Just 10 percent of plastic that is produced globally is recycled, the rest ends up in landfills, is incinerated or is lost in the environment, including our oceans. With demand for plastics growing exponentially, there is a pressing need to rapidly increase plastic recycling capability, according to Recycling Technologies.

Swindon, England-based Recycling Technologies has developed and patented a plastics recycling machine called the RT7000 that can convert end-of-life plastics back into oil from which new plastics can be made, the company notes in a news release. Because of the chemical nature of the recycling process, the RT7000 is able to recycle plastics currently considered unrecyclable, such as plastic film, laminated food pouches and black plastics, the company says. 

To expand its operations and start the build of its first commercial machine to be installed in Scotland, Recycling Technologies launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, a British investing website, Feb. 16, 2018, with an aim to raise $1.68 million. On Feb. 19, 2018, the company announced that the crowdfunding has already exceeded the $1.82 million level and remains open for overfunding.

“We want to thank our new investors; it is thrilling that there is so much interest in supporting our solution to the problem of plastic waste,” Adrian Griffiths, CEO of Recycling Technologies, says. “Plastic waste is a valuable resource that has no place in landfills and our oceans. Waste site operators are crying out for attractive alternatives to the landfilling and incineration of mixed plastics, which today cost them $125 to $182 per ton for disposal. The RT7000 machine enables waste site operators to turn this plastic waste liability into a product, Plaxx, which has a value of [$420] per ton. There is a growing pipeline of waste site operators interested in the RT7000. By the end of 2023, we are targeting sales of over 300 machines with revenues of around $616 million. Each machine will provide its owner a payback in less than three years.”

“We all want to stem the flow of plastics into our oceans and recycle more. Crowdfunding enables everyone to be part of the Recycling Technologies’ solution,” Howard Lack, chairman of Recycling Technologies, says. “We are delighted to have already attracted significant support, enthusiasm and backing from our growing community of investors. The crowdfunding will underpin our growth and the building of our first commercial RT7000 machine in Scotland this year.”

Recycling Technologies’ RT7000 is modular and will be mass-produced, enabling a low-cost and rapid roll-out of plastic recycling machines anywhere in the world, according to the company. It will begin its operations in the U.K. providing a scalable solution to dealing with this country’s plastic waste. In the next 10 years, the company says it plans to build capacity to recycle 10 million tons of plastic globally each year.

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Waste Management Inc. (WM), Houston, has announced financial results for Q4 2017. Revenues for Q4 2017 were $3.65 billion, compared with $3.46 billion for the same 2016 period. Net income for the quarter was $903 million, or $2.06 per diluted share, compared with net income of $335 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, for Q4 2016. On an as-adjusted basis, earnings per diluted share were 85 cents for Q4 2017, compared with 75 cents in Q4 2016.

The results have been adjusted to exclude a net benefit of $1.21 per diluted share related to the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

For the full year 2017, the company reported revenues of $14.5 billion, compared with $13.6 billion for 2016. Earnings per diluted share were $4.41 for the full year 2017 compared with $2.65 for 2016. On an as-adjusted basis, earnings per diluted share were $3.22 for the full year 2017 versus $2.91 for 2016.

“The strong results that we saw through the first nine months of 2017 continued into the fourth quarter as we saw organic revenue growth continue to translate into operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) growth,” Jim Fish, President and CEO of WM, says. “In the fourth quarter, we achieved double-digit growth in income from operations, operating EBITDA, and adjusted earnings per diluted share, and nearly 10 percent growth in both adjusted income from operations and operating EBITDA.

“Looking at the full year, 2017 was exceptional for Waste Management as our continued focus on improving core price, adding profitable volume in a disciplined manner and controlling costs led to arguably the best year in the company’s history. Our employees did a great job of executing our strategy, and we exceeded our expectations for all financial and operational metrics leading to record cash provided by operations and adjusted earnings per diluted share.”

