Diminishing TDF and athletic turf markets exist in several regions.

Pictured above, left to right: JD Wang of ReRubber LLC, Kyle Eastman of Liberty Tire Recycling, Elizabeth Hoover of the Arkansas DEQ and Terry Gray of T.A.G. Resources.

Tire recycling has come a long way, says tire processing veteran and current consultant Terry Gray of Houston-based T.A.G. Resource Recovery. However, Gray also remarked while speaking at the Spotlight on Tires session at the ISRI2017 convention, some of the end markets for scrap tires are currently facing difficulties, causing a sense of disruption in the overall market.

Gray said he started in the North American scrap tire processing sector in 1984, when as few as 1 percent of all scrap tires were being recycled. More than 30 years later, the industry can be described as “more mature” he said, with almost 90 percent of scrap tires now being processed for recycling. “That’s a pretty good track record,” said Gray.

The bad news for scrap tire processors are government-related obstacles being faced in several key end markets. Gray said a tax credit that had been available to users of tire-derived fuel (TDF) had expired in some states, “so [energy] plants are failing that had converted to TDF.”

He said officials in one such state, Michigan, are acknowledging they will need to find and boost alternative end markets for scrap tires, but Gray said in many New England states “It’s a real issue and they’ve got their heads in the sand.”

In the ground or crumb rubber markets, the sports field additive market had been emerging as a strong consumer, but that end market is taking a hit from (as yet unsubstantiated) claims that athletes coming into contact with crumb rubber on fields are experiencing health issues, including cancer.

By Gray’s estimate, some 30 percent of sports fields are in regions such as New England and California where regulators are advising turf managers to be wary of using crumb rubber. In 2015, 25 percent of crumb rubber was used on sports fields and another 23 percent as playground surfacing or as mulch, so shrinkage in any of those markets will cause considerable disruption, said Gray.

Gray characterized the rubberized asphalt market for ground tires as often subject to “wait and see” attitudes, but he said the manufactured products sector for molded rubber has been one brighter spot.

J.D. Wang, the CEO of California-based ReRubber LLC, says his company’s investors have been putting most of their R&D resources into the crumb rubber and powder categories, after acknowledging that the firm “has gone through eight years of disruption” itself. “In our first five years, we processed a lot, and failed a lot,” he commented.

ReRubber is now focusing on making rubber powder, researching and opening up end markets for the tire-derived powder to be used in protective and architectural coatings applications. The company is exploring a supply loop that Wang says allows it to “innovate” and conduct research in California, then more rapidly implement the ideas in Asia or “work out the kinks” there, and then bring successful ideas back to the United States.

Offering a point of view from state government, Elizabeth Hoover of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said in that state in the 1990s, TDF used at cement plants represented “about the only markets” for scrap tires.

She remarked that emissions concerns about zinc levels had harmed that market, and now the health questions surrounding the field turf market are presenting a new disruption. Unless scrap tire processors have diversified markets, “you have problems on your hands,” warned Hoover.

Her message to scrap tire processors was that states can provide help in the form of loans for equipment, workshops and conferences and assistance in identifying and developing end markets. She also remarked, however, that because of tight state budgets, “a lot of that [potential assistance] is beginning to dry up.”

ISRI2017 was in at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans April 22-27, 2017.

Reverse vending machine for batteries is being placed at select Obs! stores.

Retailer Coop Norway and battery maker Energizer have agreed to try out reverse vending machines for batteries that were developed by Sweden-based Refind Technologies.

The companies estimate that some 2,000 tonnes of household batteries are used each year in Norway, with many of them collected as “special waste.” However, a survey performed by YouGov for Coop Norway and Energizer found that as many as 26% of the country’s residents say they sometimes throw used batteries out with household waste.

“We are happy to try out this reverse vending machine in our Obs! stores in cooperation with Energizer,” says Geir Inge Stokke, concern manager of Coop Norway. He adds, “Coop is owned by its customers and we want to make it as simple as possible to make environmentally conscious choices. Norwegians are good at recycling, but can be better. Awareness is good as a motivational factor, but further incentives as a financial reward can be even more important.”

The reverse vending machine being deployed in the second quarter of 2017 is being tested in select Obs! stores around Oslo. The Refind Technologies machine allows customers to return “all types of household batteries in a similar way as a reverse vending machine for bottles,” says Refind in a press release. Customers will receive a discount of one Norwegian krone (€0.11) per battery in the form a discount coupon that can be used when buying new batteries.

“We are proud of the cooperation with Coop Norway about this great initiative enabling the awareness of and consumer motivation for battery recycling,” says Richard Podevin, head of Northwest Europe marketing at Energizer. “As the largest battery manufacturer in the world, we look at the entire life cycle of a battery, from production to waste.”

