by TOM Watson Resource Recycling

Mixed plastic lumber is in its infancy. Will it mature?

Products from mixed plastics: will the profits follow?

In these days of media stardom for recy- cling, one of the more popular images has been the picnic table or park bench made from a conglomeration of plastic trash. It seems to epitomize recycling: Useless waste is transformed into something at- tractive, practica1 and long lasting.

But what about the industry that makes these products? How long will it last? Is “plastic lumber” a gimmick or a godsend?

“1 am confident that we’re going to see many companies enter this field, and nearly as many fail,” says Floyd Hammer, presìdent of Hammer’s Plastic Recycling Corp., of Iowa Falls, Iowa. The future for making products from mixed recycled plastics must look promising to Hammer; he already has two plants, and just an- nounced plans to open 16 more by the end of 1992. But the above questions won’t even begin to be answered fully for severa1 years, because this is an industry still in diapers (disposables most likely, since at least one company uses man- ufacturers’ plastic diaper trim scrap as parl of its feedstock). Two-thirds of the companies in the industry have been in commercial operation less than a year. No one has been at it more than three years. .

To get a bead on this young offspring of plastics molding and recycling, we talked to officials with every known operat- ing company in the U.S. and Canada (see Table l), as well as other persons con- nected with the field. This article focuses on companies that make plastic lumber or other products (such as car stops for parking lots) from mixed recycled ther- moplastics. Firms that have recycled products from a single plastic resin only are not included.

Feedstock varies While severa1 companies in this field cur- rently use only a specific categofy of feedstock (industrial scrap, for example, or post-residential material from curbside programs), most say they can and will use

Parking lot stoppers

other sources of commingled plastics as well. Price and availability are often the primary considerations. This industry is based on the concept that the feedstock will cost very little, if anything, and will not require extensive sorting and handling. However, nearly every plant does some degree of feedstock preparation or sort- ing.

Most manufacturers have their own guidelines on how much of a certain type of plastic they want in the mix. High density, low density and linear low density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE) are usually considered choice materials. Even film LDPE and LLDPE can be used in relative abundance by most systems, though sometimes they must be densified first. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), on the other hand, is generally shunned, except in low per- centages, because its flow temperature is much higher than most other plastics in the mix. Because PET has its own estab- lished market, some companies receive post-consumer plastics with the PET al- ready pulled out, or sort it out themselves to sell elsewhere.

Other plastics used by this industry,

50 Resource Recyding July 1990

II Table 1 - Companies in the U.S. and Canada making prc~ducta from mixed recyckd platica Throughput Starlof (pounds/hour/ Plumberof Type of commercial

Company/Location Products Currentfeedstock(1) lnachine)(l ) machines machines operation

Ameritan Plastics Picnictables, benches, 50% post-residential; 3oo(ET-1); 2 lET-1;lCFE 1987 (2) Recycling Group Ltd. palle& posts, blockiig, 35% industrial scrap; 1,000 (CFE) (in-housa des@) lonia, Michigan sheets, industrial moldings 15% post-commercial

Hammer’s Plastic Landscape timbers, benches, 60% post-commerciaf; 800-l ,ooo 7 In-house design 1987 Recycling Corp. pallets, posts, stakes, docks, 20% industrial scrap; Iowa Falls, Iowa (3) pilings, speed bumps, car 20% post-reskfential

stops, custom industrial moldings

Innovative Plastic Fiat sheets, drainagegutters Industrial scrap Uptol,SOo 1 Germandesign 1990 Products, Inc.