Overall revenue increased by 5.5 percent, or $192 million, from the same period in the prior year. The revenue growth was driven by yield and volume growth in the company’s collection and disposal business, which contributed $172 million of the increase. For the full year 2017, overall revenue increased by 6.4 percent, or $876 million. Yield and volume growth in the company’s collection and disposal business increased revenue by $536 million. Though revenue from the company’s recycling yield and volume declined by $25 million on a year-over-year basis in Q4 2017, full-year recycling yield and volume contributed $231 million of revenue growth.

Core price, which consists of price increases net of rollbacks and fees, excluding the company’s fuel surcharge, was 4.8 percent, compared to 5.1 percent in Q4 2016 and 4.7 percent in Q3 2017. For the full year, core price was 4.8 percent, compared to 5 percent in 2016.

Internal revenue growth from yield for collection and disposal operations was 2.2 percent for Q4 and 2 percent for the full year.

Traditional solid waste internal revenue growth from volume was 4.2 percent in Q4 2017. Total company internal revenue growth from volume, which recycling and other ancillary businesses, was 2.6 percent in Q4. For the full year 2017, traditional solid waste internal revenue growth from volume was 2.7 percent. Total company volume was 2.1 percent for the full year 2017

Average recycling commodity prices at the company’s recycling facilities were approximately 8.1 percent lower in Q4 2017 compared with the prior year period. Recycling volumes declined 4.8 percent in Q4. Results in the company’s recycling line of business declined by 3 cents per diluted share when compared to Q4 2016. For the full year, average recycling commodity prices at the company’s recycling facilities were approximately 27 percent higher and volumes decreased 0.5 percent. The revenue increase, combined with reduced operating costs at the company’s recycling facilities, drove an almost 9 cent increase in the company’s earnings per diluted share for the full year.

Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue in the company’s traditional solid waste business improved about 120 basis points during Q4 and 85 basis points for the full year. As a percent of revenue, total company operating expenses were 62 percent in Q4 2017 as compared to 62.1 percent in Q4 2016. For the full year, as a percent of revenue, operating expenses were 62.3 percent in 2017, as compared to 62.4 percent for the full year 2016.

As a percent of revenue, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were 10.1 percent in Q4 2017 compared to 10.9 percent in Q4 2016. For the full year, as a percent of revenue, SG&A expenses were 10.1 percent compared to 10.4 percent in 2016.

Operating EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $1.05 billion, or $1.02 billion on an as-adjusted basis, an increase of $90 million, or 9.7 percent, from Q4 2016. Full-year operating EBITDA was $4.01 billion, or $4 billion on an as-adjusted basis, an increase of 8.1 percent.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $790 million in Q4 and $3.18 billion for the full year. Operating cash flow increased by $36 million, or 4.8 percent, for Q4 and $174 million, or 5.8 percent, for the full year as a result of strong operating income growth and working capital improvements offset in part by a $120 million increase in cash taxes paid.

Capital expenditures were $528 million in Q4, a $151 million increase from the Q4 2016, and $1.51 billion for the full year, a $170 million increase from 2016. Free cash flow was $342 million in Q4 2017 compared to $388 million in Q4 2016. Free cash flow for the full year was $1.77 billion compared to $1.71 billion in 2016.

The company paid dividends of $184 million to shareholders in Q4. For the full year, the company returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through $750 million in dividends and $750 million in share repurchases. The Company spent $200 million on tuck-in acquisitions of traditional solid waste businesses during 2017, $120 million of which was spent in Q4.

The Orange County Water District (OCWD), Fountain Valley, California, and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD), Fountain Valley, California, has succeeded in the attempt to set a Guinness World Records title for the most wastewater recycled to drinking water in 24 hours.

The title was achieved by the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). This achievement commemorates the 10^th anniversary of the facility, a collaboration between the two districts.

"Recycling wastewater is critical to protecting and effectively managing our local water supplies at a time when we are facing extreme weather and droughts," OCWD President Denis Bilodeau says. "We hope this achievement will raise awareness and better understanding of the importance of facilities like the GRWS, because the potential of water recycling in California and around the world is tremendous."

The Guinness World Records title attempt to produce the most wastewater recycled into drinking water in 24 hours started at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15. The successful completion of the attempt was announced Friday, Feb. 16, during the Winter Fest, a public event that was held at the GWRS facility. The celebration included a community toast with recycled water from the facility.

