Category Archives: Waste Recycling Services

Waste Recycling Services

Waste Recycling of Plastic Increases Profits

Posted on by

One of the concerns that businesses involved with plastic recycling have is how to consistently draw a profit.  While this is a necessity for any enterprise, with plastics recycling it isn’t always simple.  Gaining access to quality plastic waste materials can be difficult and the end-users, those businesses that manufacture goods from recycled plastic, can be ever-changing.

The most successful organizations involved with recycling plastics are those who keep a constant eye on developments both at the input and output level. Limiting a business to a single channel or stream, for example, food-grade, automotive, or construction, can result in potentially devastating results when market supply and demand changes happen in that sector.

Flexibility is also essential for success and having a production model and that can swiftly respond to the ever-changing needs of the marketplace is essential. With each passing year, the nature and use of plastics recycling changes – new products, new uses are constantly being developed – and the market show no signs of slowing down. As more large corporations adopt sustainability goals, the need for raw materials and finished goods changes. Successfully plastic recyclers are ones who keep their feet grounded in the present market, but always have their eyes and minds trained to the future.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Waste recycling of plastics is an important part of any recycling program and creating a business from the recycled bottle and containers can be environmentally and financially rewarding. Whether you’re starting a new business or have been establish for some time, it makes sense to be aware of the constant changes that are happening in the waste disposal and waste recycling world!

 

Marriott Increases Waste Recycling

Posted on by

The popular hotel chain, Marriott, is reporting that it diverted 12,000 tons of material waste from landfills in the last year.

Leading in recycling performance measures is the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, which accomplished a 76% waste recycling rate, with 37% of waste being recycled and 39% being delivered to local composting facility designed for food waste.

Almost 100% of the Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel chain have recycling programs and more than 25% of their global locations divert food waste from landfills through local composting arrangements.

Marriott has improved and streamlined their waste disposal and recycling programs as a result of utilizing third-party waste audits and waste stream analysis to better manage and understand what waste was being generated and how recycling could be used to lower disposal costs.

Since launching wide-scale recycling efforts in 2006, Marriott has recycled more than 60,000 computers and other forms of e-waste from landfills. Their hotels also participate in recycling programs for soaps and shampoos through organizations such as Clean the World which donates personal care products to homeless shelters and impoverished communities around the globe.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re uncertain what to do with your current waste management plans, an outside audit is a great way to get ideas and suggestions about how to manage your waste stream, go green with recycling, and maybe save your business money!

Waste Recycling Opportunities In Rural America

Posted on by

A national issue is facing rural communities as they strive to implement successful recycling programs. Two of the main stumbling blocks are overall low population number  and the distance from reuse markets. However, despite these challenges there are opportunities, it just takes some creativity and a decision not to force rural communities to follow a metropolitan-area recycling model.

For example, one community in rural Kansas shredded select waste material from a local manufacturer and used it as an alternate means for ground cover.

For those rural areas that also have agriculture-based businesses, small scale anaerobic digestion of organic waste is also a popular and successful model to implement. The results are rich compost and other matter that can be reused or sold.

Another solution is for small rural communities to work together collectively to establish waste recycling opportunities. With a regional system, costs are shared and more materials can be collected for resale.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Are you in the business of waste disposal and waste recycling? Take a look at the business opportunities provided by small rural communities. By helping these regions of the U.S. go green, you might be able to make some green as well!

Waste Recycling Mandated For Certain Items

Posted on by

A mandatory takeback program has been successfully enacted in San Luis Obispo County, California for fluorescent lights, household batteries, medical supplies and latex paint in an effort to keep these toxic and hazardous items out of landfills. The mandatory program was agreed upon after a similar program of a voluntary nature was found to be ineffective in reducing the waste disposal of these items.

The mandatory program targets retailers that sell the four targeted groups and allows consumers the ease and convenience of knowing that all stores will accept the used items for recycling. When the system was voluntary, select stores did not participate thus causing confusion about how and where goods could be recycled.

