Suzhou Oude Science&Technology Co.,Ltd

The popular sandwich bag manufacturer, Ziploc, announced a new initiative to boost recycling across America. SC Johnson, parent company of Ziploc, is looking to cut down on the toll its product is taking on the environment by partnering with TerraCycle.

TerraCycle, a growing recycling and environmental firm, is one of America’s biggest producers of eco-friendly products. In conjunction, the two companies have fostered the Home Storage Brigade. Designed to teach students and their families the importance of recycling Ziploc plastic products, the Home Storage Brigade will off two cents per bag for students to donate to their school.

The scheme has become popular quickly, and SC Johnson is not the only company to participate in the campaign. The Home Storage Brigade will offer collection prizes for almost any packaging such as gum wrappers, candy foil and Scotch tape dispensers.

Students can collect the materials and receive money to be donated to the student’s educational institute. A full list of wrappers available for collection can viewed at the firm’s website. TerraCycle uses disposal plastic products to make educational supplies such as lunch boxes, backpacks and other items.

Schools can visit the programme’s website to sign up for participation. The campaign is available for high school, middle school or elementary schools and aims to help classrooms become more eco-friendly while raising support for educational programmes.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank is planning to help create a $23m bottle-to-bottle plastic recycling facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Unnafibras Textil already recycles more than one billion bottles a year into raw materials, but the quality of the new resin would be good enough to support a soft-drinks bottling plant in the region, said the IFC.

It plans to provide $13m equity financing, to be augmented by private lenders ($28m form DEG, Stratus, Proparco and Grupo Ecos) and cash. The company can already produce 3,600 tons of PET flakes and 3,000 tons of PET-based fibres each month, although it has not revealed the new bottle-to-bottle plant’s capacity.

The money will also create a new high quality plastic fibre line. ABIPET, the Brazilian PET industry association, says 55% of all used PET bottles in the country are recycled.

The project still needs formal approval from the IFC board, but a memorandum recommending the financing said: “By converting waste drinking bottles into usable, valuable manufacturing raw materials, the project will support improved and sustainable waste management.

“The project will indirectly support Unna’s supply-chain that is made of small waste collection cooperatives that provide income to low-income families.”

Recycling Labels

Consumers are under increasing pressure to recycle more of their waste and they are seeking clarification regarding which materials or products can be recycled. Often the labels on the packaging do not accurately help.

The presence of what appears to be a recycling symbol does not necessarily mean that the product or material will be accepted locally. Producers are increasingly manufacturing their goods for a European or worldwide market and are obliged to include a variety of potentially misleading symbols. Consumers should also be aware that some symbols are not for their benefit, but for the waste handling and disposal industry.

The symbols broadly fall into three categories:

• Indicates that a material or item can be recycled (where facilities exist)
• Indicates the type of material that the product is made of
• Indicates compliance with a recognised compliance scheme

The Mobius Loop

The internationally-recognised recycling symbol is the 3 chasing arrows icon, the Mobius Loop. Each arrow represents an aspect of a successful recycling programme: collection, remanufacturing or reprocessing into a new product, and finally purchase by the consumer. The symbol is only supposed to be used on goods that are ‘recyclable’ or include ‘recycled content’, but it has no precise meaning.This symbol may be found on a broad range of products made of a variety of materials.

There are a number of symbols which commonly appear on packaging products. Some of these indicate the whether the item is recyclable, whilst others show the recycled material content.

Metals

Most beverage and food cans made from steel and aluminium can be recycled. Look out for the following symbols

Most beverage and food cans made from steel and aluminium can be recycled.  Both these symbols are material type as well as recycling.

Cardboard

A.

B.

C.

Another symbol often displayed on paper and cardboard packaging is the RESY recycling symbol. This symbol guarantees that packaging with this symbol is recyclable and will be accepted by cardboard recyclers.

Glass

Whilst most glass containers are recyclable, this symbol reminds consumers to recycle glass jars and bottles, either at bottle banks or, where available, through kerbside collection schemes.  This symbol is material type as well as recycling.

