Some of What Glitters Is Scrap

Because of their weight, processing C&D materials is important to those having to meet diversion mandates, points out Brendan McKenzie, national sales manager, OSA Demolition Equipment. “Not only are you saving landfill space, but it’s [also] huge money,” he says.

Recently, McKenzie was speaking to an end user of his company’s products in California, who indicated to him that some recyclable products are now so valuable “they’re actually mining landfills” to retrieve them. “They’re going back and looking for metal they threw away a few decades ago,” he notes. “It’s basically money buried right there in their landfill.”

According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), studies show that the practice creates and supports hundreds of thousands jobs in the US and generates billions in revenue for federal, state, and local governments. It’s not uncommon in some areas of the US to see vehicles canvassing neighborhoods, looking for valuable recyclable scrap materials put out for trash removal before the solid waste trucks arrive, to say nothing of occasional occurrences of outright theft of materials.

Here’s an ISRI breakdown of commodities and their markets:

Nonferrous metals: Aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, and zinc can be recycled an infinite number of times as they are among the few materials that do not degrade or lose their chemical or physical properties in the recycling process. Latest statistics show the materials comprised less than 10% of the total quantity of material recycled in the US, but accounted for more than half of the total US scrap recycling industry earnings in 2012. Over 9 million metric tons of nonferrous scrap was processed in the US, from such sources as copper and precious metal circuitry in electronic devices, soft-drink containers, automobile batteries and radiators, aluminum siding, and airplane parts. Markets include secondary smelters, refiners, ingot makers, foundries and other industrial consumers in the US and in over 90 countries worldwide. The Bureau of International Recycling estimates that almost 40% of the world’s copper demand is met using recycled material, while over 80% of the zinc available for recycling is eventually recycled.

Ferrous scrap: Obsolete ferrous scrap such as iron and steel is recovered from automobiles, steel structures, household appliances, railroad tracks, ships, farm equipment, and other sources, with used vehicles being the largest source. R. L. Polk & Co. estimates nearly 11.8 million vehicles were scrapped in the US in 2012. Ferrous scrap is the most recycled material, domestically and globally. In 2013, over 350 shredders were in operation in North America, up from 120 in the early 1970s. The USGS estimates that 72 million metric tons of iron and steel scrap were purchased in the US in 2012. ISRI indicates while domestic ferrous scrap market participants have faced increased competition for available feedstock in recent years, expanding economic output in general and improved conditions in the automotive and construction sectors should contribute positively for future ferrous scrap supply and demand. ISRI has developed standard specifications for scrap commodities including more than 100 ferrous scrap specifications.

Recovered fiber: Paper and board is one of the most widely recycled materials worldwide. Since 1990, Americans have recycled approximately 1 billion tons of recovered fiber as the recovery rate for paper and paperboard in the US nearly doubled to reach 65.1% in 2012. The scrap recycling industry’s paper recycling segment processes the recovered fiber into specification grade products that were valued at $8.4 billion in 2012. The products are sold and transported to paper mills domestically and globally for production into new packaging, office paper, tissue, newsprint, and other paper products. Some 76% of US paper mills rely on recovered fiber to make some or all of their products, partially due to cost and energy savings. Recovered paper is exported to 85 countries at a value of about $3.5 billion.

Plastics: Between 1950 and 2011, the global production of plastics grew at an average rate of 9% annually, and in 2011 global plastics production increased by 10 million tons to 280 million tons. According to EPA, plastic recycling results in an energy savings of an estimated 50-75 MBTUs per ton of material recycled compared with production of new plastics using virgin material. This scrap segment is a relatively new one in recycling, with the technology to cost-effectively sort and recycle it being only about 25 years old, ISRI points out, adding that the segment faces challenges: among them, convincing manufacturers of the benefits of using plastics made from scrap.

Glass: Glass can be recycled without loss in quality or purity. In 2010, 37% of all glass bottles in the US were recycled, according to the Container Recycling Institute. For every ton of glass recycled, more than 1 ton of raw materials-as well as greenhouse gas emissions-is saved. An estimated 80% of recovered glass containers are made into new glass bottles.