San Luis Obispo has 267,000 residents. Since starting the recycling program in 2009 the retailers have collected almost eight million medical sharps, two and a half million household batteries, one hundred thousand fluorescent lights, and over three thousand liters of latex paint. Were the recycling program not it place, this large quantity of waste would have been disposed of in the regional landfill.

The county ordinance states that if retailers sell these items, they must also offer a way to collect it for recycling. The stores then contact the county waste office for pick-up. The retailer is charged a small fee, but they are allowed to pass that cost along to consumers if they choose. However, few stores have done this as the recycling bins prompt customers to return to the store and therefore help to increase visits and sales.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: What is your local government or business doing to help increase the waste recycling of fluorescent lights, household batteries, medical supplies and latex paint? Is there an opportunity here for you to increase sales while diverting waste from landfills?

Food Waste Recycling Opportunity

Posted on by

North Carolina exceeds 1.1 million tons of generated food waste generated annually, and a new research study has shown that the state government could do much more in diverting that waste from landfills with increased waste recycling efforts.

The study found that the state should invest more time and effort into working with local municipalities to increase the collection and recycling of food waste from grocery stores and residents.

It is estimated that in North Carolina, food waste comprises twelve percent of all municipal solid waste with the average household disposing between five and ten pounds of food waste weekly with a total output of close to a quarter of a million tons of waste each year. In contrast, restaurants and supermarkets generate a little over half a million tons of food waste annually.

Based on current waste recycling practices, only sixty thousand tons of food waste is being used for other efforts – almost all food waste is being disposed of in landfills.

Waste Care Wants You to Remember: Recycling of food waste in North Carolina presents a business opportunity for those experienced in this kind of material recovery – both for residential and municipal waste recycling as well as commercial endeavors. Are you ready to make some “green” while going green?

World’s Largest Waste Recycling Facility

Posted on by

Ever wonder what the largest recycling facility in the world can do? Phoenix, Arizona -based business Republic Services’s Newby Island Resource Recovery Park in Milpitas, California is processing close to one hundred and ten tons of various waste streams each hour and diverting approximately eighty percent of all waste material collected.

The Milpitas facility handles processing for all commercial waste materials generated in San Jose, California. It also contains the ability to process one hundred and twenty tons of residential waste material annually, with a close to one hundred percent recovery rate.

The Republic Service’s system features four lines for waste processing: a residential line, a commercial line, and two additional lines for commercial dry and wet recyclables. The conveyors stretch one and one half miles long. The amount of waste recycled and composted annually covers five hundred football fields and totals more than four hundred pounds per person.

San Jose’s goal is to divert all of its commercial and residential waste from landfills and use it to convert into energy.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: What is your business and community doing to reduce waste disposal and increase waste recycling? If you’re not going green then you could be losing “green” every year!

Waste Recycling Solution for HDPE

Posted on by

Denton Plastics in Portland, Oregon will be the second major recycler of plastics in the United States to invest in a wash line to recycle and process high density polyethylene (HDPE).

The investment, which includes grinding and washing equipment and a 40,000-square-foot building space, is expected to cost between four and five million dollars. The new infrastructure will allow Denton to handle bulky rigids such as crates, buckets, carts, baskets, lawn furniture, and toys. The launch is schedule for spring 2013 and will take 18 months to reach maximum operation.

Currently, the other large-scale HDPE wash line in the U.S. is at KW Plastics in Troy, Alabama which has the capacity to recycle between 10 and 12 million pounds of HDPE monthly.

Denton is in negotiations with material recovery facilities and grocery chains for sourcing a steady stream of HDPE containers. This opportunity presents a major cost savings for supermarkets who can now recycle their back-room containers instead of paying for waste disposal and landfill costs. It is estimated at over 354 millions pounds of HDPE materials are used annually at supermarket chains in bakery, seafood, and prepared food departments.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If your business uses HDPE plastics, now is the time to look into recycling opportunities. You’ll save money by switching from waste disposal to waste recycling!

