Recycling Today articles from September 2005

Recycling Today archives from September 2005

A positive distinction.(Editor's Focus)
September 1, 2005... Differentiating one's business was a topic of discussion raised with me recently by a recycler who also operates a document destruction subsidiary. In this person's case, he had been making efforts to distinguish the shredding firm by using a...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2005... In the July cover story on Metal Management Inc., Rob Larry was incorrectly referred to as CEO on first reference His correct job title, found later in the story, is CFO.

Tube City and AK Steel ink scrap deal.(SCRAP INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... AK Steel has entered into an agency agreement with Tube City LLC to purchase ferrous scrap for all of AK Steel's steel-making facilities. As part of the agreement, Tube City will be responsible for negotiating the majority of carbon scrap...

PSC continues acquisition pattern.(SCRAP INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2005... PSC Metals Inc., headquartered in Mayfield, Ohio, has purchased Causey Enterprises LLC, a scrap recycler located in Bowling Green, Ky., and Knoxville Recycling Co., in South Knoxville, Tenn. Causey Enterprises processes ferrous and...

Metal Management's earnings dip.(SCRAP INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2005... Metal Management Inc., Chicago, has announced results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2005. The company generated consolidated net sales of $382 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2006 and net income of $5.4 million. ...

Philly controller reviews recycling program.(MUNICIPAL RECYCLING)
September 1, 2005... Philadelphia's City Controller Jonathan Saidel has released a performance review, conducted by his office, of the city's recycling program. The report concludes that the city's recycling program was not in compliance with numerous...

PA. DEP announces nearly $4 million in performance grants.(MUNICIPAL RECYCLING)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Pennsylvania has announced more than $4.3 million in recycling performance grants to 104 Pennsylvania communities for their recycling efforts in 2003. More than 3,247 recycling and reuse businesses and organizations generate more than...

Claims and adjustments.(FERROUS)
September 1, 2005... Inventory adjustments may have had their desired effect in terms of steel and ferrous scrap pricing. Summer months filled with slower steel production schedules and Jess over-the-scale scrap buying may have allowed links throughout the...

Stainless shows signs of weakness.(NONFERROUS)
September 1, 2005... While there are indicators that ferrous may have hit a bottom, several preliminary indicators show that pricing for finished stainless steel may be in the early stages of weakening. One handler of stainless steel in the Eastern United...

Argentina halts exports.(NONFERROUS)
September 1, 2005... The government of Argentina announced in mid-July that it was halting the export of copper scrap for 90 days. The decision, announced by Roberto Lavagna, Argentina's economy minister, was an attempt to halt the widespread theft of...

The dog days of summer.(PAPER)
September 1, 2005... The end of July and very beginning of August have seen a slow recovered paper market in terms of both pricing and generation. While the market typically bottoms out in early-to-mid July, it can usually be expected to rebound in August--a...

ITEC to receive $2 million loan.(PLASTIC)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Itec Environmental Group Inc., Riverbank, Calif., has received confirmation that a $2 million low-interest loan from the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) was placed in escrow with First American Title of California in...

Wal-Mart serves up plastic sandwich.(NONMETALLICS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Retailing giant Wal-Mart, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Recycling, is stepping up a pilot program that the companies hope will significantly boost plastic recycling. The two companies have been using the plastic sandwich bale, a...

Plasticon secures more supply sources.(NONMETALLICS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Plasticon International Inc. has contracted with five new sources of recycled plastic resins, which will provide enough recycled plastic resins to fulfill its projected orders for the next 10 years, the company says. Jim Turek, Plasticon...

Wrap grants boost glass recycling.(GLASS)
September 1, 2005... The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Scottish Executive are awarding 1.2 million pounds (about US. $2 million) to trial projects that aim to develop end markets for recycled glass. The trials are designed to further the...

EPA praises electronics recycling pilot.(ELECTRONICS RECYCLING)
September 1, 2005... A trial effort to evaluate the feasibility of consumer electronics recycling on a large scale shows that such items can be easily recycled at low cost to consumers and retailers, according to a press release from the U.S. EPA. An analysis...

ISRI offers e-recycling input.(ELECTRONICS RECYCLING)(Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The board of directors of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), Washington, has adopted a new electronics recycling policy that it says will guide the association's legislative efforts and establish a coalition of business...

