The bill would provide an updated definition and methods of advanced recycling facilities for the state.
South Carolina lawmakers have passed a bill that would encourage advanced recycling projects in the state.
The Solid Waste Policy and Management Act, S. 525, provides an updated definition and methods of advanced recycling, redefining it as manufacturing rather than solid waste disposal. The bill passed both the state Senate and House votes, and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is considering the bill.
According to S. 525, an advanced recycling facility “must demonstrate financial responsibility prior to being issued a permit for the advanced recycling facility or prior to the advanced recycling facility being placed in operation.”
It also states that the facility “must establish a cash trust fund under the control of the department or obtain a surety bond for which the department is the sole beneficiary, sufficient in form and amount to meet all reasonably foreseeable costs of cleanup, environmental remediation, firefighting, groundwater or surface water contamination, private property contamination, public health impacts, and displacement and relocation of affected persons and any other reasonably foreseeable costs associated with the operation, management or abandonment of any pyrolysis and gasification facilities, including … the operation and storage of postuse polymer, plastic polymer or incidental contaminants or impurities.”
If McMaster signs S. 525 into law, South Carolina will be the 15th state to pass legislation that redefines advanced recycling as manufacturing rather than solid waste disposal.
The Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC) has expressed support for South Carolina’s S. 525, noting that it will accelerate advanced recycling projects in the state.
“This legislation positions South Carolina to foster private-sector investment in advanced recycling facilities, new jobs for residents and increased recycling rates statewide,” says Joshua Baca, ACC’s vice president of plastics.
Craig Cookson, senior director of plastics sustainability at the ACC, adds that this legislation also has the potential to reduce the amount of plastic scrap from going to landfill in South Carolina. He says about 280,000 tons of plastic scrap currently go to landfill in that state.
According to Cookson, several other states are considering advanced recycling legislation, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.
Cookson says having a clear regulatory framework for advanced recycling in the state will make it easier for companies that want to invest in advanced recycling projects.
The company is working to offer EVR-Green carts with fully recycled lids and wheels as well.
Toter, a provider of waste and recycling containers based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has introduced the EVR-Green 100 percent recycled cart body. The lids and wheels also contain some recycled content; however, Toter has not specified the percentage of recycled content used in those parts. The company says it is working to offer EVR-Green carts that also feature fully recycled lids and wheels in the future.
Manufactured with a variety of recycled materials, the company says the two-wheeled cart is the “first and only fully recycled cart body and fully recyclable cart on the market.” According to Toter, the company made a commitment to reduce its overall virgin resin use by 25 percent starting this year in an effort to drive down its carbon emissions based on a 2020 life cycle assessment the company performed.
The company says it is securing a combination of postindustrial and postconsumer resin for the EVR-Green carts. The carts come in 32-, 48-, 64- and 96-gallon models.
According to a news release from Toter, the EVR-Green features Toter’s Advanced Rotational Molding process, ensuring a stronger and more durable performance than receptacles that feature an injection-molded design. The carts are being manufactured at two of the company's facilities in Statesville, North Carolina, and Acuña, Mexico.
Toter says the EVR-Green also features a UV-stable, stress-free and zero-pressure single-piece design. The container walls have a consistent thickness and are resistant against corrosion and chemicals. It also comes with Toter’s Rugged Rim, sealed stop bar journals and a granite finish.
The cart will initially be available in black. Toter says the EVR-Green is an ideal selection for a variety of end users, including municipalities, residential users, commercial facilities, industrial facilities and waste haulers.
“Toter’s 100 percent recycled EVR-Green cart body is a sustainability game-changer for the waste collection industry,” says Nick Daddabbo, Toter’s director of product management. “We have been hard at work to develop a cart that will uphold the quality buyers rely on from our brand while providing a product they can feel good about using.”
The company says the Cat MH3026 material handler offers high performance with lower operating costs.
Construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, Deerfield, Illinois, has launched the Cat MH3026 material handler. The company says the loader is designed to provide superior performance, low operating costs and improved operator efficiency.
According to a news release from Caterpillar, the material handler is powered by the Cat C7.1 engine, capable of operating on up to B20 biodiesel and meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final Tier 4 emission standards. The company says the engine’s maintenance-free aftertreatment system lowers operating costs and maximizes machine uptime. It also offers the choice between power and economy modes, offering up to 10 percent lower fuel usage than previous models without sacrificing machine performance.
The company says the loader has Standard Product Link, which captures operating data such as location, hours, fuel usage, productivity, idle time, maintenance alerts and fault codes, which can be remotely accessed and tracked to boost fleet management efficiency.
The loader also features an electrohydraulic system the company says optimizes the balance of power and efficiency, improving cycle times to handle more material in the same amount of time. The new hydraulic oil filter improves filtration and increases change intervals to 3,000 operating hours and lasts 50 percent longer than previous designs. New anti-drain valves keep the hydraulic oil clean during filter replacement.
All engine filters feature a coordinated 1,000-operating-hour change interval. The air intake filter with precleaner lasts up to 1,000 hours to reduce maintenance requirements, according to Caterpillar.
The vehicle’s cooling fan features a standard automatic reverse function to keep the cores clean, maximizing machine uptime. An optional vibrating cooling screen activates during reverse fan operation to further improve dust and debris removal.
For more information about the new Cat MH3026 material handler, click here.
The company has introduced its VS model, available in stationary, transportable and mobile platforms.
Vezzani, a scrap metal equipment manufacturer based in Ovada, Italy, has introduced its VS model scrap shears, which the company says were designed to meet the needs of an evolving scrap industry.
According to a news release from Vezzani, the VS system is a precompression gravity feed scrap shear that delivers fast, powerful and productive performance. The VS is available in stationary, transportable, and mobile platforms.
The company says customization is available to meet specific client requirements. These options include lifting, self-loading legs, base structure with processed scrap pusher, tracks allowing full mobility, feeding box extension, protective covers and an inclined conveyor belt. Power also can be supplied with onboard diesel engines or for more permanent installations electricity.
The plant will provide 50 jobs and is expected to sort 120,000 tons of lightweight packaging.
PreZero, a recycling company based in Neckarsulm, Germany, has launched a sorting plant for lightweight packaging in Eitting, Bavaria. The company says up to 120,000 tons of lightweight packaging will be processed for recycling annually.
The plant, with a capital expenditure of about 40 million euros ($45,360,000), will provide 50 jobs. In the future, the plant can be in operation around the clock, 365 days a year.
The company says the technology being used in the sorting process can identify black plastics that are difficult to sort using conventional optical technology. Based on artificial intelligence, the fully automatic sorting plant will surpass the sorting quotas prescribed by law under the Packaging Act adopted in 2019. The Packaging Act expands packaging definitions, extends mandatory deposit for one-way drinks packaging and how companies identify single-use or multiple-use properties for final distributors of beverage containers.
The collected packaging material is sorted into a total of 18 different categories. This includes polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polystyrene. The categories also can be sorted by color.
“With the commissioning of the plant in Eitting, we’re expanding our existing network of high-performance lightweight packaging sorting systems, not just in terms of space, but also in terms of quantity,” says Carsten Dülfer, CEO of PreZero. ”With a total annual capacity of all our plants in Germany of around 600,000 tons, we’re establishing ourselves as part of the absolute frontrunners in this market segment.”