U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio have introduced the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act as bipartisan legislation to reduce plastic waste and improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. plastics recycling industry. 

The Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act directs the establishment of a plastic waste reduction and recycling research and development program, calls on the federal government to develop a strategic plan for plastic waste reduction and calls for the development of standards for plastics recycling technologies.

The proposed legislation would:

• direct the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Program to improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. plastics recycling industry;
• direct the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish an interagency committee to coordinate the program and develop a strategic plan for plastic waste reduction and recycling and plastic waste remediation;
• direct the National Institute of Standards and Technologies to carry out research and provide the metrology basis for standards development for plastics recycling and related technologies, and to develop a clearinghouse to support dissemination of the tools, guidelines, and standards supported by the program;

• direct the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support research and other activities on advanced recycling technologies, plastic waste remediation and the public health impacts of microplastics, among other topics; and

• authorize funding for five years and invest $85 million in 2021 for these activities.

“We can no longer deny that we face a plastic waste crisis,” Stevens says. “In 2018, the U.S. woke up to the fragile predicament of our plastic waste management system. No longer able to ship our plastic waste to international markets, U.S. cities were forced to cut long-standing recycling programs. Instead, they had to resort to incinerating recyclables or tossing them in landfills. 

“There are plenty of reasons for why and how we got here; however, a major factor is because we failed as a nation to invest in domestic recycling infrastructure and policies to account for the growing demand for plastic,” she says. “As a result, today, the U.S. recycles just 9 percent of its plastic waste. The Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act will help develop a world-leading U.S. industry in advanced plastics recycling technologies and unleash the innovative potential of our nation to address our plastic waste crisis and generate greater value from the plastics we do produce.”

The Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act is endorsed by the American Chemical Council (ACC), American Chemistry Society, American Beverage Association and Plastics Industry Association (Plastics).

“We applaud the introduction by Rep. Haley Stevens of the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act to improve recycling in this country and look forward to working with every member of Congress to ensure this important piece of legislation becomes law. Innovative companies are eager to use more recycled material to create new products and prevent waste from entering the environment,” says Tony Radoszewski, president and CEO of Plastics. 

“Passing the Plastics Waste Reduction and Recycling Act would accelerate research and development on advanced plastics recycling technologies, which would enable a significantly greater range of our plastics resources to be repurposed,” the ACC states in a news release about the proposed legislation. “It also would increase research and coordination across federal agencies on plastic waste reduction as well as recycling. The ACC appreciates the approach taken by Reps. Haley Stevens and Anthony Gonzalez to better align and coordinate these various initiatives and harness the expertise of different agencies for greater success in ending plastic waste.”

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has voiced its support of the proposed legislation in a statement that reads: "ISRI supports initiatives that spur research and enhance opportunities for recycling of all commodities, including plastics. We welcome the Plastic Waste and Reduction Act and commend Rep. Stevens and Rep. Gonzalez for their vision to make the United States a leader in market-based approaches to the circular economy of plastics. ISRI looks forward to working with these and other members of Congress to promote recycling and help Americans rediscover its many benefits."

Distant and cynical observers of landfill fires might be tempted to summarize such occurrences with the sentiment, “Nothing of value was lost.” Owners and operators of landfills, however, are keenly aware that a landfill fire is no trivial matter, and that the threats to human health, the environment and adjacent properties are very real.

A smaller scale landfill fire can lead to nuisance complaints and scrutiny from regulatory agencies. Larger and longer-lasting landfill fires have turned into legal sagas that can stretch over the course of several years.

A major contributing factor to these fires is the flammable and combustible material that is routinely sent to municipal solid waste (MSW) and other landfills. Landfill personnel on the lookout for these sources of trouble thus play a critical role in preventing the chance of a fire-related incident from wreaking havoc on a landfill site.

Trained and on alert

While landfill operations personnel are seldom the cause of a fire, they can play a decisive role in whether or not a fire breaks out or spreads.

“The most important tool to prevent hot loads is a comprehensive waste screening and load check program,” says Jason Todaro, the lead solid waste on-site trainer with Mariposa, California-based Blue Ridge Services. “This type of program needs to include all of the landfill staff, from scale house attendants to spotters and even equipment operators,” he adds.