Electronics: This segment has matured over the past decade and has boosted the US economy by approximately $20.6 billion, including exports of $1.45 billion-up from less than $1 billion in 2002. In 2011, the US electronics recycling industry processed more than 4.4 million tons of used and end-of-life electronics equipment. Over 70% of the collected equipment is manufactured into specification grade commodities, such as scrap steel, aluminum, copper, lead, circuit boards, plastics, and glass, which are sold to basic materials manufacturers in the US and globally as raw material feedstock for new products such as steel, copper, aluminum, plastic, and glass. Electronics recyclers repair, refurbish, and resell functioning electronics equipment as used products into domestic and global markets. Up to 75% of the market volume is collected from businesses and commercial interests. In February 2013, the US International Trade Commission’s study, “Used Electronic Products: An Examination of US Exports” found that over 80% of the Used Electronic Products collected in the US were recycled, reused, or refurbished domestically, while only 17% were exported. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Materials Systems Laboratory and the US National Center for Electronics Recycling in 2013 indicated that over 90% of used electronics collected for recycling within the US remain in the US for processing and are not exported.

Tires: Each year, some 100 million tires are processed by the recycling industry. Scrap tire rubber is used in the manufacture of new tires, playground surfaces, equestrian mats, and rubberized asphalt, among other products, with scrap processors producing 1.1 billion pounds of crumb rubber in 2012 used to create those.

Textiles: According to Scrap magazine, 2 million tons of clothing and textiles are recovered pre-consumer and post-consumer in the US each year and recycled as new raw materials for the automotive, furniture, mattress, coarse yarn, home furnishings, paper, and other industries. Garments in good condition are exported for global resale.

According to a recent Harris survey, 22% of Americans say that when making a purchase, they always or often look to see if the product was made from recycled materials and are willing to spend an average of 10% more for that product.

Eighty-six percent of Americans would like it if manufacturers designed products to be easier for consumers who recycle to disassemble in preparation for recycling. Sixty-two percent say if a product is not easy or convenient to recycle, they won’t.

They’re willing to spend 13% more on average for a product if they knew it was easy and convenient to collect and take to a recycling center or have picked up at home curbside, or if it was fully recyclable.

Ninety percent think that recycling collection sites need to be more readily accessible to consumers.

Manufacturers are responding to the needs of solid waste professionals to handle scrap.

Okada America’s OSC line is used in post demolition when there’s debris that needs to be disposed of, says Adam Daher, company spokesperson. “Our OSC breaking crushers were developed for the growing need to reduce disposal volume and recycle concrete and metal waste. By crushing concrete onsite, contractors reduce transportation costs. The material can be used for basefill at the site.”

The company’s various-sized TMB padding buckets are used to sift out unwanted material during the post-demolition process to remove rocks and debris and sift out all unwanted soil that can be used for fill, says Daher. “If there is material that can be recycled, a TMB bucket can quickly separate the recyclable material. TMB buckets can dramatically reduce cleanup and recycling times.”

That helps in such cities as Chicago and Detroit, where the municipalities want demolition crews to recycle brick from old buildings, notes Daher. “They can scoop up a large amount of material at once and then sift out the unwanted material, leaving the crew with just the recyclable bricks or whatever material they would want,” he says.

Such efforts are helping to meet diversion mandates.

One of the nation’s leading mandates came from California, when Assembly Bill 939 (AB939) was passed in 1989 in response to an increasing shortage of landfill capacity throughout California-and the nation-and an upsurge in interest in conserving the state’s natural resources, Daher affirms. “It required all cities and counties within the state to reach a 50% waste reduction goal by the year 2000 and beyond, using 1990 as a base year for waste generation data,” he says. “There are similar laws in cities and states across the country.”

The two most common pieces of equipment offered by OSA Demolition Equipment that would be used in scrap handling are the SH Series shears and the GR Series grapples.

