The pilot partnership is partnering with two Toronto hospitals to recycle medical PVC scrap.

The Vinyl Institute of Canada, Toronto, has launched PVC 123, a medical polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling pilot partnership. The pilot received funding support from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Vinyl Institute of Canada.

According to a news release from the Vinyl Institute of Canada, the pilot aims to divert products from landfills and encourage the recycling of PVC medical devices in hospitals. Hospital operating rooms, which produce high volumes of IV bags, oxygen masks and oxygen tubing waste, will collect PVC materials that can be remanufactured into new products.

The Vinyl Institute of Canada says two Toronto hospitals—St. Joseph’s Health Centre and Humber River—will provide PVC scrap for the new partnership. Collection for the pilot will take place Sept. 15 to March 31, 2021. Additional hospitals are expected to join the program this year.

“Life-saving devices are made from PVC,” says Aiñe Curran, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute of Canada. “Our industry has been recycling since the 1980s, and we are excited to add hospitals to our growing list of recyclers in Canada.”

“As health care providers, it is our duty to mitigate environmental impact of health care provision,” says Dr. Ali Abbass, a St. Joseph’s anesthesiologist who has been recycling PVC devices for several years.

Norwich Plastics, a PVC recycler based in Cambridge, Ontario, will manage the logistics of the collected materials and their conversion into new products, such as hoses, tubing, automotive supplies and sound-dampening products.

“Vinyl’s straightforward recyclability is important to this project, and we expect to divert at least 80,000 pounds of recyclable PVC from landfills from this pilot,” says Tribu Persaud of Norwich Plastics. “Vinyl is a multitasking material—it’s valuable, functional and durable, which makes it a perfect resource for recycling.”

In addition, Laurie Thomas, director of the Perioperative and Endoscopy programs at Humber River, will outfit 20 operating rooms and five endoscopy suites as well as the Post Anesthetic Care Unit and Surgical Day Care with PVC collection receptacles.

Remeo’s automated MRF in Finland will feature 12 robotic arms from ZenRobotics.

ZenRobotics, Helsinki, has announced it has partnered with Remeo, a Finnish environmental management firm, to construct what it calls an advanced and fully automated material recovery facility (MRF) in Vantaa, Finland, by the end of 2021.

According to a news release from ZenRobotics, the new facility will show how artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered robots can be used to capture materials from waste streams in construction, trade and other sectors more efficiently than before.

“We are thrilled that Remeo’s past experience with ZenRobotics’ AI-powered waste sorting robotics has led to a significant reinvestment into our robot technology on a scale that enables the recycling rate to be raised in Finland, and in practice making it no longer necessary to export construction waste,” says Wolfgang Schiller, CEO at ZenRobotics.

ZenRobotics says Remeo has used its AI and robot technology to improve cost efficiency and recovery rates in waste sorting since 2010. The new digitalized and robotic MRF will feature 12 robotic arms by ZenRobotics. The total value of Remeo’s investment in the new facility is about 35 million euros (or about $41.56 million).

The facility will use smart automation and the latest AI and robotics to integrate two different processing lines for waste fractions, ZenRobotics says. The facility will combine commercial and industrial waste (C&I) and construction & demolition (C&D) processing lines. ZenRobotics says the facility will be able to process about 120,000 metric tons of C&D material and 60,000 metric tons of C&I waste.

“We are very pleased that our current partner ZenRobotics will continue the recycling industry development with us at our new highly advanced waste sorting facility," says Johan Mild, Remeo CEO. "We strongly believe that our facility equipped with AI-based robots will change the recycling industry."

Schiller adds, “Our continuing partnership with Remeo showcases that AI-powered waste sorting robots have become the new normal and help customers capture valuable clean materials and achieve desired recovery rates here and now.”

Gray has knowledge of shipping, ports and the transportation industry.

Sackers, a scrap metal recycling firm based in the U.K., has appointed a new chairman to support the business with its growth plans.