\

Greensboro, Georgia National Waste Swings, benches, car stops, 99% post-residential l,@JO 2 ET-l 1990 Technologies Inc. spaed bumps, bins, sand New York, New York(4) bcxes

The Plastic Lumber Car smog, spesd bumps, Industrfal scrap 400-500 1 in-housedesign 1989 Co. Inc. picnic tables, benches, Akron, Ohio Po- Plastic Pilings Inc. Pilings, tree stakes Industrial scrap 450 3 contkluous 1987 Rancho Cucamonga, extrusion; California in-house design

Plasüc Recyclers Inc. Senches, tables, car stops 50% post-reskfential; 300-400 1 ET-1 1990 Wyandanch, New York !50% industrial scrap

supetwocd of Fence posts, palle&, pcnic Industrial scrap 400 1 superwood 1990 Alabama, Inc. tables, benches, stakes, . Selma, Alabama sigrtpcats Supetwood Ontario Ltd. Panets, picnic tables, 80% post-residential; 400 1 -pemood 1990 Mississauga, Ontario benohaa, stakes, fence 50% industrial scrap

posls, sign posts

TriMax Plastic Lumber PIastic lumber 85-900/cpost-reskzfential; 1,500 2 Continuous 19S9 Ronkonkoma, New York remaínder mostly extrusion;

post-commercial in-house design

(1) Estimates of actual capad& by company offictats as of May 1990. (2) Operated as Processed Plastics, 1987-1990. (3) Saccnd plant kxaled in MWerry, Fkxida. (4) Plant is in Ronkonkoma, New York.

Source: i%mwce aecycting, 1990.

mostly in relatively small percentages panies happily take industrial scrap that Pros and cons compared with HDPE and LDPE, include was usually landfilled in the past, such as So what exactly is this “plastic lumber” polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl co-extruded and cross-linked plastics. produced from this melange of plastic chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile/butadiene/ Plastic with rubber, paper or food particles waste? To start with, it’s not really lumber, styrene (ABS) and nylon. Some com- attached can also be used in many cases. of course, although that term has stuck.

51 Resource Wcychg July 1990

Fencing

Most manufacturers don? call it a substi- tute for wood, but they do promote it as superior to wood in some respects. They like to stress its durability, with one man-

Landscape timbers

ufacturer even referring to itas “indestruc- tible.” Hype aside, plastic lumber does seem particularly resistant to damage from moisture and chemicals. It doesn’t have to be painted, and graffiti washes off easily. On the negative side, some people don? find plastic lumber very ap- pealing visually when compared to wood.

Products madefrom plastic lumber may be especially well-suited to certain ap-

Outdoor furniture

plications. A 1987 market study by the accounting firm Touche Ross, Inc. con- cluded that boat docks, park benches and horse stalls made from mixed recycled plastics would have strong market poten- tial.

Despite possible advantages over wood for particular uses, plastic lumber still needs an attractive price to draw cus- tomers. Because a plastic two-by-four

Recycle Drying Systems for Dewatering and Drying Ground Plastic Scrap

such as

Polyvinyl Chloride Polyethylene Polystyrene Polyesters

Nylons and Many

Other Polymers

Rates 20 to 20,000 Ibs/hr

Call or write for details

GALA INDUSTRIES, Route 2 Box 142 Eagle Rock, VA 24085 USA FAX (703) 884-2310 Telephone

(703) 884-2589

ONE DAYOF FREETESTING

b(Curb Sorterf TM Curbside Recycling Equipment

The recycllng Truck and Traller that can dump dlrectly Into a roll off container, packer truck, onto a conveyor syrtem or anywhere.

Proven to be time-soving, convenient ond procticol. Eoch container elevotes and extends to the side providing a dump- ing height needed to unload into roll off units. The Curb Sorter permits fast ond simple loading from both sides. The Truck Mount has o low looding height of 49”, (with a 29” frome height), while the tow behind troiler loods ot 42”. The contoiners can vory in sire to provide copocity requirements for your particular recycling commodity. These units may be ordered to dump all streetside. oll curbside or alternately to fit your particular needs.

* Distributorships Available *

IKANN[ Cd L(onn lar 011 “O W tronrponotion r.c”cling no.41 ond dilwibutor infonnm ion. MANUIAclusINa COI?.