Comments Johanna Reimers, CEO of Refind Technologies, “This is one of the most fun and exciting projects we have been working with. We have worked with battery collectors and recyclers within the recycling chain, using our automatic recognition technology, but this is the first time we are working with a large producer. We hope that this can be an inspiration for everyone within battery recycling.”

Reimers says the reverse vending machine can have a positive effect, since the Norwegian population survey also found half of the participants answered that a payback structure would influence the amount of batteries they return.

Austrian shredder maker adds Ryohshin Co. Ltd. as its distributor in Japan.

Austria-based shredding equipment manufacturer Lindner-Recyclingtech has entered into a sales partnership with Ryohshin Co. Ltd. of Toyama, Japan. Ryohshin will assume responsibility for selling Lindner single-shaft shredding equipment to the Japanese waste management industry.

“The Japanese shredder market is characterised by high demand and fierce competition, with a focus on replacing older systems, upgrades and expanding existing capacities,” says Ryohshin CEO Osamu Kono. “To succeed in this environment in the long term, we choose our partners worldwide according to very strict criteria. We had been searching for a manufacturer whose products would be an ideal complement and addition to our extensive line of waste management solutions – and in Lindner we found exactly what we had been looking for.”

Says Manuel Lindner, the owner and CEO of Lindner-Recyclingtech, “We are very proud that we were able to stand out against such strong competition and that Ryohshin opted for Lindner. This success validates our dedication to providing sustainable and reliable industrial shredding solutions. Together we will have a strong presence in this market, whose highly advanced attitude towards recycling has long been established.”

Lindner describes itself as a provider of innovative and successful shredding solutions, including stationary and mobile crushing and shredding machines for waste recycling, systems for plastics recycling and the processing of substitute fuels and substrates for biomass equipment.

Ryohshin Co. Ltd. refers to itself as a specialist in shredding technology that owns numerous patents and sells crushers, shredders and peripheral systems to the waste management sector.

“Five to Stay Alive” safety resources expand with addition of guidelines for MRF workers.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has developed a new installment to its “Five to Stay Alive” series that features safety tips material recovery facility (MRF) workers should follow. 

The Five to Stay Alive series offers five safety guidelines MRF workers should follow, including: 

Follow lockout/tagout, always. Never access a baler, compactor, screen or metering drum unless lockout/tagout has been performed per the equipment-specific procedure. Always verify that the energy has been controlled.

Do not walk on conveyors. Walking, standing or crossing over a conveyor at any time is strictly prohibited unless you locked/tagged it out or witnessed it being locked out/tagged out.

Beware of heights. If fall protection is required (exposure to a fall of greater than 4 feet) you should be trained and authorized to wear the fall protection gear.

Bale safety. Bales should never be stacked more than 4 feet high. No one should stand near stacked bales, which can fall over if struck by a forklift.

Maintain a safe distance from moving equipment. Always maintain at least 15 feet separation between you and any mobile equipment.

The number of MRF worker fatalities increased over the previous year, SWANA says, and the multitude of injury hazards at recycling facilities remain high. The complex and fast-paced environment of a modern MRF requires well-trained and educated employees and employers. The Five to Stay Alive safety campaign includes flyers and posters that provide a set of guidelines for employees to follow in order to reduce accidents and injuries on the job. “The safety performance of the waste industry is not acceptable, and at least two MRF workers were killed earlier this year,” says David Biderman, SWANA’s executive director and CEO. “With volatile commodity prices, we urge companies and local governments to not reduce their focus on worker safety. SWANA will continue to provide useful safety resources and training to public and private sector employers and employees in both the United States and Canada. Nothing we do is more important.” SWANA says it encourages waste industry professionals to use this tool, in addition to its other safety resources, to continue efforts in creating a positive workplace safety culture, to move the solid waste industry off of the federal government’s list of most dangerous jobs.   “Our industry is relying more and more on MRFs to remove materials from the waste stream, which makes this new Five to Stay Alive installment particularly relevant,” says Tom Parker, SWANA’s Safety Committee chair. “It is imperative that we work safely every minute of every day, and integrating these five basic principles at MRFs can help us achieve this goal.” Five to Stay Alive resources are available for download on the SWANA website for sharing in promoting safety to colleagues and other industry professionals. The Spanish version will be available in June.  The first five tips SWANA offered as part of its campaign for transfer stations are:

To learn more about SWANA’s award-winning safety program, please visit swana.org/safety.

Through program, independent haulers and truckers have access to fuel, equipment, maintenance and financial benefits.