The shears’ metallic components are constructed with HARDOX 400 and include: a Pressure Relieve Valve (PRV) to protect the shear, a regenerative circuit, interchangeable blades for precision cutting, a 360-degree hydraulic rotation, and an interchangeable point to break metal completely, plus they utilize a double register for ensuring precise blade alignment during stressful conditions.

The steel-constructed grapples are designed not only to handle wood and bricks, but also to facilitate recycling. They feature a 360-degree hydraulic rotation for precision placement, a hydraulic cylinder synchronized to a piston rod system for facilitating homogenous movement, and interchangeable blades.

“All of our equipment is mounted on the end of excavators and hydraulically actuated with onboard hydraulics,” says McKenzie.

In addition to using those equipment types for metal scrap, waste operations use the company’s three pulverizers: the FM, RV, and FPV.

The RV Series hydraulic rotating pulverizer is manufactured with HARDOX 400 and features a reverse cylinder for rod protection, a fast-action valve, interchangeable blades, and an interchangeable teeth system.

For secondary demolition needs, the FPV is used for recycling and pulverization. It’s manufactured with HARDOX structures; features a reverse cylinder to protect from accidental hits; and has interchangeable teeth, a PRV to protect the valve from high pressure, and interchangeable blades.

The FM is a mechanical pulverizer designed to pulverize all the materials from a demolition job, such as concrete structures, shafts, and trellises. It separates reinforcing rods from concrete and requires no hydraulic installation.

Terex Fuchs offers a range of material handling equipment designed to efficiently sort scrap and other recyclable materials from the wastestream. The company offers seven models with either tire or track drive systems, ranging from the Terex Fuchs MHL320 on the small end, to the largest handler in its line:
the MHL380.

“The Terex Fuchs MHL320, MHL331, MHL335, and MHL340 will generally be seen at MSW landfills and transfer stations to fit the operation’s sorting needs,” says Steve Brezinski, heavy equipment product manager, material handlers, for Terex Construction Americas. All models also can be equipped with zero-emissions electric motors in stationary and semi-mobile designs, he adds.

One of the latest innovations offered for Terex Fuchs material handlers is the Terex Fuchs Telematics system. “It allows operations to monitor machine usages and optimize material handler efficiency,” he says. “It records and communicates critical operating information for the machine, including location, operating hours, fuel level and consumption, service events, and maintenance notifications-to designated personnel.”

All Terex Fuchs E Series material handlers now feature standard Eco Mode operation. This allows operators to select between three engine speed operating modes to fine-tune power output to match the application.

“That delivers substantial fuel savings of up to 36% over 100% power operation,” says Brezinski. He says the primary regulatory issue, with respect to scrap handling, deals with emissions.

Terex Fuchs models are transitioning from Tier 4i to Tier 4 final engines, and several models will be making this shift in 2015. “Operations will have the latest in emissions control technology and comply with governmental regulations,” adds Brezinski. “As an alternative, operations can choose to go with electric material handlers, which enable operations to cut particulate matter emissions entirely as well as reduce machine operating noise levels, which can help a company to meet noise ordinances.”

In April 2014, Terex Fuchs launched a telematics system for Terex Fuchs E-Series material handlers. The satellite reporting system ties to the material handler’s dedicated CAN Bus system, and its 32-bit processor is designed to quickly deliver critical machine-operating data such as operating hours, fuel level and consumption, handler location, service events, and maintenance notifications to designated personnel. System information and reporting is customizable for individuals, or groups of individuals, so only data pertinent to an individual or group will be displayed.

For companies with machines at multiple locations, groups of machines at a particular site can be segmented into different views to quickly access specific machine information, explains Brezinski. “The system’s geofence feature offers machine theft protection by allowing the administrator to set handler operating boundaries,” he says. “This powerful tool can improve machine efficiency, productivity, and uptime for operations, and the level of data tracked and reported can help different functional managers in a variety ways.”

He says by quickly responding to service indicators or maintenance interval alerts, service managers can help increase machine uptime and schedule work. Also, operations and business managers can use machine hours and utilization data, as well as fuel consumption reporting for fleet management, to optimize placement and deployment of assets and control operating costs.

