Scrap recycler based in El Paso, Texas, acquires nearby company.

El Paso, Texas-based W Silver Recycling has completed its purchase of El Paso Iron & Metal, according to an online news report from the El Paso Times.

El Paso Iron & Metal is a 110-year-old company with its facility is about one half-mile away from W Silver’s in El Paso, according to the report. The company’s website says it was founded in 1906 and is “in the ferrous and nonferrous metal recycling business with all metal sold to a diverse groups of foundries either directly or through brokers, throughout the United States, Mexico and Asia.”

W Silver Recycling CEO Lane Gaddy, a fourth-generation family member, commented to the Times that while the acquisition was the first for W Silver Recycling this decade, the company is considering making acquisitions beyond El Paso.

Gaddy also told the newspaper that the El Paso Iron & Metal location will continue to be run as a separate operation and that its business model of buying scrap from the public, smaller dealers and demolition companies will be what W Silver targets in any future acquisitions.

On its website, W Silver Recycling describes itself as having been in business for more than 90 years, with operational capabilities that include wire chopping, product destruction, plastic grinding and processing, payment for plastic and cardboard, pallet processing and industrial trash hauling.

The company now has two locations in El Paso, plus yards or offices in Amarillo and Donna (near McAllen), Texas; in Albuquerque and Santa Teresa, New Mexico; and in Apodaca, Mexico.

Waste and recycling firm's sustainability platform encompasses operations, materials management, communities, safety and people.

Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, has released its latest sustainability report for the 2015 fiscal year. The report depicts the company's efforts to further improve its environmental and social impacts through decreased vehicle emissions, innovative landfill technologies, use of renewable energy, community engagement, and employee growth opportunities. The 2015 Sustainability Report demonstrates continued progress toward Republic's four sustainability goals, and represents its latest achievements as part of its Blue Planet sustainability initiative. "We are incorporating sustainable practices and programs into every facet of what we do, and this year's report shows continued, strong momentum," says Don Slager, president and chief executive officer of Republic Services. "We are also building durability into each element of our sustainability platform, which helps to ensure the viability of our initiatives while enabling our customers to be more resourceful." Republic's sustainability platform encompasses five elements: operations, materials management, communities, safety, and people. Highlights include:

Republic says it is committed to achieving the following four sustainability goals by 2018:

Also in 2015, Republic was among the top companies recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a leading international nonprofit organization dedicated to measuring and disclosing environmental information, in the 2015 CDP S&P 500 Climate Change Report. Republic earned a disclosure score of 98 out of 100, which reflects its strong commitment to transparency, quality and completeness, and an A- in Performance. Achieving an A is the highest Performance score possible. Known as the Blue Planet sustainability initiative, Republic Services is defining its approach to corporate social responsibility through the practices and programs outlined in its 2015 Sustainability Report. The report is available at https://www.republicservices.com/sustainability.

To mark its 10th anniversary, company also will introduce a new corporate identity.

Austrian extrusion machinery manufacturer Maschinen und Anlagenbau Schulz GmbH (MAS) will mark its 10th anniversary with the introduction of a new corporate identity in combination with new machine designs for its extruder and melt filter series at K 2016.

The conical, co-rotating, twin-screw extruder is “the bread and butter” of the company, MAS says. Its large feed opening and gentle plasticisation process make it ideal for extrusion applications that require a high degree of thermal and mechanical polymer protection, the company says. This is particularly the case for recycling and compounding applications, as well as for film extrusion. MAS has delivered 110 units delivered throughout the last 10 years.

The second component of MAS’ technology is the waterless DRD (double-rotor-disc) cleaning and drying system for shredded film or fibres and regrind material, introduced in 2006. More than 50 of these machines have gone into operation around the world since 2006.

The third pillar of MAS technology, the CDF continuous melt filter, was introduced in 2011. Its design allows customers to process highly contaminated materials and help increase extruder capacity, the company says.

MAS says it plans to present three machines at K 2016, Hall 9 / Stand D 42, representing its latest product developments.

The MAS 24 Lab Extruder has been developed specifically for plastics manufacturers and compounders to develop formulas in a scientifically oriented manner and produce them in very small volumes, the company says. The highly compact build, with a screw length of just 400 millimetres and a diameter of 48 millimetres, narrowing down to 24 millimetres, is equipped with interchangeable mixing elements. The large feed opening makes it possible to process regrind material, flakes and finely ground film or fibres, MAS says. It also allows full control over shear strength and, thus, the melt temperature of the material by varying the screw speed (adjustable from 0 to 300 rpm). The maximum output of this lab machine is in the range of 10 to 35 kilograms per hour. The MAS 24 Lab Extruder will be presented in operation at K 2016 in combination with an underwater pelletizing unit.

MAS also will present the third generation of its conical, co-rotating, twin-screw extruder. It is available in six different sizes with output ranges from 10 kilograms per hour to more than 2,000 kilograms per hour. The characterising feature of MAS’ new extruder generation is its optimised machine design, according to the company. Its segmented barrel construction permits the exchange of individual barrel sections rather than the entire cylinder or the selective application of special wear protection to individual cylinder sections. The new series is exemplified by the MAS 75, which is suitable for an output of up to 1,100 kilograms per hour, the company says.

MAS says its technology has held a U.S. Food and Drug Administration "No Objection Letter" for food-contact grade recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) since mid-2015 and meets all European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) criteria.

MAS also will exhibit the latest generation CDF (continuous disc filter) melt filter series, a leading continuous filter system for recycling applications. The CDF system has reached its current status thanks to a design that permits previously unattainable filtration surfaces, the company says. The smallest CDF 300 uses a 300-millimetre disc with a 792-square-centimetre filter surface area and is suitable for a melt throughput of 300 to 700 kilograms per hour. All other sizes use a 510-millimetre filter disc. The CDF 500, with one disc, offers a filtration area of 1,640 square centimetres (700 to 1,600 kilograms per hour). The next step up, the CDF-500-D (two parallel discs), offers twice the filter surface area at 3,280 square centimetres and allows a throughput of 1,300 to 2,000 kilograms per hour. The largest filter unit, with the designation CDF-500-D-P, consists of two parallel CDF-500-D units with a total of four filter discs and a filter surface area of 6,560 square centimetres. At a possible melt throughput of up to 4,000 kilograms per hour, it is currently one of the highest-performing units of its size on the market, MAS says.

The filter consists of a rotating screen combined with a continuous scraper system, which lifts the contamination from the screen surface and discharges it through an auger. The reusable filtration disc is made of surface-hardened steel and is available in filtration sizes ranging from 90 to 750 micrometres.

The filter system is now equipped with a new pneumatic scraper. MAS says this feature allows a higher degree of adjustability for the stable performance of the system.

Further features of the latest filter generation include optimised melt channels as well as changes to the heating system to heating plates and bands, improving the heating coefficient, according to the company.

Hartmut Bendfeldt, president of eFactor 3 LLC / MAS-America, represents MAS equipment in North American and can be contacted at hbendfeldt@efactor3.com or at hbendfeldt@mas-america.com. Stefan Lehner is sales manager for MAS GmbH and can be contacted at lehner@mas-austria.com. 

Company offers residential and commercial trash, recycling and composting services in Colorado’s Broomfield and Boulder counties.

Boulder, Colorado-based Western Disposal Services  is celebrating 46 years serving residents and businesses in Colorado’s Broomfield and Boulder counties. The company provides residential and commercial trash, recycling and composting services.

Since its founding in August of 1970, Western Disposal has grown to employ more than 150 people and has become the largest private hauler in Broomfield and Boulder counties.

The company launched its commercial compost facility in 2001 and continues to work toward local communities’ zero-waste goals.

“When we started in 1970 with one truck, we wanted to distinguish the quality of our service and our dedication to the community from our competitors,” says Bryce Isaacson, vice president of sales and marketing at Western Disposal. “We have now grown to a fleet of over 70 collection vehicles and expanded our services to include recycling and composting options for the community. Our dependable, responsive service sets us apart.”

He continues, “The introduction of our commercial compost facility—the first and only one of its kind in Boulder County—and investing in energy-efficient technologies for our headquarters and our collection fleet further reflects our continued growth and commitment to the environment and the values of the communities we serve.”

Western Disposal supports local charities and nonprofits, serving as the flagship partner for Impact on Education’s “Crayons to Calculators” initiative for nearly a decade. In 2016, the company says it surpassed the $1 million fundraising mark.

“We are pleased to provide service to communities throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties that are committed to reducing their environmental impact and conserving natural resources,” says Kathleen Carroll, sales and marketing coordinator at Western Disposal. “We partner with both residential and commercial customers to provide services and education that increases waste diversion and reduces the amount of waste sent to the landfill.”

Purchase extends the company’s regional coverage into Nebraska.

Mobile document destruction company A Shred Ahead , headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, has acquired Paper Dragon of Grand Island, Nebraska, extending its regional coverage into that state.

Paper Dragon was a local, family-owned shredding company serving Central Nebraska for nearly a decade. The company also was very active in the local community, hosting annual community shredding events, as well as many other forms of outreach.

A Shred Ahead says existing Paper Dragon clients can expect A Shred Ahead to continue offering the same quality shredding and support with no gaps in service. Additionally, as a larger regional shredder, A Shred Ahead will bring more capacity and resources to the area.

"Everyone here at A Shred Ahead is excited to hit the ground running in central Nebraska, and we couldn't be happier to acquire a local leader in Paper Dragon," says John Chapman, co-owner of A Shred Ahead. "It's always inspiring to see the impact a company like Paper Dragon has in their community. Our goal has always been to provide the personal service and support of a small, local business with the resources and capability of a national company. We're very excited for the opportunity to bring A Shred Ahead to a new area and market."

Since the company's founding in 2003, A Shred Ahead has expanded from a local shredding company serving the Raleigh area to one of the largest independent regional shredding services in the United States. A Shred Ahead says it now serves the shredding and document destruction needs of clients in 13 states, and the company is continually growing its operational coverage as opportunities in new markets become available.