American Recycling | Paper Recycling | Recycling Systems

ISRI Releases New Plastics Specifications

lrfiv — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:33:33 +0000

PS bales (polystyrene)

New Plastics Specifications to Modernize, Standardize and Streamline Plastics Buying and Selling.

The new specifications were approved by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.(ISRI) Board of Directors. ISRI’s plastic scrap specifications will give buyers and sellers that handle plastic scrap a set of common terms and definitions they can use when they establish their business relationships. This common vernacular can help both parties avoid misunderstandings and ensure the terms they agree upon are mutually beneficial.

“As plastics have been increasingly recycled, ISRI’s plastic scrap specifications needed to be updated”, said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “We have seen a clear need for common ground when it comes to specifications for recycled plastics. One of our priorities here at ISRI is to ensure the free and fair trade of commodities in a way that can be understood in our global economy.”

“Historically, the recyclable plastics commodities market has been plagued with confusion surrounding the acceptable specifications of even the most commonly traded grades [of plastic]. This has resulted in increased market transaction costs and risk for all parties,” said Jonathan L. Cohen, President of Generated Materials Recovery and Chair of ISRI’s Plastic Recycling Council. “As such, the overarching objective of the ISRI Scrap Specs initiative is to help improve market efficiency by establishing clear guidelines for the major grades of plastics traded by ISRI members on a national and international basis. It is our expectation that similar to the long established ISRI specs for metals and fiber, the plastics specifications will become widely used throughout the global marketplace.”

The newly approved specifications are below:

Definitions

Baled – Loose material that is compressed and bound together.
Densified – Material that is compressed through mechanical means. Typically applies to foam (purged) and film (turned into “popcorn”). Densified material is typically sent on for additional processing.
Durable goods — Electrical and electronic equipment, appliances, automobiles (called “transportation equipment” in ISO 15270), construction products (included in ISO 15270) and industrial equipment (included in ISO 15270)
Flake –A generic term that refers to size and shape. Typically consists of plastic bottles or plastic film typically ground into a chip.
Mixed Load Plastic – Shredded plastic that contains various types of resins and requires mechanical sorting to reach final specification. Typically baled and not granulated. Types and grades included in the bale to be agreed to by buyer and seller.
Purge – Plastic that has been melted and has hardened. This material has no set shape or form.
Regrind – A generic term that refers to hard rigid plastic typically ground into a chip. Typically consists of material that is the same grade, color and type. It can be used in extrusion or molding processes.
Shred — Size reduced material. The typical upper size can be between 3” to 12”, although in some cases the upper size can be as small as about 1”. Size range, characteristics should be agreed to between buyer and seller.
Shredded Plastic – Generic term. Material that contains a high plastic content. Typically contains 90% plastic content.
Shredder residue — The remaining mixture after the majority of metals have been recovered from durable goods “shred.” The mixture can contain plastics, rubber, wood, glass, rocks, dirt, paper, film, textiles, wires and other metals missed during the metal recovery process. The predominant single material is often plastic, which can vary from about 15 percent to about 90% depending on the type of durable goods and the steps taken in the metal separation process. Size range, characteristics should be agreed to between buyer and seller.

For additional information, see complete press release at www.ISRI.org

Newspaper Recycling (ONP: Old Newsprint)

lrfiv — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:37:02 +0000

ONP Grades

There are four grades of newspapers commonly recycled. According to the latest (2011) Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Scrap Specifications Circular, these grades are defined as:

(6) Old Newspaper
Consists of sorted newspapers and other acceptable papers as typically generated by voluntary collection and curbside collection programs.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 2%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 4%
Other acceptable papers may not exceed 30%
(7) Regular News, De-ink Quality (#7 ONP)
Consists of sorted, fresh newspapers, not sunburned, and other acceptable papers. This grade may contain magazines.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 3%
Other acceptable papers may not exceed 20%
(8) Special News, De-ink Quality (#8 ONP)
Consists of sorted, fresh newspapers, not sunburned, and other acceptable papers. This grade is to be relatively free from magazines and contain not more than the normal percentage of rotogravure and colored sections.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 2%
Other acceptable papers may not exceed 10%
(9) Over-Issue News (OI or OIN)
Consists of unused, overrun newspapers printed on newsprint, containing not more than the normal percentage of rotogravure and colored sections.
Prohibitive Materials – None permitted
Outthrows plus prohibitives – None permitted

What is ONP used for?