Terex Fuchs Telematics uses satellite technology to report information to a secured, password-protected website for access at any time where Internet is available. Machine service event reporting can be customized to provide alerts to key company personnel who can address the situation. Terex Fuchs distributors also can receive service information and alerts to assist customers in maintaining peak material handler productivity.

Another innovation for the Terex Fuchs E Series material handlers is a standard Eco Mode operation designed to provide significant fuel savings. The feature is located on the machine’s new multifunction button control panel, enabling operators to select a Power Mode, Eco Mode, or Eco+ Mode operating setting, allowing machine power output to match the application.

“The Terex Fuchs E Series handlers are designed to be fuel efficient, even at 100% engine speed,” says Brezinski. “However, tasks such as cleaning the yard and sorting material do not require 100% power demand from the engine. The Eco Mode settings allow the operator to take advantage of these additional fuel-saving opportunities.”

The Power Mode provides the operator optimal power and speed for heavy-duty applications, such as feeding the shredder, loading/unloading trailers and rail cars, or magnet operation.

The Eco-Mode lowers engine RPM by up to 12% depending on the model, and caps engine horsepower at 90%, designed to deliver up to 27% fuel savings over 100% power, while still offering high lifting and slewing rates for less-demanding, medium-duty tasks.

For low-demand tasks, such as sorting, the operator can switch the machine to Eco+ Mode to reduce engine RPM by up to 19%, using 80% of full engine horsepower. This setting is designed to offer up to 36% fuel savings.

Depending on the location, some states require a minimum diversion rate of discarded materials from landfills. “For instance, one Terex Fuchs waste customer operating in northern California is required to divert a minimum of 50% of discarded materials from the wastestream,” notes Brezinski. “The company recently switched from large loaders to the Terex Fuchs MHL320 material handler to significantly increase sorting efficiency and increase diversion rates. They also designed a transfer station around the use of the material handler, which allowed the building’s floor to be level and eliminated the need for push walls. This saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars on building construction.”

Among the end markets for ferrous scrap are electric arc furnace steel mills, integrated mills, and iron and steel foundries, he says.

Materials handling operations are critical to meet diversion rates. “Diverting any recyclable material, including certain C&D materials, from the landfill is not only essential in meeting diversion rates, but also for increasing revenue,” points out Brezinski. “Not being proactive and not removing recyclable material from the wastestream is basically throwing away revenue. Some of our end users in the waste industry see themselves in the business of diverting material from the landfill, versus the disposal of material.”

The key to success is being able to quickly and efficiently sort the recyclable material from the wastestream, he says.

Case in point: one of the company’s end users provides rolloff container service as part of its business model. As business grew, the operation moved from using skid steers, to front-end loaders, to excavators to progressively increase sorting efficiency. “Ultimately, the company purchased a Terex Fuchs MHL331 material handler that offered a 35.1-foot reach, about 20% longer than the excavator it previously used,” says Brezinski. “The combination of reach and superior sorting ability of the material handler has cut the company’s container sorting and metal removing time in half, while reducing labor requirements to only one person. Most importantly, it allowed the company to efficiently keep pace with the increasing inflow of containers.”

In addition, “most organic materials are being diverted from landfills and are generally converted to mulch and compost that are used by landscapers or growers,” says Jerry Morey, president, Bandit Industries. “The biggest percentage of the organic material is tree waste-including trees, limbs, stumps, and leaves.”

Wood pallets, wooden crating, and construction waste is generally recycled into colored mulch. “With the increase in biomass operations, some of the green waste is being recycled into fuel wood products either in the form of chips, or ground material,” notes Morey. “Some of the pallet waste is converted into pellets for home or industrial heating.”

He says there’s has been a large increase in the recycling of shingle waste and tearoff shingles, with shingle recycling increasing 56% in 2013. “Shingle waste is generally recycled into hot mix asphalt. But ground shingles are also being used to fire cement kilns. Ground shingles not only provide fuel for the kiln, but [also] the aggregate in the shingles add raw material for producing cement.”