Plastics

		Plastic bottles, containers and packaging typically have a symbol that indicates the type of plastic resin from which the item was made. The resin coding system was introduced in 1988 by the American Society of Plastics Industry (SPI). The symbols imprinted on plastic bottles, containers and packaging are a variation of the original three wide mobius arrows. They have been modified to a simpler and thinner version.On a bottle, the symbol can usually be found on the bottom, molded into the plastic itself as a raised impression and thus not always easily seen. The symbol includes a number within the mobius arrows, and usually, but not always, the chemical resin below the mobius arrows in acronym form. Although presence of the symbol implies that the plastic item is recyclable, the symbol is actually only intended to identify the plastic resin from which the item was made. Recyclability is ultimately determined by the local collections and reprocessing facilities.
		These types and their most common uses are shown below:
		Polyethylene terephthalate - Fizzy drink bottles and oven-ready meal trays.
		High-density polyethylene - Bottles for milk and washing-up liquids.
		Polyvinyl chloride - Food trays, cling film, bottles for squash, mineral water and shampoo.
		Low density polyethylene - Carrier bags and bin liners.
		Polypropylene - Margarine tubs, microwaveable meal trays.
		Polystyrene - Yoghurt pots, foam meat or fish trays, hamburger boxes and egg cartons, vending cups, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys.
		Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the above categories. - An example is melamine, which is often used in plastic plates and cups.

Other Symbols

		he Soil Association symbol is a national independent quality mark (operating under EU Regulation No. 2092/91) for organically grown food and other products, such as compost. The symbol is recognised by all the major supermarkets and independent retailers. It is awarded to farmers, growers, food processors, distributors, retailers and industrial manufacturers who follow the standards laid down by the Soil Association. It safeguards consumers from fraudulent trading and protects producers and manufacturers from unfair competition.
		The European Ecolabel was launched 10 years ago to avoid a proliferation of separate national schemes. Award of the label signals that the item meets ‘rigorous environmental criteria and proper fitness for use’, but it does not necessarily mean that a product contains any recycled content. However, the criteria for soil improvers, which came into effect in April 1998, requires that the product’s organic matter content is provided by constituents derived from the processing and / or re-use of waste materials.Products featuring the Ecolabel should be becoming more widespread as manufacturers apply to be allowed to use the label on products which comply with the appropriate criteria. These are based on a detailed life cycle analysis. There are now many products bearing the logo on the EU market covering textiles, indoor paints and varnishes, tissue products (toilet rolls and kitchen paper), soil improvers and growing media, dishwashing detergents, hand dishwashing detergents, bed mattresses, copying paper, light bulbs, washing machines, dishwashing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers, laundry detergents, footwear, and personal computers including portables.
		The Green Dot, or Grüne Punkt, on an item of packaging means that it complies with the German Packaging Ordinance for the return of consumer packaging. The symbol can, in fact, be in any colour other than red. It is administered by Duales System Deutschland GmbH, a non-profit organisation which was established to enable manufacturers and distributors to fulfil the requirements of the legislation. This shows that a fee has been paid for the recovery of the packaging in some European countries.
		The Recycle Now logo is increasingly being used in the UK to indicate that the product or material may be readily recycled. The use of the logo and the wider promotion of recycling is managed by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme). The symbol, and derivatives, are used extensively to encourage householder to recycle more of their waste and to indicate where recycling facilities are located. However, this is still dependant upon local provision of facilities.

Clear Path Recycling, LLC (CPR), the PET recycling joint venture company established by Shaw Industries Group, Inc. and DAK Americas LLC, has announced that it began processing operations in July.

Created to produce Recycled PET (RPET) flake PET bottles, CPR will bring the first phase of its Fayetteville, N.C. facility to full capacity in the fourth quarter of this year. The formation of CPR was announced in April 2009.
Shaw and DAK will be the primary users of the recycled RPET Flake in their respective polyester based products including carpets, fibres and resins. The remaining product will be sold for merchant use. The inventory build-up of waste bottles to be recycled is well underway with approximately 20 million pounds (9072 metric tonnes) of inventory being maintained.

By the end of the first phase of the project, the operation will have the capability to recycle up to 160 million pounds (72,575 metric tonnes) of PET bottles, which will save over 550,000 cubic yards (420,505 cubic metres) of landfill space each year. The energy savings related to the Clear Path Recycling operation will save over 1.4 trillion BTUs (410 GWh) of energy annually, which is equal to the amount of primary energy necessary to power over 10,000 U.S. homes per year, according to Energy Information Administration data.

