The company is recognized for the invention of the OCC Auger Screen which eliminates the need for a presort.
CP Group, headquartered in San Diego, has been named the National Waste & Recycling Association’s (NWRA) 2022 Innovator of the Year for the patented OCC (old corrugated containers) Auger Screen.
The award recognizes “recycling equipment designers and manufacturers that successfully challenge and advance recycling sector operations. It celebrates innovation in design and manufacturing that increases the effectiveness or efficiency of recycling equipment and operations.”
The OCC Auger Screen is a nonround anti-wrapping, anti-jamming machine that does not require an upstream presort and creates a finished OCC product. Because the screen is cantilevered, all wrapping materials screw off the end, minimizing maintenance and cleaning. The screen fractionates out the smaller material stream, so sorters only see the larger stream which improves sorter safety by reducing exposure to sharps. The patented nonround attribute of the auger flights creates the agitation needed to produce a clean OCC product.
The machine prototype design was completed in 2017, and the first machine was manufactured in 2019. After months of testing, that prototype machine was installed in the Waste Connections Ecosort facility in Eugene, Oregon, which processes commercial material. It is still running today.
Over the past several years, CP has invested in its production capabilities to keep pace with growing demand. With this specialized flight-forming machine and CP’s manufacturing capabilities, CP fulfills orders in-house. This includes the production of the patented non-round auger of the OCC Auger Screen that creates the material agitation needed to produce a clean OCC end product.
The first residential material recovery facility (MRF) began using a nonround OCC Auger Screen for the direct and final screening of OCC material operation in late 2021. The Metro Waste Authority (MWA) MRF in Des Moines, Iowa, is the first high-volume single-stream MRF in North America to operate without a presort or post sort station of any kind. All removal of nonprogram material is performed at quality control stations or is the negative sort of the system – which is a 100 percent reduction in labor dedicated to nonprogram material. This is because of the innovation of the OCC Auger Screen paired with the CP Primary Auger Screen.
“MWA is the first single-stream processor in the world to adopt and implement the OCC Auger Screen,” MWA Executive Director Michael McCoy says. “The screen, located at the front of the system, captures more material, decreases contamination, significantly reduces maintenance downtime, and eliminates the presort, making the process safer and much more effective.”
This is a landmark MRF that brings the entire industry a significant step closer to full automation, while also reducing labor and downtime caused by the challenges of traditional presorts.
“The OCC Auger Screen is truly a first-of-its-kind innovation that lends itself to the next phase in MRF process evolution and automation,” CP Group Director of Sales and Marketing Ashley Davis says. “It is the catalyst to the MRF of the future by eliminating the presort and enabling more automation.”
Several OCC Auger Screens are in production, and even more are in the quote process. CP says it thanks the NWRA, Arlington, Virginia, for this prestigious award that recognizes the value that CP and this machine have brought to the industry.
SWANA will provide capacity-building and technical assistance to local leaders in rapidly urbanizing, coastal countries.
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to address ocean plastic pollution. The association will provide capacity-building and technical assistance to CCBO’s global staff, industry representatives and government officials.
According to a news release from SWANA, the association’s resources will benefit CCBO’s rapidly urbanizing focal countries across Asia, the Pacific Islands, Latin America and the Caribbean. Through the partnership, knowledge can be exchanged to advance local waste and resource management and strengthen solid waste management practices in CCBO countries, with an initial focus on the Caribbean and Latin America.
CCBO is USAID’s flagship program to address ocean plastic pollution, working in 10 countries and more than 25 cities globally to support the U.S. government’s Save Our Seas Act legislation and advance local waste systems that can prevent ocean plastic pollution at its source.
“SWANA and its members have substantial expertise and experience on how to identify and implement sustainable solid waste management solutions,” says David Biderman, SWANA’s executive director and CEO. “SWANA is also the industry leader for training and education, and we look forward to providing assistance to CCBO and its partners.”
The fire, which took place at a Best Way Disposal facility, is still under investigation.
Authorities are currently investigating a fire that broke out at a waste and recycling transfer station in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the morning of Aug. 9.
As reported by WOODTV, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says the fire was reported around 2:15 a.m. at the Best Way Disposal facility on Miller Road between Emerald Drive and Glendenning Road.
“Due to the fact that is a transfer station, it is full of garbage. So, what they have had to do is spray the flames that are building and then an apparatus on scene from Best Way Disposal have been taking the garbage and pulling it out. As they are pulling it out, they are spraying the garbage and trying to fully extinguish it,” KDPS Fire Marshall Scott Brooks told WOODTV.
The building is considered a total loss, and there are no reports of injuries, according to KDPS. It is still unknown what caused the blaze.
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U.K.-based company explores RFID tracking application in plastic packaging reuse.
PragmatIC Semiconductor Ltd. is studying the use of radio frequency identification/near field communication (RFID/NFC) technology in plastic packaging reuse applications.
PragmatiC, based in the United Kingdom, says RFID/NFC is widespread in some supply chain management applications “but now it has become viable to leverage this technology for high-volume, low-cost consumer goods packaging, enabling item-level traceability and data analysis for sustainability reasons.”
The company says retailers and brand owners “have made public ESG [environmental, social and governance] commitments and are under pressure to turn words into action, so they are now looking closely at digital innovations. New smart reusable packaging programs could help reduce their environmental impact.”
The U.K. company says along with reuse programs, mechanical recycling would remain viable as “the last step in the process after each bottle has been reused for as long as it is safely possible to do so.”