P.O. BOX 400 414 N. 3RD ST. 319-252-2035 GUTTENBERG. IA 51052 FAX 319.252.3D69

52 Resource Recycling July 1990

usually costs at least twice as much as a two-by-four made of pressure-treated wood, most manufacturers have chosen to produce value-added items such as pic- nic tables and all the rest; these products can come closer to matching the price of comparable wood products.

Production speed a concern The primary reason for the higher price of plastic lumber is also the criticism most commonly voiced by the industry’s detrac- tors: slow production speed. While all

Planter

manufacturers say their machines have an average throughput of at least 300 pounds an hour and some say their machines run much faster (see Table l), rumors abound of actual day-to-day oper- ations where machines barely managed 200 pounds an hour. As Floyd Hammer puts ít, “You cari’‘’ run a business on 200 pounds an hour.”

Even at 300 or 400 pounds, it could be

tough to make ends meet. However, most manufacturers feel that production speeds will improve as new equipment

Last year we turned 1 OO, this year we’re turning out

more and better products than ever:

GH DUAL COMPRESSION BALERS For non-ferrous scrap & light steel clippings

Skid mounted - no special foundation required Simple to operate

Bale sizes from 12” x 6” x V to 16” x 16” x V Shearing number one ram available

f or more information write of ca//.

GALLAND HENNING NOPAK, Inc. L PO. Box 15500 w 1025 S. 40th St. n Milwaukee, WI 5321.5 -

PWON E: 414-645-6000 l FAX: 414-645-6048 - -

53 Resource Recycling July 1990

.

and new techniques are developed. Another point Worth noting is that produc- tion speeds for an individual machine can vary greatly, depending on the product being made and the feedstock.

The manufacturers TriMax Plastic Lumber, located in the Long Island, New York town of Ronkon- koma, is the only company in this field that limits its production to plastic lumber (often known as profiles) alone. Rather than taking the value-added route and producing a variety of products, the strat- egy of TriMax is to operate like a lumber mill, achieving high production speeds and making one quality product that has many uses, says company president An- thony Noto. Polymerix Inc. of Lincoln Park, New Jersey, the parent company of TriMax, is performing research that will probably result in a TriMax production speed even greater than its current rate of 1,500 pounds per machine per hour, adds Polymerix president Wolfgang Mack.

Among the firms making products from mixed recycled plastics, Hammer’s Plas- tic Recycling Corp. has apparently been

the most successful, and is certainly the most aggressive. President Floyd Ham- mer says he currently employs more than 70 people at plants in Iowa Falls, Iowa and Mulberry, Florida. A third factoty in Finderne, New Jersey is scheduled to go on line this summer.

Hammer plans to have 18 plants operating in the U.S. by the end of 1992. The New Jersey plant and seven others on the East Coast will be joint ventures with Air and Water Technologies of Branchburg, New Jersey.

Some in the plastic lumber industry are skeptical of Hammer’s ambitious agenda, noting that other companies have an- nounced big plans and been unable to follow through. But the soft-spoken Ham- mer seems undaunted by the challenges of his self-determined role as industry pioneer. He believes the strengths of his company include its patented molding process, which was designed in-house, and an emphasis on marketing and sales. “Marketing of finished products is really tough,” he says, “but we’ve learned how.”

One of the company’s most publicized endeavors is its three-year contract to supply the Chicago Park District with land-

scaping timbers and other products. This fiscal year alone, the district will pay Ham- mer’s $1.2 million for the timbers, says Fred White, recycling program director for the Chicago Park District.

Under this program, the park district col- lects plastic bottles at 260 recreation buildings around the city. From 80,000 to 140,000 pounds are collected each month, says White. Hammer’s buys this material, giving the district a credit toward the price of the timbers. The contract specifies that the material collected at the recreational centers must be used in the products shipped back to Chicago. That aspect of the program has been especially popular with Chicago residents, White says.