"Staff should ask customers about the content of their loads. Ask customers questions like: Do you have any electronics or batteries? Do you have any fireplace ash or barbecue waste in your load,” –Jason Todaro, Blue Ridge Services

Todaro, who holds a California State Fire Marshall 480-hour Firefighter 1 certificate, says items that can be described as “hot loads” include barbecue equipment, campfire or fireplace ashes, and lithium-ion batteries.

While personnel should always be vigilant for these potential culprits, the summer season can be even more problematic. “Landfill fires tend to be more common between March and August, most likely due to an increase in dryer material and green/wood waste being landfilled,” says Todaro.

“In addition, there can be more hot loads, from barbecues, for example,” he continues. “And of course, a hotter ambient outdoor temperature can increase the likelihood of spontaneous combustion.”

Heat accumulation, the oxidation of some materials (including batteries) and the presence of methane gas all can play a role in what is labeled “spontaneous combustion,” according to a 2010 study by American and British researchers.

Regarding inbound material, Todaro suggests, “Staff should ask customers about the content of their loads. Ask customers questions like: Do you have any electronics or batteries? Do you have any fireplace ash or barbecue waste in your load?”

Visual inspection also plays a key role, says Todaro. “Landfill staff also need to keep an eye out for specific types of loads. For example, is the load coming from a campground (potential campfire ash)? Does the load contain a lot of canned chemicals, paints, solvents, etc., that could be flammable or create a spontaneous chemical response that could ignite?”

While it may seem obvious, Todaro says landfill employees should be trained to ask themselves, “As the load comes through the gate or is dumped and spread at the working face, is there visible smoke? Is there a burning smell?”

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It only takes a spark

The composition of materials arriving at a landfill means a certain percentage can serve as potential fuel if a spark or ember is introduced to this volatile mix.

As Todaro has noted, sometimes that ignition source is smuggled within incoming material in the form of an ember or volatile battery. Other times, however, internal combustion engine vehicles operating at the landfill or making deliveries to it can be the source of trouble.

“Trucks, compactors and other equipment can be a potential source of fire if they have a machine fire,” says Todaro. “If a fuel or hydraulic line breaks inside an extremely hot engine, it could then start the entire machine on fire. That machine could then ignite the waste.”

An analysis of highway vehicle fire causes collected by the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System from 2014 to 2016 found that 62 percent of such fires “originated in the engine, running gear or wheel area of the vehicle.”

The agency found that insulation around electrical wiring (29 percent) and flammable liquids in the engine area (18 percent) were common sources of trouble in highway vehicle fires.

Some of these problems also can occur in off-road vehicles or in the trucks delivering waste to landfills.

“One way to prevent machine fires is to have an onboard fire suppression system for heavy equipment and trucks,” says Todaro. “It also is really important for operators to do regular maintenance and remove debris and buildup in the engine compartment, undercarriage, wheels, etc.”

Another best practice involves where to deploy on-site equipment when it is not in use. “At the end of the day, equipment should be parked away from exposed waste,” states Todaro. “Ideally, heavy equipment would be parked on top of cover soil.”

Be prepared, but ask for help

Blue Ridge Services offers consulting, training and educational materials specifically pertaining to fire prevention and machine fires—among many other topics.

Todaro says the training aspects of responding to a landfill fire, however, emphasize that “it is important to recognize that landfill staff are not first responders.” The same employees who are alert and vigilant should not necessarily be asked to combat a fire themselves.

"While there are situations where landfill staff can fight fires, it’s important to have very clear guidelines about when staff should and shouldn’t [do so],” –Jason Todaro, Blue Ridge Services

“While there are situations where landfill staff can fight fires, it’s important to have very clear guidelines about when staff should and shouldn’t [do so],” states Todaro.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) “has some guidelines on what is called an incipient fire, which is a fire that is in the ‘initial or beginning stage and which can be controlled or extinguished by portable fire extinguishers, class II standpipe or small hose systems without the need for protective clothing or breathing apparatus,’” says Todaro.

When Blue Ridge works with clients to create fire safety plans, the company uses that OSHA definition “as a clear guideline of when staff should fight a fire and when they should not,” adds Todaro.

It is landfill owners and managers who can lay the groundwork for successfully fighting a landfill fire, in part by establishing a relationship with the fire department in the landfill’s jurisdiction.

“We do have clients that involve local fire departments in the fire plan for their landfill,” says Todaro. “We definitely recommend this because firefighters, in general, are more experienced with structure fires, vehicle fires and wildfires, but very few have ever dealt with a landfill fire, especially if it is a subsurface landfill fire.”