ONP is recycled primarily into newsprint. In fact, your newspapers may already have some recycled content. In 2010 Americans recycled 72% of the category ONP/mechanical papers (AF&PA).

What can I do to maximize the value of my ONP?

First and foremost, keep it dry. Too much water will start the re-pulping process right before your eyes! Baled newsprint is penalized for excessive moisture content as well, because it makes the bales heavier.

Sunlight “sunburns” newsprint – look for signs of yellowing. Good quality old news print for recycling will look just like the a fresh newspaper.

Beware of contamination, both soiling, and the addition of paper or other trash which doesn’t belong in the grade. An excess of either of these can cause your paper to be downgraded, because it will be unsuitable for recycling back into new newspapers.

American Recycling is now accepting Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)

lrfiv — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:05:02 +0000

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Recycling

American Recycling is now accepting expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam for recycling. We are recycling Styrofoam, extruded polystyrene, and expanded polystyrene foam materials. Our Modesto recycling facility is equipped to handle your polystyrene foam recycling needs today.

For more information, call: (209) 537-4410

Mixed up about Mixed Paper Recycling?

lrfiv — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:21:57 +0000

If so, you can hardly be blamed. Changes in market conditions and recycling technology have required changes to the definitions of several grades of waste paper, and the creation of new grades.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) maintains a current specifications list with 52 grades of waste paper, plus an additional 35 specialty grades for highly specific commodities. Despite this, various geographic regions adhere to different grade specifications which may or may not share terminology, and sometimes use the same terms to refer to different commodities.

Mixed Paper

A good example is Mixed Paper.* As recently as the 2006 specification there were two grades: Soft Mixed Paper and Mixed Paper. More recent specifications call for three: Residential Mixed Paper, Soft Mixed Paper, and Hard Mixed Paper (HMP).

*There are several grades of “mixed” paper, including a few specialized ones having to do with things like industrial trimmings that are beyond the focus of this article.

Curbside, multi-commodity recycling produces a dirtier stream of waste paper, and the Residential Mixed Paper grade applies to that, with appropriate higher allowance for prohibited materials and outthrows. Soft Mixed Paper remains unchanged, and the old Mixed Paper has been renamed Hard Mixed Paper, a reflection of the industry trend toward higher specificity in grade definitions.

Supermix

Unfortunately, this is not the end of confusion when it comes to Mixed Paper. There is a South African grade called Super Mix (SMW) which consists of a 50/50 mix of two other grades, Heavy Letter One (HL1) and Heavy Letter Two (HL2). Neither grade corresponds to the ISRI specification for Soft Mix or Hard Mix, yet Supermix has been used to refer to a mix of those grades as well. In Australia a Supermixed Wastepaper grade is in use. Additionally, some urban recycling centers in the USA use Supermix as a catch-all term.

The issue is not that people using the term are technically wrong – they know what they mean and presumably so do their markets. The problem is the added confusion and imprecision generated. In an era of ever-increasing scrutiny of recyclable materials, it is of benefit to all to have clear, up-to-date, unambiguous grade specifications.

ISRI Mixed Paper Grades

(1) Residential Mixed Paper
Consists of a mixture of various qualities of paper not limited as to type of fiber content, normally generated from residential, multi-material collection programs.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 2%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 5%
(2) Soft Mixed Paper
Consists of a clean, sorted mixture of various qualities of paper not limited as to type of fiber content.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 5%
(3) Hard Mixed Paper (HMP)
Consists of a clean, sorted mixture of various qualities of paper containing less than 10% groundwood content.
Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1/2 of 1%
Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 3%

Contamination in Paper Recycling

lrfiv — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:04:15 +0000

Chemical pail containing unidentified liquid in a finished bail.

Contamination in paper recycling is a serious issue, with negative effects ranging from the strictly financial, to the health and safety of industry workers. The rapid expansion of recycling programs has seen a commensurate rise in contamination of collected recyclables. The trend towards single-stream curbside recycling (where paper and other recyclables are commingled with refuse and sorted at a processing facility) has brought contamination to the forefront of debate.

Contamination in paper recycling can refer to soiling of paper with food, grease, chemicals, or other noxious compounds, or to the inclusion of inappropriate material for the intended paper grade.

Simple soiling is easy to understand; once you’ve used a newspaper to soak up transmission fluid, for example, it is no longer recyclable. Food can also be a source of contamination, which often comes as a surprise. The truth of the matter is that it is difficult to separate pizza grease (or other food contaminants) from paper fibers. This is a major issue in the hotly contested debate surrounding single-stream recycling, as food contamination seems inevitable.

