Symposium Pulls in Recycling and Economic Heavyweights 

The October Recycling and the Economy Symposium brings together experts in the areas of policy development, economics, commerce, jobs and supply chain management.  Held in Memphis, the keynote address on long term perspectives for the industry will be delivered by Jerry Powell, Executive Editor of Resource Recycling, E-Scrap News and Plastics Today nationally distributed industry magazines. Symposium Speakers include industry leaders from Proctor and Gamble, ReCommunity, Alcoa, Sonoco and the newly formed sustainable packaging group AMERIPEN, as well as governmental officials such as the Assistant Secretary of the Virginia Commerce and Trade. In attendance will be key policy makers, industry leaders and economic development officials from across the region.  

Don't miss this opportunity to network with high level recycling and manufacturing representatives from across the region and be part of the growing movement for increased green jobs in our region.  Learn more at www.serdc.org/symposium.   

Register Now! 

eSCO Processing and Recycling Holds E-Scrap Collection     

Event in Arkansas Collected Approximately 175 tons of E-Waste 

eSCO Processing and Recycling held their second annual two-day E Scrap collection in Northwest Arkansas recently. Locals were encouraged to bring in their televisions, microwaves, computers, and other electronics for recycling. The electronics were collected at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas.

During the two-day event, they collected approximately 175 tons of E-Waste/E-Scrap. They filled 24 full trailers, single stacked with electronics! They collected 22 tractor-trailer loads of items to be recycled during the event last year.

To view news coverage of the event, click here. 

SERDC Board of Directors Issues Statement on the Impact of Degradable Additives in Plastic Packaging   

The Southeast Recycling Development Council (SERDC) opposes the use of degradable additives in plastic packaging

SERDC maintains the following understandings:

The use of degradable additives renders the material un-recyclable.   SERDC supports the recycling of recyclable materials. Plastic bottles, film, and containers have strong recycling markets that depend on sources of clean, recyclable material. The use of degradable additives removes the reliability of the resin to be recycled and remanufactured into a new product.

Recycling is a steady and viable industry with positive economic impacts. In the Southeast United States, more than 6,000 people are employed in manufacturing that is dependent upon recycled plastic for feedstock in the production of consumer-ready goods. Working in sixty separate facilities across the region, these businesses annually contribute $3 Billion in added value to the domestic economy.

Plastic packaging's environmental sustainability lies in its ability to be recycled. No plastic polymer is so sustainable that it should be used only once and thrown away. Over 1,440 million pounds of postconsumer PET and 981 million pounds of postconsumer HDPE were recycled in 2009. Domestic PET processing capacity will increase by 50% in 2011 alone.

The use of degradable additives in plastic packaging is not helpful in the reduction of marine debris. Plastic packaging is a serious and key component of the marine debris problem. While the addition of degradable additives should increase the speed in which that material breaks into pieces, those pieces do not biodegrade into a natural component of marine life. By reducing particle size, risk of ingestion by marine life may not be reduced and are possibly exacerbated.

The application of degradable additives in plastic packaging is not a viable solution to litter control. Littering is neither an acceptable nor a legal material management method. To intentionally design consumer packaging for litter compatibility is illogical and counterproductive. The SERDC supports efforts to reduce litter through education and enforcement.

Computer recycling company Scott Recycling has bought a 61,000 square foot building in Forks of the River Industrial Park and plans to use it to expand operations, according to NAI Commercial Real Estate Services, which brokered the deal.

Owner Dan Scott said Friday that the expansion will represent about a $1 million total investment and add 10 to 12 jobs as the company moves its central processing operation into the building at 5049 S. National Drive.

The company will keep a presence at its current 1834 N. Cherry St. location, but the bulk of Knoxville operations will be moved from that 45,000 square foot facility to the new location, Scott said. Total workforce will be about 50 people. "We should be going within 30 days," he said.

Demand for disposal of computer and electronic gear and for recycled materials is driving the company to expand its Knoxville operations and to add a location in North Carolina, Scott said.

The company also may expand the scope of its work at Forks of the River by adding a smelter, Scott said.  "So we would be processing plastic, steel aluminum, copper. This will be a wonderful green addition to this area," he said.

Scott Recycling recycles computers, hard drives, monitors, TV sets, electric cable and various home electronics.  In addition to Knoxville, the company has locations in Chattanooga, Pulaski, Va. and Chillicothe, Ohio.

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