Proposed bill to limit rail power over solid waste facilities.(C & D NEWS)
September 1, 2005... Saying he realizes "the Surface Transportation Board (STB) must have broad jurisdiction over rail transportation, but that jurisdiction should not be interpreted in a way that puts our environment at risk," Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey)...

Program looks to boost gypsum recycling in U.K.(C & D NEWS)(Waste & Resources Action Program)
September 1, 2005... The U.K.-based Waste & Resources Action Program (WRAP) has started work on improving the recycling opportunities for gypsum waste, sourced predominantly from scrap drywall, also known as plasterboard. The aim of WRAP's three-year...

Spanish firm acquires Webber Group.(C & D NEWS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Spanish-based Ferrovial has reached an agreement to buy all of the Webber Group, based in Houston. Webber specializes in infrastructure civil engineering, aggregate recycling and extraction and supply of sand in Texas. The acquisition...

BIR combines substance, style.(BIR REPORT)(Bureau of International Recycling)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) holds its Autumn Round-Table in style-conscious Milan Oct. 24-25. All meetings take place at the Milan Marriott Hotel, which is located in a residential area near the city center. Milan is best...

Metal Management chooses Steinert.(EQUIPMENT REPORT)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... During Metal Management's Quarterly Meeting in February 2005, Chairman, CEO and President Daniel Dienst announced that a major improvement would be undertaken at Metal Management's auto shredder facilities throughout the United States. The...

Riverside Engineering announces rotor sales.(EQUIPMENT REPORT)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Riverside Engineering Inc., headquartered in San Antonio, has announced that it has sold two patent-pending Revolution rotors. Both are 80-104 rotor assemblies that replace existing disc rotor assemblies. Riverside designed its Revolution...

Rabanco buys Bollegraaf baler.(EQUIPMENT REPORT)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Rabanco/Allied Waste, Seattle, has purchased a Bollegraaf HBC-110F baler with an extra-wide feed hopper and feed conveyors. The baler, equipped with the extra-wide feed hopper, can process extremely bulky materials without the need for an...

Good fortune: Victor Ng and Fortune Plastic & Metal Inc. develop a truly international business model.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2005... When he immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in the 1990s, Victor Ng began learning the English language as well as business management skills while working at a Chinese restaurant in Eastern Pennsylvania. At the same time Victor...

Paper giants: global demand for recovered paper has been keeping North America's paperstock dealers busy.(recycled paper)
September 1, 2005... Paper recycling has long been a quiet component of North America's industrial economy, but recent export statistics have helped cast a spotlight on some recycling activity. In an economy where goods made in China are streaming into Pacific...

A faster world, if not a smaller one.(INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Many Americans are amused by (and probably more than a little envious of) the tendency of Europeans to take from two-to-four consecutive weeks of vacation, with many of them doing so in August. Whether because of job insecurity, a sense of...

The fast lane: Chinese society moves from calligraphy to cell phones in a compressed time frame.(economic reforms)
September 1, 2005... The visitor to China can reach conclusions about Chinese society based on one week there no better than a one-week journey to the United States can provide a complete portrait of America to an outsider. All one can rely on are impressions...

Two strategies: China and Mexico pursue different strategies to retain critical trade relationships with the United States.(international trade)
September 1, 2005... "If you know little, stick to what is surest in each profession. People may not consider you ingenious, but they will think you solid." wrote the 16th century Jesuit priest Baltasar Gracian. For obvious reasons we are living in a business...

Shrinking world: the growth of the BRIC countries is making the world a smaller place.(Brazil, Russia, India and China)
September 1, 2005... The scrap market is no longer confined to what the United States is doing. While China has dominated the focus throughout the last few years, many other countries, for better or worse, are affecting the U.S. scrap recycling economy. Among these...

First impressions: first impressions in international business can make a world of difference.(banking)
September 1, 2005... What an opportunity! A roomful of prospective clients worth more than the GNP of most small nations. The guest speaker, a sophisticated well-traveled investment banker from the United States--we'll call him John Dough--is introduced. He...

Keep out: certain chemical preservatives are unwelcome contaminants in the mulch and wood fuel markets.(COMMODITY FOCUS: academic research summary)
September 1, 2005... Markets for recycled construction and demolition (C&D) wood include mulch or wood fuel. Both options minimize landfill disposal and serve as substitutes for new wood materials. However, the presence of preservatives within C&D scrap wood...