Inappropriate materials mixed in with recyclable paper are defined as one of two types, outthrows and prohibitive materials. Outthrows are materials which will need to be thrown out, literally, during the recycling process, and prohibitive materials are things which make the paper unusable. Unlike simple soiling, these are grade dependent. A material can be classified as an outthrow in one grade and as a prohibitive material in another grade. For example, brown kraft bags (grocery type) are welcome in OCC, but would be an outthrow in White Ledger. Waxed cartons or that broken stapler someone chucks into the office recycling bin are prohibitive.

If the levels of outthrows or prohibitive materials exceed those specified in the grade definition, the paper is no longer acceptable as that particular grade. It is then downgraded to an appropriate grade. In extreme cases, the paper may become worthless, and suitable only for disposal.

American Recycling’s Brian Terrel, on contamination:

“Unfortunately, sometimes we receive contaminants in the recyclable materials we receive from our customers. At best, it will result in a reduction of the redemption value of their material due to our need to physically sort out the contaminants. At worst, we may have to assess a fee to recover the landfill costs associated with contaminants or waste in the recycling loads. Because of this, we strongly emphasize the value of maintaining clean, source separated recyclables in order for our customers to receive the highest rebate possible from their materials.”

It is in everyone’s best interest to keep contamination out of the recycled paper stream. It is no exaggeration to say that the current sustainable paper industry relies on the reuse of fiber. To dispose of that fiber before it has been recycled is anathema to the industry, and results in an environmental burden on the planet, and a financial burden on everyone involved. Contamination can turn a valuable resource into trash – and that’s everybody’s problem.

Community Recycling Survey Results

lrfiv — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:07:39 +0000

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has performed a series of national surveys to measure the extent and track the growth of access by the public to community-level paper and paperboard recycling. The latest iteration, the 2010 Community Recycling Survey, shows that 87 percent of the population has access to curbside and/or drop-off paper and paperboard recycling programs.

“We are encouraged that this rate has held steady through the global recession and population growth that have occurred since the last survey was conducted in 2007,” said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman.

Paper recycling access was an important factor in helping the industry exceed its 60 percent recovery goal three years ahead of schedule. In 2009, a record-high 63.4 percent of the paper used in the U.S. was recovered for recycling.

The survey asked respondents to report which types of products were accepted in recycling collection programs. Although recycling access in general did not increase since the 2007 Survey, recycling collection access for coated and uncoated paperboard, catalogs, and paper bags increased. This means that communities with existing curbside and drop-off programs added additional types of paper and paperboard to their programs.

Key findings from the survey include:

Full results can be found on the AF&PA site here.

Paper Making and Recycling

lrfiv — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:32:02 +0000

Over the centuries, paper has been made from a wide variety of materials such as cotton, wheat straw, sugar cane waste, flax, bamboo, wood, linen rags, and hemp. Regardless of the source, you need fiber to make paper. Today fiber comes mainly from two sources — wood and recycled paper products.

Paper mills differ in their processes based on the source of fiber used and the end product produced. There are three basic types of mills:

Pulp Mills

Pulp mills make pulp, a mixture of cellulose fibers and water used as the basis of all paper products. Pulp is made in several ways, depending on the type of paper being produced. Wood chips, which come from logs or from residues from sawmills, furniture manufacturers and other sources, can be chemically or mechanically separated into individual wood fibers in a process called pulping.

In chemical pulping, the most common pulping process in the United States, the wood chips are “cooked” in a digester at an elevated pressure with an appropriate solution of chemicals to dissolve the lignin (the “glue” that binds the fibers in the wood) and allow the cellulose fiber bundles in the wood to separate into individual cellulose fibers. Since chemical processing is gentle on the cellulose fiber, chemical pulps tend to have longer fibers and make strong paper such as printing and writing papers and paperboard.

In mechanical pulping, chemicals are not used to remove the lignin in the wood chips. Instead, wood chips are pressed against a grinder that physically separates the fibers. Mechanical pulps have shorter fiber lengths and produce papers which do not require as much strength — such as newsprint.

After the fibers have been separated, the mill washes and decontaminates the pulp. To produce a white paper product, the mill must bleach the pulp to remove color associated with remaining residual lignin. Typically, the bleaching chemicals (such as chlorine dioxide, oxygen, or hydrogen peroxide) are injected into the pulp and the resulting mixture is washed with water.