Surface fires and subsurface fires can be different animals, says Todaro, that can “respond differently to weather conditions, like high winds.” Subsurface fires can be problematic in the long term, as was demonstrated in Missouri last decade. (See the sidebar “Smoldering resentment.”)

An analysis of several dozen landfill fires by a government agency in the United Kingdom found that “approximately 57 percent occurred below the surface of the waste and 13 percent occurred at the surface. A further 27 percent were the result of bonfires, suspected arson or similar causes.”

Todaro’s advice to all landfill owners is, “It would be very worthwhile to bring your local fire department out to your site, even if it is just to give them a lay of the land.”

Such visits, says Todaro, can allow fire departments to determine the answers to such questions as: “Where is the water tank? How do they get to the active face? How do they access the site if it is the middle of the night?”

That knowledge, Blue Ridge has found, can help prevent a minor- or medium-sized problem from escalating into a major one. “Once the fire goes beyond the incipient fire stage, the fire department must become involved, and it is better that they have some knowledge of how to best deal with a landfill fire,” says Todaro.

Landfills may not hold much of value within them, but an alert staff and an informed local fire department can be critical in preventing them from becoming a potential environmental, legal and financial liability.

This article originally appeared in the May/June issue of Waste Today. The author is a senior editor with Waste Today and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net

Martin Environmental Services Inc., Dothan, Alabama, announced June 16 that Brandon Hurst has been promoted to president and CEO. Hurst is the stepson of founder Jim Martin, who started Martin Environmental Services 20 years ago.

Martin Environmental is a waste and recycling services company that provides solid waste, fiber recycling and portable toilet solutions to thousands of customers throughout Alabama, northwest Florida and southwest Georgia.

Hurst officially joined the company in 2009, and since that time, has held many roles within the organization. In 2018, he purchased controlling interest of the company as part of the organization’s succession plan.

Martin says that “this has been the plan all along. Brandon has been running the business with me for a long time, and over the last few years, has taken over most responsibilities. The way he treats our employees and customers is beyond anything I could have hoped for. I am excited about our future under his leadership."

Terex Ecotec, Newton, New Hampshire, has announced the expansion of its shredding range with the introduction of the TSS 390, a robust and versatile single-shaft, slow-speed shredder. Powered by a 493 horsepower Scania DC13 engine, it is designed for maximum output and minimum down time.

“We are committed to delivering innovative, high quality products, and the addition of the TSS 390 will further enhance an already significant range of shredding products,” Tony Devlin, business line director for Terex Ecotec says. "The TSS 390 has been rigorously tested and proven in a diverse range of applications and will open new opportunities in the market. It will be manufactured in our new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Derry, Northern Ireland, which will support the ongoing growth and development of Terex Ecotec’s ever expanding product portfolio.”

The TSS 390’s 3-meter-long shredding shaft was designed in-house and is made from heavy-duty steel with easily replaceable, bolt-on shredding teeth. Being hydrostatically driven, Terex Ecotec says it offers the benefit of full speed, full torque reverse and provides protection against contaminants. This combined with customizable shredding programs enable the operator to configure the machine to their specific requirements and offers improved shaft cleaning in difficult applications, reducing wrappage and optimizing throughput.

Shredding takes place against a hydraulically adjustable counter comb, which allows the operator to tailor the product size to suit their needs. This comb can be operated in either a fixed position, where product size is critical or in release mode when the comb can open rapidly to allow large contaminants to pass without the need to stop shredding.

In addition, all conveyors are modular in design allowing each one to be removed independently reducing maintenance downtime. A separate transfer conveyor with a high specification belt ensures material is effectively removed from below the shredding chamber. Both the transfer and product conveyors benefit from a speed monitoring which adds additional protection against blockages. 

The optional over-band magnet provides magnetic separation and is both height and angle adjustable via a remote control. The magnet can be configured to discharge from either side of the machine and lifts up and away from the product conveyor when not in use. The chamber camera and monitor screen are an optional extra, however it enables the operator to see exactly what is happening inside the chamber and helps refine the shredding programs to provide maximum throughput in even the most difficult applications.

Available in both tracked and wheeled variants the TSS 390 will come fitted as standard with the T-Link telematics solution.