Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
September 30, 2015 02:00 AM

Plastics recycler sees opportunity in new 'dirty MRF'

Jim Johnson
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Jim Johnson
    Scott Saunders of KW Plastics Recycling Division says the so-called "dirty MRF" offers a new potential stream of recyclable plastics.

    Indianapolis — There's no shortage of debate when it comes to the expected quality of recyclables that will come out of a mixed-waste processing facility now being developed in Indianapolis.

    But one prominent player in the plastics recycling industry is urging people to give a chance to the idea of separating those recyclables directly from the trash.

    It all comes down to supply and demand for Scott Saunders, general manager of KW Plastics Recycling Division in Troy, Ala., who oversees an operation that buys recycled high density polyethylene and polypropylene from around the country and beyond.

    The merits of mixed-waste processing facilities — called dirty MRFs in industry parlance — were a hot topic during a panel discussion at the Resource Recycling Conference Sept. 29 in Indianapolis.

    “Consider it, because we are stagnated,” Saunders said about the supply of recycled plastics flowing to reprocessors these days. “We can't grow because nobody's building new material recovery facilities for curbside [recycling]. The big cities have them. But the small and medium cities, they don't. Landfill is cheap and there's no political will to get it done.”

    While concerns were raised on the panel about the quality of recycled paper coming out of a mixed-waste facility, Saunders said quality does not differ between plastics sourced from traditional recycling facilities and dirty MRFs that mine recyclables directly from the waste stream.

    He pointed to a mixed-waste processing facility in now operating in Montgomery, Ala., as proof.

    Jim Johnson

    Holkeboer

    Much of the discussion centered on Indianapolis' decision to award a contract to Covanta Holding Corp. to build and operate the MRF. The waste-to-energy company already has a contact to incinerate the city's trash, and hopes to start moving dirt later this year for the construction of the mixed-waste processing facility. It will take about a year to construct before the site begins processing waste and recyclables.

    Scott Holkeboer is vice president of client business management and sustainable solutions for Covanta, and his company took plenty of abuse from the some panel members who are against his company's contract with the city for the dirty MRF.

    Holkeboer estimated that the new facility's recyclable stream will include about 15 to 16 percent plastics, and Covanta anticipates being able to capture about 80 percent of that total for recycling.

    In terms of volume, Covanta figures to recycle about 15,000 tons of plastics from the facility each year, including 4,500 tons of PET, 3,300 tons of HDPE and 6,500 tons of PP and mixed plastics.

    “There are a number of plastics folks we've talked to,” Holkeboer said. “There's a lot of interest in our product, and contamination does not seem to be an issue for these folks. Time will tell. Plastics is about the least of our worries. Paper is a concern. But plastics are not concerned about it all, coming up with a good product.”

    Myles Cohen is president of Pratt Recycling, one of the largest paper recyclers in the country. He expressed grave concerns about the quality of the recycled paper that will come out of the facility due to the potential for contamination.

    “I agree with Scott [Saunders], for plastics and for metals, it's a different story,” Cohen said. “But paper, it's different.”

    John Barth, an at-large city councilman, and Carey Hamilton, executive director of the Indiana Recycling Coalition, were highly critical of the project.

    “It will stop us from being a better recycling city rather than help us be a better recycling city,” said Barth, who also raised concerns about how the deal was struck.

    “What we oppose is the stranglehold of municipal solid waste in Indianapolis,” Hamilton said. “There are two other clauses in this contract that also penalize source separated recycling in our community. In many ways our ability to improve source separated recycling in our community are completely hamstrung by this contract.”

    But for KW's Saunders, the new product represents a potential new source of recycled plastics.

    “We're open to new ideas. We approach this from a different point of view in the HDPE and PP market, raw materials are generally in short supply. In typical marketplaces, we're always looking for new supplies and growing streams. So we're open to new ideas more so in our segment of the business,” Saunders said.

    “What we found over the years is the ‘dirty MRF' material has gotten a lot better,” said Saunders. His company is currently buying plastics from the Montgomery processing site. “We're not seeing any quality differences on the HDPE and PP coming from that facility compared to a source-separated facility.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Auto suppliers plan for uncertainty amid UAW strike, shift to EVs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    2
    Connecticut AG probes recycling claims on HDPE toothpaste tubes
    3
    ACC campaign targets Biden administration's 'troubling' policies
    4
    PureCycle declares force majeure following production problems
    5
    M. Holland selling 3D business after Ravago deal
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified