The platform will ensure that Ontario tire manufacturers manage end-of-life tire recycling obligations.

eTracks Tire Management Systems, a producer responsibility organization (PRO) based in Toronto that was incorporated by the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, has launched a Sustainable Recovery Platform (eSRP) for more than 6,500 Ontario tire collection sites, 100 service providers and 50 producers. eTracks provides PRO services to the Ontario tire manufacturing industry by managing end-of-life tire recycling obligations under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act.

According to a news release from eTracks, the nonprofit PRO developed eSRP in order to provide better data and insights into where, how and what becomes of recyclable materials put into market as well as how much of that material is made into new products. eTracks says eSRP will help improve the way producers and PROs manage recyclable materials and regulatory compliance.

“In the race to divert more waste into resources, the quality of our data may be the most important part. If something is or isn’t working, we need to rely on our data for clarity and insight,” says Steve Meldrum, CEO of eTracks. “eSRP addresses the need to track recycled material, from its use in new materials back through the processing, transportation and ultimately from the collection source.”

Since 2019 tire producers have been responsible for recycling all tires they sell in Ontario when they reach end of life, eTracks says. The nonprofit PRO is managing Ontario tire producers’ regulatory obligations to ensure 85 percent of the weight of tires collected in the province are used to create new products. eTracks says it has achieved the 85 percent resource recovery rate for its customers since that regulation went into effect. eTracks adds that its new eSRP platform will ensure it reaches this recovery rate with accuracy.

The certification verifies high recycled content in several Novelis building and construction alloys in North America.

Atlanta-based Novelis Inc. says GreenCircle has independently verified that three of its alloys produced for the building and construction markets contain up to 99 percent recycled content.

Novelis' 3105, 3004 and 3025 alloys, which are produced at its Davenport, Iowa; Richmond, Virginia; and Uhrichsville, Ohio, facilities, have received the certification. These continuous-cast facilities serve the commercial transportation and building and construction markets, producing flat-rolled aluminum sheet that contains between 77 percent and 99 percent recycled content, the company says.

"At Novelis, recycling and sustainability are central to our values, business model and purpose of shaping a sustainable world together," says Ganesh Panneer, vice president, Operations, Novelis North America. "We are committed to transparency and to being a brand our customers can trust, so pursuing GreenCircle's Recycled Content certification was a natural step for us."

GreenCircle Certified LLC, Royersford, Pennsylvania, is a third-party certification company that provides independent verification that sustainability claims related to an organization's products and operations are honest, valid and transparent.

As part of its goals to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2026 and be carbon neutral by 2050, Novelis says it is focusing on increasing the amount of recycled content in its products because it requires just 5 percent of the energy used to produce primary aluminum with only 5 percent of the associated greenhouse gases.

"Novelis has achieved GreenCircle Recycled Content certifications at its Richmond, Uhrichsville and Davenport facilities consecutively for the past decade," Tad Radzinski, certification officer at GreenCircle, says. "Novelis is leading the way by guaranteeing the percent of recycled content by obtaining third-party verifications. Taking the extra step to get certified, especially for so many consecutive years, is a testament to Novelis' commitment to sustainability and transparency."

Recycling company’s workshop in the U.K. set up inside prison near Manchester, England.

United Kingdom-based metals recycling firm EMR Ltd. says it has invested more than 40,000 pounds ($54,500) to create a new workshop facility at Her Majesty’s Prison Forest Bank, near Manchester, England. EMR says the workshop has been designed to provide “key skills and employment opportunities to prisoners as they prepare for release.”

Working with the prison’s operator, Sodexo, EMR says it is able to provide up to 15 prisoners per shift with the opportunity to join a team that separates tires from wheel rims, which EMR calls “a vital step in the process of sustainably recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).”

The team can separate more than 1,500 tires per week, the result of a system that began accepting its first team members in May of last year. The workshop has taken “careful planning” by both EMR and prison staff to implement and was the result of initial discussions with Sodexo’s Head of Learning and Employment, Steve Jones, in 2018, says EMR.

