MRF robotics firm says it can offer detailed EPR information to brand owners.
Fremont, California-based EverestLabs has now made available RecycleOS, which it calls “the first artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled recovery-to-reuse operating system that helps material recovery facilities (MRFs) recover more recyclable objects and enables consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and package manufacturers to use more recycled content.”
EverestLabs says features of the OS allow CPG companies and petrochemical companies who produce plastic to “excel at environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and [assist in] meeting extended producer responsibility (EPR) goals.”
The technology firm says RecycleOS is the culmination of nearly four years of R&D, including consultations with MRF operators, CPG companies, packaging manufacturers and government entities.
EverestLabs says a United States Environmental Protection Agency study determined that in 2018 consumers and businesses sent 53.9 percent of generated packaging and containers to MRFs for recycling. However, a considerably smaller percentage is recovered, reprocessed and reused in manufacturing, says EverestLabs.
“Until now, a solution did not exist to provide visibility into the number of recyclables being lost to landfills,” states the firm. “Accurate measurement will ultimately be a critical factor in decreasing those losses.”
RecycleOS incorporate the following, says EverestLabs:
1) Summit Robotics, a robotic cell designed to deliver a 49 percent increase in recovery for MRFs compared with some robots of earlier vintage;
2) Basecamp, which is designed to gather data on every conveyor line “for proactively improving plant operations” and generating higher revenue; and
3) PeakView, which EverestLabs describes as an ESG/EPR system of record for CPG companies, packaging manufacturers, petrochemical companies and MRFs so they can measure and track their goals across their operations.
“To date, there has been no solution to track and ensure that every object is recycled, recovered and reused in manufacturing,” says JD Ambati, founder and CEO of EverestLabs. “RecycleOS is the first solution that connects MRF operators, CPG companies, packaging manufacturers and petrochemical companies with real-time actionable data. We are committed each day to recover more recyclable materials in a cost-effective way and make circularity a reality while slowing climate change. Our ultimate goal is that no recyclable is left behind.”
Customers who have implemented RecycleOS include Alameda County [California] Industries, Rethink Waste, the City of Sunnyvale [California], Sojitz-Japan and two of the 10 largest waste management companies in the U.S., according to EverestLabs.
“EverestLabs data has helped us evaluate the performance of our recent MRF equipment investments and will inform where we add sorting equipment,” states Hilary Gans, senior operations and engineering manager at San Carlos, California-based Rethink Waste. “We are now considering EverestLabs to help us evaluate the composition of our residue and trace problem packaging back to individual producers.”
Says Jeff Dolbert, director of operations at Bay Counties SMaRT, a division of Bay Counties Waste Services (serving Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale, California), “We elected to install EverestLabs robots because of their small footprint, ease of installation, and recovery of tough objects like HDPE milk jugs and in tight locations. We can’t work with the [earlier] robots because they are just too big and expensive. Also, EverestLabs’ AI object recognition is the best we’ve seen.”
“These customers are trailblazers for implementing our solutions to truly make a difference in MRF operations [and to] improve producer responsibility and increase circularity,” says Don Gambelin, head of sales at EverestLabs. “It is the feedback and input from these organizations that enabled us to build this first solution that addresses the ‘cradle to rebirth’ of packaging. As we work with more global companies, we will continue to localize our solutions and improve further.”
E.L. Harvey is the largest family-owned and -operated solid waste company in Massachusetts.
Waste Connections Inc., Ontario, announced Sept. 1 that it has acquired E.L. Harvey & Sons Inc. With a 110-year history dating back four generations, E.L. Harvey is the largest family-owned and -operated solid waste services company in Massachusetts, with total annualized revenue of approximately $110 million.
E.L. Harvey, based in Westborough, Massachusetts, provides solid waste collection, recycling and transfer services to commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers primarily in central and eastern Massachusetts, as well as southern New Hampshire. The company operates a single-stream material recovery facility that processed 7,000 to 8,000 tons per month and offers confidential document destruction, food waste and product destruction and electronics recycling services. It operates a fleet of 120 collection vehicles.
"The Harvey family has established one of the most respected companies in our industry, and we are honored to welcome Harvey to the Waste Connections family. Together with their continuing leadership team, we look forward to carrying on the Harvey name and further expanding its market position, as well as enhancing its strong culture of support for its employees, customers and communities," Worthing F. Jackman, president and CEO of Waste Connections, says.
Waste Connections also announced the closing of one of its two previously announced signed acquisitions, with approximately $50 million of annualized revenue from franchise operations in Northern California and Nevada.
The company says it expects the other signed acquisition, a solid waste services provider with approximately $25 million of annualized revenue from franchise operations in Oregon, to close during the fourth quarter.
Dale Adrian now serves as sales manager of CM’s Industrial Shredder Division.
Sarasota, Florida-based CM Shredders has announced the appointment of Dale Adrian as sales manager for CM’s Industrial Shredder Division. In that role, he will be responsible for sales and business development of CM’s industrial line of shredders and auxiliary equipment.
Adrian also will work with CM Shredders to develop complete turnkey systems and sales strategies to expand CM’s footprint into new markets and verticals. He brings nearly 25 years of recycling equipment and material handling experience to his new position, with experience in secure document data destruction and e-scrap markets, according to CM.
Most recently, Adrian helped establish Schutte Motion, a sub-brand of Schutte Hammermill and part of the CM family of companies that provides material handling and conveyance equipment.
