer yielding a material with identical properties as its fossil equivalent.

“Trinseo chose Synova and Worley to move forward with because of their leadership in their respective areas, the efficiency and maturity of their technologies and approaches, and high-quality output,” says Francesca Reverberi, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer. “Both also have a strong commitment to sustainability, and this alignment was critical for us as we continue our journey and goal of delivering sustainable material solutions while maintaining high quality and performance.”

Synova is a provider of technology for the recycling of mixed plastic scrap. The technology was invented by TNO, an independent Dutch research organization, and features a highly efficient process to convert waste into high-value products while improving the CO2 footprint.

Worley says it delivers project and asset services for the energy, chemicals and resources globally. The company provides expertise in engineering, procurement and construction and consulting services. 

Trinseo recently announced an offtake agreement for recycled styrene with recycler Indaver, the acquisition of recycler Heathland B.V. and the introduction of bio-attributed PS, ABS and SAN.

The company says the $50 million facility will be the fifth-largest recycling facility in the world.

Cincinnati-based Rumpke Waste & Recycling has announced plans to construct a $50 million recycling facility in Columbus, Ohio. Called the Rumpke Resource Recycling Center, the facility is expected to open in 2024, said Andrew Rumpke, area president of Rumpke.

The material recovery facility (MRF) is expected to expand the company’s recycling capabilities from 30 tons to 50 tons an hour. The MRF will recover various forms of scrap, such as plastic, metal, cartons, paper and glass. The MRF will use ballistic separators, optical sorters and artificial intelligence to sort secondary materials as well. However, it’s unclear which companies will supply the equipment at this time.

“[This facility] will be the most technologically advanced, state-of-the-art recycling center in the United States,” Rumpke said during a press conference Feb. 8 at Rumpke’s current recycling facility on E. 5th Ave. in the Milo-Grogan neighborhood of Columbus.

The facility will be 200,000 square feet and include a research and development center in collaboration with The Ohio State University Sustainability Institute, a career and training center and a creative education center in partnership with the COSI Science Center. 

Rumpke also is donating $100,000 to Ohio State to fund scholarships and plans to collaborate with the university to educate students on waste recycling technology at the new facility. The career and education facility will assist Ohio State students in finding careers in the waste and recycling industry after graduation.

“The Rumpke Recycling Resource Center will ensure recycling capacity to serve the long-term needs as the region grows to over 3 million in population throughout the next 20 years,” Rumpke said. “Our new recycling facility is strategically designed to meet the needs of Columbus and Franklin County, residents, local governments as well as the demands of the commercial and industrial business growth in central Ohio.”

When Rumpke opens its expansion in 2024, the company says it will continue many of its operations at its existing facility in Columbus, including its clean energy fueling station, transfer station, hauling and maintenance operations. The company’s area offices also will remain at the current facility, Rumpke says.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the city of Houston, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, FCC and Cyclyx.

The city of Houston, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell FCC Environmental Services and Cyclyx International, a consortium feedstock management company founded by Agilyx and ExxonMobil, have signed a memorandum of understanding to form the Houston Recycling Collaboration. The collaborators intend to increase Houston's plastics recycling rate and establish Houston as a leader in mechanical and advanced recycling.

The collaboration unites two of the world's largest chemical companies, ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, both of which say they plan to expand recycling capacity; FCC, a leading environmental services company with extensive experience in Houston; circular systems developer Cyclyx; and the fourth-largest municipality in the United States.

According to a news release issued by Cyclyx, the Houston Recycling Collaboration will focus on expanding access to recycling programs for the community and local businesses, improving community education and awareness and enabling the recycling of plastics that are difficult to recycle via conventional means.

The partners say their proposed approach will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and will help to drive scalable, community-focused solutions to accelerate plastic recycling.

Inigo Sanz, CEO of Houston-based FCC Environmental Services, tells Recycling Today that ExxonMobil approached the company a couple of months ago regarding the collaboration. FCC processes residential recyclables at its Houston MRF that have been collected by the city. FCC also collects from commercial customers and multifamily residences in the area.

Sanz says the goal of the Houston Recycling Collaboration is to increase the percentage of plastics that can be recycled and reduce the volume of that material that is being landfilled. “It is great to partner with companies that have solutions for plastics that are more difficult to recycle or are more difficult to find an end market for,” he says.

FCC’s role in the collaboration will be related to feedstock procurement and preparation, Sanz says. The company will work with its partners on educational campaigns, as well.   

“We are very excited about the opportunity,” Sanz says, particularly because it is in the city where FCC is headquartered. “It makes it more interesting for us because we see the potential of the partnership.”

Cyclyx, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will match the recovered plastics to mechanical and chemical recycling efforts underway at ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell.

In September 2021, LyondellBasell, with North American headquarters in Houston, announced that it obtained the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification for certain grades of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) produced at four of its U.S. manufacturing sites. The ISCC PLUS certification is a system for providing traceability of recycled and renewable-based materials across the supply chain.

In October 2021, ExxonMobil, Irving, Texas, announced plans to build its first large-scale postuse plastic advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas. The company says it expects to begin operations at the facility by the end of 2022.

Cyclyx International previously announced that it is developing a plastic recovery facility to process postuse plastics for committed offtake associated with advanced recycling projects on the Gulf Coast that includes ExxonMobil’s Baytown site.

Joe Vaillancourt, CEO of Cyclyx, says, "We look forward to working with this team and contributing some of our programs and tools to the Houston Recycling Collaboration. We believe this program will showcase a new approach to increase plastic recycling rates that could be used as a model throughout North America. Taking this collaborative effort across industries is unique, and I believe one that will drive change.”

Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics and the American Chemistry Council, Washington, has issued a statement in support of the collaboration.

“Today the city of Houston and four business partners have come together to find solutions that will move Houston’s recycling system into the modern era,” he says. “Congratulations to the Houston Recycling Collaboration for setting the stage to dramatically improve recycling rates and sustainability in a major U.S. city and creating a blueprint on how to do so for other cities.

“Any modern recycling system must use all the tools in the toolbox to succeed. That includes using advanced recycling technologies that can recycle significantly more types of plastics than traditional recycling methods to make virgin-quality plastics for use in the most precise applications, such as medicine, food contact, and consumer safety products. Also, this collaboration will increase access to recycling programs for the community and local business and improve recycling education and outreach for the residents of Houston,” he adds.