“By collaborating on the training, support and educational opportunities that come with working at the site, EMR is committed to helping Sodexo enhance the quality of work available to prisoners at HMP Forest Bank,” states the recycling firm.

A series of bronze, silver and gold certificates allow prisoners to show progress during their time working on the EMR initiative, and three individuals have risen to the position of team leader since the scheme started in May, says EMR.

EMR and Sodexo employees also have supported prisoners in developing the skills needed for the interview process as well as offering help in preparing résumés, says EMR. “As the scheme develops, EMR is keen to offer employment opportunities to prisoners who show a high level of commitment and the right attitude during their time at the workshop,” adds the firm.

A proportion of the wages earned while working for EMR are kept back to ensure that, upon release, prisoners have a financial cushion to find accommodation and begin the process of rebuilding their lives after completing their sentence.

“I’m really proud to reveal the new EMR site we’re operating in HMP Forest Bank today,” says Rowland Cooper, EMR’s director of human resources at EMR. “We really want the prisoners who work with us at HMP Forest Bank to feel part of the wider EMR family so, from the logos on their uniforms and the branding on site – right down to the mugs they use when they’re having a well-earned break – this facility looks and feels just like any other of our sites around the U.K.” 

Adds Cooper, “We’d also like to thank Sodexo which, alongside providing us with a team of committed employees who have been trained up on how to run a busy EMR site in a prison context, has also built and prepared a modern workshop facility for the prisoners to use.”

Technology provider says its new Arcos ICP-OES “evolves elemental analysis to the next level.”

Germany-based Spectro Analytical Instruments says its newest Spectro Arcos inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICO-OES) represents “the next generation of industry-leading ICP-OES technology.”

The new device “precisely analyzes the elemental composition of metals, chemicals, petrochemicals and more to deliver the critically accurate measurements that industry and academia can depend on,” the company states.

Enhancements introduced in the new Spectro Arcos are based on customer input coupled with what Spectro calls advances in proven technologies. “Spectro Arcos is known for exceptional optical performance, wavelength coverage, sensitivity and resolution, safeguarding users’ ability to get the right analytical results, performance and productivity,” the firm says.

Features of the model include a new dual side-on interface (DSOI) plasma viewing option designed to eliminate contamination/matrix compatibility issues. If the DSOI is not needed, a standard side-on plasma (SOP) version features a dedicated radial, single side-on interface.

A MultiView plasma viewing option lets users select either high-sensitivity axial plasma observation to excel at trace analysis or high-precision radial plasma observation for high matrix loads and organic solutions. The latter option includes a periscope-free MultiView version that enables operators to literally “turn” Spectro Arcos from true radial view into true axial view, or vice-versa, in 90 seconds.

The model’s complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor CMOS detectors are “equal to or surpass the performance of legacy charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors,” states the company. In terms of high-speed readout, Arcos can completely analyze simpler matrices in as little as 30 seconds, says Spectro.

A no-purge, sealed gas purification technology enables fast startup, no chance of contamination and annual gas consumables savings up to about $3,500 annually, the company says.

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association sees supply chain disruptions, inflation continuing in new year.

The Washington-based Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), which says it represents the nearly $1 trillion equipment finance sector in the United States, has unveiled its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2022. ELFA says “real private investment by U.S. businesses in equipment and software is forecast to be almost $2 trillion in 2022, with a substantial amount of that investment activity financed, so these trends impact a significant portion of the U.S. economy.”

ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta says, “The pandemic is the underlying theme throughout the trends this year as equipment acquisition continues to drive supply chains across all U.S. manufacturing and service sectors. Nearly 8 in 10 of U.S. businesses use equipment leasing and financing to acquire the productive assets they need to operate and grow.”

ELFA says it distilled recent research and data, including the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s 2022 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook to forecast the following Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2022:

ELFA says its 580 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, brokers/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers in the equipment sector.