“We’re fortunate to have someone of Dale’s caliber and experience join our team here at CM Shredders,” says Mario Vazquez, sales and marketing director at CM Shredders. “The market-specific, real-world expertise he will bring to our industrial shredder division will be invaluable in our ongoing efforts to engineer and build the best shredders and complete turnkey systems in the industry.”
CM Shredders describes itself as a manufacturer of advanced industrial shredders and recycling systems for more than 35 years. CM tire shredding systems process more than 500 million tires each year worldwide, says the company.
The three new automotive resins contain up to 29 percent recycled content and offer similar performance to virgin resins, SABIC says.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has introduced automotive resins containing mechanically recycled content under its Trucircle portfolio of circular solutions and services. The new resins include SABIC T2E-3320EH PP compound, which is a high-flow, low-emission, talc-filled polypropylene (PP); Xenoy T2NX2500UV resin, which is an unfilled, UV-stabilized blend of polycarbonate (PC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET); and Xenoy T2NX5230 resin, which is a mineral-filled PC/PET blend.
According to a news release from SABIC, all three materials contain up to 29 percent recycled content and offer similar performance to that of virgin resins. The company says the new resins give automotive customers “new options that can help them address their sustainability goals.”
“The new Trucircle materials support the automotive industry’s sustainability initiatives by providing an opportunity to extend the life of plastic waste and helping to increase value from postconsumer products,” says Abdullah Al-Otaibi, general manager of ETP and Market Solutions for SABIC. “These new products are the first of many SABIC resins to be introduced with mechanically recycled content for potential use in interior and exterior automotive applications. They also may complement other types of sustainable materials, such as certified renewable products from bio-based content, which we are also developing. It’s all part of SABIC’s strategy to accelerate towards a circular economy.”
According to SABIC, its new T2E-3320EH PP compound features stiffness, low emissions and high heat resistance for nonvisible heat, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) components within the instrument panel and interior and under-the-hood parts. An internal life cycle assessment (LCA) showed that SABIC’s T2E-3320EH PP compound offers a reduced product carbon footprint of up to 24 percent compared with the corresponding virgin PP compound because it incorporates 25 percent recycled PP.
SABIC says its new Xenoy T2NX2500UV resin contains 21 percent recycled PET. The company says it provides good heat and impact performance, dimensional stability and low shrinkage for painted exterior body panels, spoilers, fuel filler doors and trim. It is also UV stabilized for potential use in unpainted applications.
The company’s new Xenoy T2NX5230 resin contains 16 percent mineral reinforcement and 29 percent recycled PET. Similar to the Xenoy T2NX2500UV resin, this new resin delivers properties that make it a potential solution for painted body panels, trim and other automotive components. SABIC reports that the resin’s reinforcement delivers higher stiffness and a lower coefficient of linear thermal expansion compared with Xenoy T2NX2500UV resin, making this resin a good candidate for roof spoilers and exterior trim. Both Xenoy grades offer high flow for improved throughput.
Alliance of companies and trade associations will invest $120 million to expand recycling plant.
A consortium of Sweden-based trade groups and companies is investing to build what they call the largest and most modern plastic recycling plant in the world.
Known as Site Zero and operated by Swedish Plastic Recycling (Svensk Plaståtervinning), the facility is being built to recycle up to 200,000 metric tons of plastic per year, according to its backers.
Swedish Plastic Recycling is owned by “a large part of the Swedish business community,” according to a press release issued by the consortium. The investors say Site Zero, in Motala, Sweden, will be able to recycle “all plastic packaging from Swedish households and makes plastics circular – completely without any CO2 emissions.”
The investors are not new to plastic recycling, as Motala already hosts a recycling facility they call “the most efficient in Europe, that is now being developed with next-generation technology.”
“We are doubling our capacity and will be able to handle 200,000 metric tons of plastic packaging per year,” says Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Swedish Plastic Recycling. “This creates the conditions needed for receiving and eventually recycle all plastic packaging from Swedish households.”
After the expansion, Site Zero will be 60,000 square meters (645,000 square feet) and employ up to 200 people. The automated equipment array will include 60 near-infrared (NIR) sensors and approximately five kilometers (3.1 miles) of conveyor length.
Swedish Plastic Recycling credits “cutting-edge technology” for its future ability to sort and prepare polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays and bottles, PP film, expanded polystyrene (EPS), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), two grades of polyolefin mixes, plus metal and other nonplastic scrap.
“Any small parts of plastic that remain after the sorting process are separated to be sent to chemical recycling, or to become new composite products,” states Swedish Plastic Recycling, adding, “At Site Zero, zero packaging goes to incineration.”
The investors say the plant will be powered by renewable energy, including plans to produce renewable energy by “covering the building’s large flat roof with solar panels.”
The firm says it is investing $120 million in the facility upgrade, which is scheduled to be completed in 2023. “We also are preparing for washing and granulation of the plastic in phase two, which is planned for 2025,” adds Philipsson. “Then our entire plastic flow in Sweden can become circular.”
He continues, “This investment creates the prerequisites needed for making Sweden a world leader in plastic recycling. Being able to do it together with our producer customers and owners, who consist of large parts of the Swedish business community, is very inspiring.”
Investors in Swedish Plastic Recycling include Plastbranschens Informationsråd, Dagligleverantörernas Förbund, Svensk Handel and Svensk Dagligvaruhandel. Co-investors include Svenska Metallkretsen, Pressretur, Returkartong and Svensk Glasåtervinning.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency also is contributing $20.8 million in financing through a climate investment aid program.