Chris Gray will step up as chairman of Sackers. According to a news release from Sackers, Gray has knowledge of shipping, ports and the transportation industry. He has more than 50 years of experience in the sector combined with business knowledge.

Previously, Gray was managing director of Contship UK Ltd. and deputy managing director of Contship Containerlines Ltd. He also was CEO of Hutchison Ports UK Ltd. and Hutchison Ports Bahamas and chairman of the UK Major Ports Group. He was executive chairman of the Noatum Ports Group of Cos. Sackers says he is currently nonexecutive director of Red Funnel Ltd. and Red Funnel Holdings Ltd. and strategic advisor to Turia Port Management Investment (Holdings). He also is chairman of Tex Holdings Plc.

Sackers focuses on processing scrap metal and sorting it into purer groups within the ferrous and nonferrous categories, and the goods are sold for recycling to manufacturers. The company sells its materials internationally to destinations such as India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong as well as to European Union destinations, such as France, Spain and Belgium.

Sackers says it has invested heavily in the circular economy over the last decade, with a 3 million pound (or about $3.86 million) investment in a steel shredding plant, shredding items such as whole cars and airplanes. The company also invested 1 million pounds (or about $1.29 million) in a copper cable granulating plant. Sackers says these investments have enabled the company to directly export all its products from raw material to product back to the producer.

“We’ve been exporting for about 20 years and initially it was small scale but over the years it’s become a large part of our business," Sackers Joint Managing Director David Dodd says. "Chris is highly experienced in logistics and shipping and will bring us his industry knowledge to give us a competitive edge. He also brings huge amounts of business acumen and this is evident in some of the large corporations he has, and still does work for. We are very pleased to have Chris advise and strengthen the Sackers leadership team and his assistance to ‘navigate the ship’ towards our growth plans.”

“Sackers is a sound business which is evident from riding COVID and many recessions," Gray says. "I’m honored to be asked to be chairman to help them with the next steps of growth. There’s lots of opportunities which I’m keen to help with and add new knowledge to the board."

Anthony’s career, which spans over four decades, has included roles in manufacturing, installation, service and sales for a variety of global shredding and recycling systems.

Sargent’s Equipment & Repair Service Inc., Gilberts, Illinois, announced that the company has hired Skip Anthony as its vice president of Recycling Services and Sorting Systems.

According to the company, Anthony’s career, which spans over four decades, has included roles in manufacturing, installation, service and sales for a variety of global shredding and recycling systems.

In a release, the company noted, “This move will give Sargent’s Equipment & Repair Service Inc. another opportunity to help our customers review operational concerns when it involves what they would like to see out of production in shredding and systems. [Anthony’s] expertise with this specific machinery will also lend a hand to our customer base when it comes to machinery upgrades as well as new and used equipment additions.”

Ecomaine issued a call for proposals for its 2020-21 round of recycling grants.

Ecomaine, Portland, Maine, issued a call for proposals Sept. 14 for the organization’s 2020-21 round of recycling grants, which are designed to raise recycling awareness in schools and communities and to help schools implement more efficient recycling programs or add composting to their waste collection programs.

The organization announced that any school from its 70 member communities within the state can apply for recycling grants through Oct. 30.

“This year is obviously proving to be a tough one for all of us, especially schools and students,” Caleb Hemphill, chair of Ecomaine’s Outreach & Recycling Committee, says. “It is Ecomaine’s hope that this funding can help maintain some of the important programming around recycling, compost and waste reduction that we’ve seen in our schools. We’re looking forward to seeing some creative proposals in 2020-21.”

Past grant proposals have gone toward initiatives such as purchasing in-school recycling bins, education materials or electric hand driers to reduce paper towel waste; offsetting compost hauling fees; and assisting schools to participate in tours of Ecomaine. If selected, school recipients can receive up to $5,000 of the $25,000 available grant funds for the 2020-21 school year.

Awardees will be chosen based on the following criteria:

Following the Oct. 30 deadline, proposals will be reviewed by Ecomaine’s Outreach & Recycling Committee, and recipients will be notified by mid-November.

More information on the entire grants program can be found online.