Long Island, New York is becoming a hotbed for plastic lumber, with three plants located there. Both TriMax and National Waste Technologies Inc. have plants in Ronkonkoma, while Plastic Recyclers Inc. has its facility in nearby Wyandanch. Na- tional Waste and Plastic Recyclers use the ET-l machine made by Advanced Re- cycling Technology S.A. of Belgium.

All three of the Long Island operations receive a major part of their feedstock

-NO. 1 IN RECYCLING...

INTERNATIONAL

HANDLING ALL GRADES OF WASTE PAPER

Recycling plants throughout New York and New Jersey.

Telephone: (201) 614-9600 Telex: 423812 NVNY Fax: (201) 614-9394 Fax: (201) 614-1663

Packers l Graders l Brokers l Exporters

DAIRY & MIX COLOR HDPE BALED OR REGROUND

PET + GREEN & CLEAR BALED ONLY

NATIONWIDE DROP OFF POINTS

&glebmk pnmôa im (312)638-0920

FAXf3121638-25671

54 Resource Recyc/hg Joly 1990

Typical products made from mixed plastics

Animal sta& Bins Boat docke Drainage gutters Fencing Landscape ümbets Markers Molditlgs Outdoor furniture

Pa#ets Park benches Parking lot stoppers Picnic tablm Piers Pilings Posts Restroom partitions sand boxea

Sheeting Sign poles Slats Sound barriers speed bumps Stadium seating Stakes

.Wall panels work barrlers

from residential curbside or drop-off recy- Ameritan Plastics Recycling Group Ltd. cling programs in the region. The ability of lonia, Michigan also has an ET-l, as to easily run 100 percent commingled, well as a machine called the CFE that contaminated post-consumer plastics is was designed in-house. This company, one of the distinguishing features of the formerly known as Processed Plastics, ET-l, according to John Maczko. He’s was recently purchased by new owners, president of Mid-Atlantic Plastic Systems, says president Terrence Blakely. He says Inc., of Roselle, New Jersey, the U.S. his company will mainly pursue the com- sales agent for the ET-l. Maczko notes mercial’ and industrial market, targeting the production speed of the ET-1 has in- companies that want the products be- creased with each new model. The latest cause of their utility and price, not just version, the 9400, has a listed throughput because they’re made of recycled ma- of 450 pounds per hour. terial.

Two independent companies in North America are licensed by Superwood In- ternational Ltd., of Ireland, to use the Superwood technology. The companies, Selma-based Superwood of Alabama Inc. and Superwood Ontario Ltd. of Missis- sauga, each began operations this spring. Thane Cochran, president of Superwood Ontario, says his company plans to open two other Canadian plants, in Montreal and Vancouver, this fall. Superwood On- tario is starting out by focusing on the ag- ricultural market for its products. The first products made by Superwood of Alabama were fence posts, says sales manager Harry Stafford.

Plastic Pilings lnc., of Rancho Cuca- monga, California, has manufactured tree stakes for about three years and is now statting commercial production of pilings, says owner Andrew Barmakian. Using a continuous extrusion process, the com- pany makes pilings in sections up to 30 feet long, with steel pipes embedded in them.

In Greensboro, Georgia, Innovative Plastic Products Inc. makes flat sheets and drainage gutters using a machine

LOOK FOR COLLECTIN

Guardian Poly has the solution.

Our biodegradable/photo- degradable plastic bags using the proven ECOSTARplus@ process combined with recy- cled L.L.D.P.E. are designed to decompose under compost conditions in a surprisingly short time period.

NG FOR A SOLUTION ; YARD WASTE FOR COMPOST?

Benefits: l Strength of regular plastic.

Able to handle wet waste. l Wide range of customized

products (including printed names and/or logos).

0 Clear plastics allowing for easy inspection.

l Available in variouscountsfor easy distribution.

0 25 years of experience.