"This was an incredible attempt that impacted the local community and environment. It provided perspective on the process of making water safe for consumption," Philip Robertson, official Guinness World Records adjudicator, says. "We congratulate the efforts of Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District and welcome them into the Guinness World Records family."  

Currently, regulations limit the use of advanced purified water to replenish groundwater basins even though the GWRS facility creates water that exceeds state and federal drinking water standards. California law Assembly Bill (AB) 2022, adopted in 2016, seeks to expand the public's awareness of water treatment advancements by allowing agencies such as OCWD to bottle highly purified recycled water to be handed out for free as an educational tool. The awareness effort is occurring as the state looks at direct potable reuse of this water.

The GWRS currently produces 100 million gallons a day of highly purified recycled water to inject into the Orange County Groundwater Basin, managed by OCWD, to increase local drinking water supplies and to prevent seawater intrusion. Work will soon be under way to expand its capacity to produce 130 million gallons a day of purified recycled water—enough for 1 million people.

"For more than a century, California has relied on rivers like the Colorado and Sacramento for our water. Today, we demonstrated we have new rivers to utilize," Bill Patzert, a climate scientist who emceed the celebration program, says. "It makes perfect sense to use the technology we have today to use the water we have right in our backyard and recycle it for drinking water."     

The 26th Annual North American Waste-to-Energy Conference (NAWTEC) on May 14-16, 2018, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will feature the latest in waste-to-energy (WTE) principles, technologies and innovations, with a focus this year on how WTE can improve a community and help build a more sustainable future.

Serving as a backdrop to the conference is the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA). LCSWMA employs a multi-step approach to trash disposal and processing. This integrated system not only saves significant landfill capacity, it also creates clean, renewable energy. Tours of the facility and its programs will be a highlight of the event.This year’s event will feature technical sessions with expert speakers, unprecedented WTE networking opportunities, and information-sharing opportunities among peers, event organizers say. 

Session Spotlights

Immobilization of Toxic Heavy Metals in MSW Combustion Residues: A Case Study

WTE professionals will learn about cost-effective solutions for stabilizing heavy metals in MSW residues to cover the gap between the leachability concentrations of toxic elements observed in residues and the leachability toxicity limits as per EPA's regulatory threshold. The presentation will further demonstrate how large savings can be obtained by treating the plant's combustion residues with new proposed methods.

Speaker:
• Anil Mehrotra, Plant Engineer, Hampton/NASA Steam Plant

Leaching Results of Maine Weathered Concrete/Ash Mixtures: Implications for Reuse

This field study will look at the weathering percentage of five different concentrations of ash (10, 25, 40, 60 and 70) mixed with concrete and left open to the harsh Maine environment for a period of six months. Field data like this will be essential going forward as WTE plants make a regulatory case for more productive uses of ash, such as building and road improvement material instead of entombment in a landfill.

Speaker:
• Mark Maritato, Environmental Health and Safety Specialist, ecomaine

Managing WTE Electric Sales Beyond PURPA

As many U.S. WTE facilities face the expiration of long-term pricing contracts that were established under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), maximizing the value of electric revenue is challenging. Learn from this panel discussion about some of the challenges facing WTE facilities in the Northeast region, where cheap natural gas has driven market prices to 15-year lows, and what public and private entities are doing to stabilize electric revenues in the open market.

Panelists:
• Michelle Marsh, Director of Business Solutions, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority
• Sami Kabbani, Vice President, Energy, Covanta
• Scott Helm, President, American PowerNet

Improving the Economics of WTE Facilities through Enhanced Metal Reclamation and Beneficial Reuse of Ash

This presentation will focus on the benefits of reconfiguring fly ash and bottom ash handling systems. LCSWMA's experience with this issue can benefit other WTE owners by decreasing ash disposal expense, increasing metal revenue and positioning the owner for future bottom ash re-use efforts.

Speaker:
• Tom Adams, Chief Business Development Officer, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority

For more information on the conference, visit NAWTEC.org.