PragmatIC adds that RFID/NFC tracking “gives retailers and packaging service providers the information to make the right decisions to ensure economic viability, operational efficiency and [the] least environmental impact for reuse at scale.”
Some reuse trials have taken place but they have struggled to scale economically and operationally while being environmentally beneficial, PragmatIC says. “Challenges include reverse logistics, packaging design, consumer resistance [and] safety,” it adds.
At the same time, the technology provider says, “Global brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have made commitments to reuse packaging. New technology could help make this possible at the scale needed.”
The company continues, “PragmatIC is working with partners and leading retailers to use novel flexible electronics and RFID/NFC to improve traceability within food and drink supply chains.”
Among the reuse opportunities with RFID/NFC, PragmatIC says, is digitalization that enables data generation to measure and optimize the system. Such measurements can include “material flow, item provenance, washing efficiencies, consumer engagement and data-driven packaging life cycle analysis.”
PureCycle says its Ironton, Ohio, site remains on track, with mechanical completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by initial pellet production by year-end.
PureCycle Technologies Inc., Orlando, Florida, has released a corporate update on operations and company expansions for the second quarter ending June 30.
"PureCycle continued to build on its operational momentum during the second quarter of 2022 and execute against its strategic growth plan,” says Dustin Olson, PureCycle CEO. “PureCycle aims to mitigate its environmental footprint through proactive evaluation of operational impacts from preprocessing through pellet production. We look forward to updating the market with a more in-depth evaluation once our Ironton facility becomes fully operational."
PureCycle says its flagship purification facility in Ironton, Ohio, remains on track with mechanical completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by initial pellet production by year-end. The company is in the final phases of construction with 14 of the 26 modules delivered and lifted into place. Additionally, the company is nearing completion of its feed preprocessing build and full commissioning is underway. The Ironton purification facility will have an annual capacity of 107 million pounds annually of ultrapure recycled resin.
“The operational startup of our flagship facility in Ironton remains on track and marks a significant milestone in PureCycle's commercial path to addressing the global plastic waste crisis.,” Olson says.
During the second quarter, the company's engineering, procurement and construction activities at its first multiline purification facility in Augusta, Georgia, continued to progress. In light of the current economic climate, projections anticipate mechanical completion, startup and full commissioning in 2024. The PureCycle team is integrating lessons learned and improvements from the Ironton construction into the Augusta development, which is expected to improve installation efficiency.
PureCycle says it will receive an agency opinion letter for the use of food-grade postindustrial recycled materials for all food types under Conditions of Use A-H. It also received a letter of no objection (LNO) for all food types under Conditions of Use E-G for food-grade postconsumer recycled feedstock. The company says it plans for additional testing and intends to make further LNO submissions for additional postconsumer recycled sources and expanded conditions of use.
The company recently announced three leadership changes effective Aug. 5. Mike Otworth, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of PureCycle, resigned. Dustin Olson, PureCycle chief officer and chief manufacturing officer, was promoted to the role of CEO and joined the company's board of directors. Olson has been with PureCycle since 2021, leading technical, manufacturing and project operations. Dan Coombs, a current member of PureCycle's board of directors, was appointed to the newly created position of executive chairperson of the board of directors.
PureCycle says it continues to advance its feedstock procurement pipeline, with about 329 million pounds of polypropylene under a letter of intent, to fully supply the first two lines of PureCycle's Augusta purification facility. PureCycle says its current feedstock supply pipeline is made of three waste streams: postconsumer noncurbside, postconsumer curbside and postindustrial. During the second quarter, PureCycle's PureZero program expanded its recycling partnerships to include the Jacksonville Jaguars. PureCycle is also continuing with an expanded list of targets outside of stadium venues to advance PureZero concepts.
Augusta's purification lines one and two are currently at 70 percent, allocated through multiyear offtake contractual agreements and commitments, with volume from packaging converters. PureCycle says it continues to progress on negotiations for the remaining 30 percent of available offtake. The company says the market's continuing interest in its UPR resin is demonstrated through the offtake allocation of the Ironton facility and the acceptance of its Feedstock+ pricing model being implemented at Augusta.
The company says it continues to develop three regional feedstock preprocessing facilities along the East Coast. The aim is to enhance feedstock supply for the Augusta multiline purification facility and maximize transportation efficiencies. PureCycle anticipates its first regional preprocessing facility in central Florida to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2022, with an annual sorting capacity of 115 million pounds of mixed plastic.
During the second quarter, PureCycle selected two new locations to supply the Augusta multiline purification facility: Denver, Pennsylvania. The facility will also be supplied on-site. Additionally, the company says it anticipates preprocessing facilities in Denver, Pennsylvania and Augusta to be operational in the second half of 2023. The Denver, Pennsylvania preprocessing facility is expected to have a sorting capacity of 175 million pounds annually. The Augusta preprocessing facility is expected to have a sorting capacity of 263 million pounds and a wash capacity of 331 million pounds annually.
As of June 30, the company is reporting total liquidity of $516.4 million, including $349.8 million of cash, cash equivalents and debt securities available for sale and $166.6 million in restricted cash. PureCycle had $249.6 million in debt and accrued interest, less than $16.6 million of discount and issuance costs. PureCycle's Ironton flagship purification facility's budget estimate is about $300 million, primarily funded through bond financing.
"We are pleased that project debt financing is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022,” says Larry Somma, PureCycle's chief financial officer. “Upon the anticipated closing of this transaction, we expect to have sufficient capital to fund Augusta's first two purification lines and three East Coast preprocessing facilities."