 

Waste Disposal for Natural Disasters

Posted on by

It pays to be prepared! Solid waste experts agree, it’s essential to have a plan in place to handle waste disposal long before a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, or flooding hits your area. Once a natural disaster has hit, a municipality goes into crisis mode and it’s almost impossible to plan effectively of how to deal with the resulting waste and devastation. Not having a viable course of action for disaster preparation is a disservice to members of your community as it greatly slows the process of rebuilding and recovery after the disaster has passed.

While disaster planning is essential, patience also is necessary. Municipalities should allow for three to four days before entering the area with heavy equipment designed to clear debris. Residents and business owners need time to salvage belongings from structurally sounds homes and buildings before demolition and to psychologically process what has occurred – and what is about to happen.

However, waiting too long can also have adverse effects. For example, fuel tank leaks at service stations pose a dangerous situation and must be immediately addressed. In addition, vehicles and debris must be cleared from the road to allow for emergency services and medical assistance.

It’s also important to remember that different kinds of natural disasters result in different debris issues. A tornado results in different waste management problems than a flood. The first results in immediate waste disposal needs while the other will occur when people return to their homes and start clearing out the damage. Being prepared for both is essential.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Every region of the United States is prone to different natural disasters – whether it be hurricanes, tornado, flooding, or heavy snowfall. It pays to have a plan in place for proper waste disposal before bad weather hits.

 

Markets for Recycling

Posted on by

Are you a state or local official wanting to know more about market development initiatives for recycling? Read more for a quick overview of the resources available for those interested in moving into the recycling business as well as some of the economic benefits of this enterprise.

The market for recycled products has three stages:
1) collecting the specific recycable materials
2) manufacturing the new, recycled-content product
3) selling new products

Recycling markets are an important part of business and economic development and can contribute greatly to any community as individuals are employed at all three stages of the process.

Establishing new markets for recycled goods is important to the long-term success of any recycling process. Without a market for recycled goods, there is minimal reason to collect the recycled items and manufacture new products with them.

Some of the items that have been successfully collected and manufactured into new products to be sold through recycled markets include:
Consumer Electronics
Organic waste (including food, yard, and wood)
Paper
Scrap Tires
Used Cooking Oil
Aluminum
Automotive Parts
Batteries
Glass
Plastics
Steel
Textiles

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Think outside the box and create revenue from your waste and recycled good streams. Your business community and the environment will be better because of it!

Hazardous Waste Management for Small Businesses

Posted on by

Are you a small business owner who generates small amounts of hazardous waste? The EPA has issued a manual to assist you with regulations for hazardous waste management that apply to businesses of your size. Federal and state waste regulations can often be difficult to understand, but compliance is essential. However, generators of small amounts of hazardous waste often have different policies to follow than those businesses generating significant amounts.

This manual, which can be located on the EPA’s website, helps you to understand your responsibilities. While it is not a substitute for the actual laws and regulations, it’s a great place to start to develop and understanding of what you need to do with the amount of hazardous waste you generate.

Generators of hazardous waste are classified into three categories based on the total amount of waste produced each year. Most small businesses would be classified in the small quantity category and conditionally exempt from certain regulations. However, the size of the business and total amount of hazardous waste produce is never an excuse for not complying with the regulations! Failure to do so can result in fines and possible legal action.

While the manual provides thorough details about federal regulations as they apply to small businesses, business owners are also required to comply with state and local regulations. If you are producing small quantities of hazardous materials, be sure to contact your state’s environmental protection agency to ensure that your disposal and waste management techniques are approved and that you’re following good environmental practices.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Whether you’re a large producer of hazardous waste or a small one, complying with regulations for management and disposal is essential – not just for protecting the environment, but for protecting the reputation of your business!