The bleached or unbleached wood pulp — which at this point is in a very dilute slurry — is then pumped onto rolling wire screen mats that vibrate slightly to allow water to drain out of the pulp and to help the fibers interlock into sheets. By varying the amount of pulp pumped onto the rolling mats, the speed of the mat, and the speed of the vibrations, paper with different qualities and properties can be achieved. The sheets then pass through a long series of rollers that press out any remaining moisture, followed by steam-heated drums that dry the paper. Finally, a process called calendaring polishes the sheets and smoothes out wrinkles. Large sheets of paper are wound onto rolls and can then be cut to produce a variety of paper products.

Recycled Paper Processing Mills

Recycled paper processing mills use paper as their feedstock. The recovered paper is combined with water in a large vessel called a pulper that acts like a blender to separate fibers in the paper sheets from each other. The resultant slurry then passes through screens and other separation processes to remove contaminants such as ink, clays, dirt, plastic and metals. The amount of contaminants that are acceptable in the pulp depends upon the type of paper being produced. Mechanical separation equipment includes coarse and fine screens, centrifugal cleaners, and dispersion or kneading units that break apart ink particles. Deinking processes use special systems aided by soaps or surfactants to wash or float ink and other particles away from the fiber.

Recovered fiber can be used to produce new paper products made entirely of recovered fiber (i.e. 100 percent recycled content) or from a blend of recovered and virgin fiber. Fiber cannot, however, be recycled endlessly. It is generally accepted that a fiber can be used five to seven times before it becomes too short (as a result of repulping and other handling) to be useable in new paper products. Recovered paper with long cellulose fibers (such as office paper) has the greatest flexibility for recycling as it can be used to produce new paper products that use either long or short fibers. Recovered paper with short cellulose fibers (such as newspaper) can only be recycled into other products that use short cellulose fibers. For this reason, recovered paper with long fibers is generally of higher value than recovered paper with short fiber.

Mills that Use Both Recycled and Virgin Fiber

Some mills use both recycled and virgin fiber to make paper. These mills are typically set up to process virgin wood into pulp and incorporate recovered fiber by buying bales of recycled pulp which are added to the wood pulp. Customer demand, environmental awareness, and economics are some of the reasons mills add recovered fiber to their products.

Source: US EPA

Vertical Baler Model 234

lrfiv — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:49:53 +0000

Vertical Unit model 234

Used vertical baler.
We have many used vertical balers in stock, contact us for details.

Recycling Grade Spotlight: OCC (Old Corrugated Containers)

lrfiv — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:41:06 +0000

Palletized OCC (Old Corrugated Containers, a.k.a. cardboard)

Recycling OCC

Recycling cardboard is an important priority, as it proves an excellent source of fiber, and a great deal of corrugated is used annually. American Recycling handles 2500 tons per month of OCC, making it a significant part of our operation. Handling the volume of material generated by a typical packaging operation can be a challenge for clients. American Recycling can supply recycling systems ranging from a few bins to turnkey compactors and balers.

Commonly, though imprecisely, called cardboard by those outside the industry, corrugated containerboard has revolutionized product packaging and shipping. Since its introduction in the late 1800s, it has steadily displaced heavy wooden crates and barrels as the container of choice.

Most people are already familiar with the basic construction of ordinary “cardboard”. It consists of a middle, fluted layer, bonded to a strong liner on one side, and a less strong testliner on the other. Perhaps unexpectedly, the “liner” refers to the outside layer. In parts of the Far East it is not uncommon for the flute to be 100% recycled OCC, and the liner and testliner to be around 80% (due to the differing strengths of the two, the fiber mix can vary between them).

Corrugated containerboard is a true sandwich structured composite material, but unlike Boeing’s Nomex/Kevlar/Graphite/Fiberglass composite wing structures, cardboard is over one hundred years old! In that time quite a bit of technical refinement has taken place. The material is specified by construction, flute designation, burst strength, and many more qualities, all standardized by TAPPI and ASTM testing. It is important to keep this valuable resource out of the wastestream.

Recycling Cardboard

For recycling purposes, the cleaner the better. It is tempting to think of OCC as “low grade” because it is the workhorse of the paper world, but nothing could be further from the truth. The high strength of corrugated containerboard, brown grocery bags (made of kraft), and gaylord boxes would be undermined by contamination. In fact, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc (ISRI) states that to be graded as OCC Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1%, and Total Outthrows may not exceed 5%.

Harmony S60XD Vertical Baler

lrfiv — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:32:17 +0000

We carry the Harmony S60XD Vertical Baler in stock and ready for your install. Call for details.