For more information call or write:

GUARDIAN POLY INDUSTRIES, INC.

PHONE: (5 14) 622-7422

238 6 BLVD. STE-ROSE LAVAL, QUEBEC H7L lL6

FAX (5 14) 622-0305

55 Reeoutce Recycling July 1990

built in Germany that consists of six mold- ing presses fed by one unit. A compost bin is in the product development stage, adds plant manager Brian Doty.

The Plastic Lumber Co. Inc., of Akron, Ohio, has been producing car stops and speed bumps, and is now starting to make plastic lumber products such as picnic ta- bies, says president Alan Robbins. Unlike many other companies, Plastic Lumber usesonly feedstock that has already been ground, washed and dried by another processor. Because so many inter- mediate processors are now coming on line, Robbins explains, his approach is to take advantage of that by buying their lower-grade or contaminated regrind, thus avoiding additional processing costs him- self.

Plastics “junkies” Robbins, a former plastics trader, chuck- les at the reputation companies such as his have within the plastics industry. “We’re known as ‘junkies,“’ he says. While he feels that the manufacture of products from mixed plastics holds great promise, Robbins doesn’t expect that promise to

be fulfilled right away. “This business doesn’t show the ability to go big-time yet,” he says.

Indeed, the major players in recycled plastics have apparently shown little in- terest in this industry so far. Severa1 manufacturers of plastic lumber say they expect the big guns to jump in eventually,

‘once they feel confident the technology has proven itself.

Markets will dictate future Despite some enthusiasm from govern- ment agencies and the public, the markets for these products also remain unproven. It’s admirable when a campground wants to purchase a recycled plastic picnic table or the garden club wants to buy a bench for the local school, but manufacturers ob- viously can? survive on that alone. At best, it’s an annual market of about 35 million pounds per shift; real profits and long-term success will only be achieved through large-volume corporate and industrial pur- chases.

But if corporations buy these products primarily for public relations purposes - a possible example being the recent

McDonald’s announcement that the ham- burger chain would spend $100 million a year on furnishings and equipment made from recycled materials - how solid will those markets be if the ,nation’s environ- mental fervor dies down?

As Blakely noted, products from mixed recycled plastics should compete in the areas of utility and price; they cari’‘’ rest on their feedstock laurels alone.

For now, though, the use of recycled . materials can be a persuasive selling point to many markets. In fact, the plastic lumber industry is actually more environ- ment-friendly than most people realize, according to Thane Cochran. While many other forms of plastic recycling result in products that go right back into the waste stream, he observes, plastic lumber prod- ucts are designed to stay out of it forever.

Ironically, the permanente of plastic lumber could be a problem down the road. What kind of resale market exists for a product that’s indestructible? But man- ufacturers will worry about that later. Right now they’re busy trying to prove that mak- ing products from mixed recycled plastics is a real industry, with a real future. RR

CARDBOARD BALER Designed by A Licensed Professional Engineer For:

l Ruggedness l Performance l Dependability l Quality U.L. Approved Controls

Custom Balers also manufactut to customer special requirements Dealer Inquiries

‘ed

mvlrea WASTE RECYCLER MFG. CO. PO. Box 410364 Charlotte, NC 28241 Phone (704) 588-4506 Fax (704) 588-4565

- -

For the latest in recycling issues that will be facing us in the ‘9Os, high quality exhibits and a visit to the

beautiful Central Oregon Cascade Mountains.. The Association of Oregon Recyclers

12th Annual Fa11 Conference

September 7-9,199O The Inn of the Seventh Mountain

Bend, Oregon

Tough Questions for the ’90s Keynote Speaker: Joan Edwards

lntegrated Solid Waste Management Los Angeles, California

To receive registration information, send your name and address to AOR, c/o P.O. Box 10142, Portland, OR 97210; or call Pacific Agenda, Conference Managers, 503/223-8633.

Resource Recycling July 1990