Rolling steady: much like the Great Prairie, Midwest recycling markets have been level this year.(REGIONAL RECYCLING REPORT)
September 1, 2005... From Ohio to Nebraska, fields of corn and soybeans gently roll along. In the towns and cities, recycling markets are rolling along the same way. This year, there are fewer high peaks or deep valleys. Material flows and margins are...

Off the road again: Europe's automotive recycling industry adapts as the EU's ELV Directive takes effect.(End-of-Life Vehicle)
September 1, 2005... Up to 14 million motor vehicles reach the end of their road-worthy lives in the member states of the European Union (EU) each year, according to the Brussels, Belgium-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). To help tackle the daunting...

Glass menagerie: a glass size reduction and sorting system yields benefits for a Scottish recycling agency.(OPERATIONS PROFILE)
September 1, 2005... The remote Isle of Lewis, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides chain, seems an unlikely place for technological innovation. But the island's capital of Stornoway is the site of an unusual glass recycling operation. The plant is novel in that it...

PSC Metals.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2005... PSC Metals Inc. has announced that Dyan Reed has been named southeast sales manager, nonferrous. She will be headquartered in Nashville. Prior to PSC, Reed spent 14 years as a marketing and materials manager with Alumitech of Wabash, Ind....

Midland Davis.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2005... Leonard Zeid, formerly with Federal International Inc., will head a St. Louis brokerage office for Midland Davis Corp., Moline, Ill. Zeid's St. Louis brokerage will be known as Midland Davis Trading. Midland Davis processes scrap paper...

Ellen Harvey receives award.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Ellen Harvey, executive vice president of E.L. Harvey & Sons Inc., Westboro, Mass., has received an award from the Environmental Industry Associations (EIA) Women's Council acknowledging her role in the council's founding and her service as...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
September 1, 2005... Sept. 13 ISRI Wisconsin Chapter Meeting, Milwaukee, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. Wisconsin Chapter, (920) 921-2070 or knippelt@sadoff.com Sept. 15-16 ISRI New Southern Chapter ...

Sennebogen 840 M C.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... * Created for high-performance scrap operations * Features a 280-hp Caterpillar 3126B diesel engine * Uses a computer-free load-sensing hydraulic system * Uses one large hydraulic axial piston pump with a 148 gpm capacity and an...

Linde RX 50-16 electric lift truck.(Linde Lift Truck Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... * Three-wheel, rear-drive 24V Class 1 lift truck designed for maneuverability and flexibility in high-density warehousing and loading applications * Variable wheelbase for optimized traction, comfort and maneuverability * Load...

Extreme-duty V-Plow from titan trailers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... * Thinwall aluminum trailers now feature a "V-Plow" cleaning system to complement Keith V-Floor * Designed for extreme-duty applications, such as scrap and C&D recycling * V-Plow works with the V-Floor to clean between the slats after...

Oxford instruments X-MET3000TXR.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... * A lightweight X-ray-tube-based analyzer for rapid and reliable RoHS compliance screening * Designed for measuring heavy metals in plastics, solder and printed circuit boards * Provides quantitative analysis of all restricted elements...

Vecoplan electronic media shredders.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... * A comprehensive line of plant-based and mobile shredding systems capable of handling a variety of electronics ranging from CDs and DVDs to hard drives and monitors to cell phones * Feature Vecoplan's single-shaft, high-torque, low-speed,...

Cleaner cruising.(Air pollution control)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Houston-based Waste Management has announced that it has reduced an estimated 247 tons per year of harmful air emissions from its fleet of garbage and recycling trucks, beating the California Air Resources Board's early compliance deadline for...

Fashion treads on.(Passchal Products )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A Richmond, Va., handbag maker has introduced a line of purses made out of the inner tubes of used off-road truck and tractor tires. Passchal Products collects and cleans the tires, soaking them in an "Earth-friendly" solution to remove the...

Scrappy sculptures.(Art of Recycling metal sculpture competition)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... American Iron, Minneapolis, has announced the winners of its fifth annual Art of Recycling metal sculpture competition. All of the artwork in the competition is made from scrap metal that American Iron makes available to local artists....