Future plans for the facility would increase the recycling rate to 280 million pounds (127,000 metric tonnes) or about 5 billion bottles per year. “The start-up of the facility is a milestone for CPR and it’s parent companies in their Sustainability initiatives of reducing environmental impact while creating a viable product for use in their product offerings,” according to Ron Salati, Vice President, CPR.

The 6th China International Recycled Polyester Forum, an event focusing on the recycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic, has been scheduled for Sept. 16 and 17, 2010, at the Jinling Jinma Hotel in the city of Hangzhou, China.

The event is being organized by the China Chemical Fiber Economic Information Network (CCFEI), a Chinese consulting company to the plastic and fiber industries. Among the co-sponsors are Dr. Thiele Polyester Technology and PCI PET Packaging, Resin & Recycling Ltd.
 
“Our forum will provide valuable insights on the PET recycling chain, attract recycled fiber, bottle flake, machinery producers and traders, and exchange ideas on the current market situation and industry focus,” says David Zhong of CCFEI.

Among the topics to be discussed, says Zhong, are the popularity of plastic recycling because of the pursuit of lower carbon footprints; rising PET bottle flake prices; higher taxes, energy and labor costs causing higher production costs to the PET recycling industry; and PET recycling technology advances.

The Europe-based plastics association Petcore (PET containers recycling Europe) reports that European post-sorting PET collection reached 1.4 million metric tons last year, an 8 percent increase from the prior year.

The overall collection rate of all PET bottles on the European market in 2009 rose by nearly 2.5 percent, from 46 percent to 48.4 percent.

Meanwhile, last year’s share of fibers as an end use for recycled PET flake decreased from 45 percent to 40 percent, although the tonnage remained almost the same. The PET sheet market tonnage resumed its growth pattern from 22 percent to 27 percent. Blow molding continued to grow, with more than 22 percent going to this outlet in 2009. The strapping market was the hardest hit by the economic recession but still consumed 7 percent.

It was estimated that there is a total mechanical reclamation capacity in the European region of 1.6 million metric tons. This provides the impetus for the industry to increase the current collection rate beyond 50 percent.

Exports to the Far East fell slightly to 16 percent of collected PET and 67,000 metric tons of baled PET bottles were imported from outside the area.

Of the collected bales that are reprocessed in Europe, only 75 percent is usable PET. The remainder consists of caps, labels, residues, contamination such as foreign materials and other polymers. The continuing program of bottle weight reduction means that caps and labels form a greater proportion by weight of the collected PET package.

“I should like to congratulate members of the PET industry chain who have worked with Collection Agencies, National Bodies and European Recyclers to increase the collection rate to nearly 50 percent of all PET bottles placed on the market. For the collection of PET bottles in Europe to increase by more than 8 percent in such difficult economic circumstances is a real achievement.” says Roberto Bertaggia, chairman of the Petcore Board.

“Recycled PET is a reliable and sought-after feedstock in the PET value chain and sustainable uses are being developed to utilize the growing supply of recycled PET. Whether PET bottles are recycled into one of the new applications, into another bottle, fiber, sheet or strapping tape the energy saving will be the same,” Bertaggia adds.

Bertaggia emphasized that Petcore will continue to work to ensure that PET recycling continues to grow so that the 22.5 percent EU target rate for overall plastics recovery is met. “Already in 23 countries we have a higher recovery rate for PET alone, than that required by the current packaging waste legislation. This sustainable growth reflects the expectations of consumers who themselves are an important part of the recycle chain.”

GRANULATORS
Granulators are the most common machines used in the plastic recycling industry.
Granulators are nothing but a rotor with blades spinning into a chamber with a grid at the bottom.
If this sounds easy, in practice the story is a little bit different.
Granulators can be different, and thus performing in a different way according to:
- Speed of the rotor
- Angle of rotating blades with respect to fix blades
- The area of the grid
- Shape of the rotor
There are two important things when choosing a granulator:
First is the weight of the machine because it needs to be very strong construction; we’ll not go in technical details about why this but, weight matters, specially in the long run.
Second is the way blades are hold onto the rotor and how easy they can be adjusted.
Remember that the guy  replacing blades when dull is surely not an aerospace engineer and gets bored to do this job so many times so, an easy way for blades adjusting helps himself and your production.
Production rate, in fact will be higher and, may be more important, flakes will have a sharp edge that helps the washing process as well.
So, if the machine is well painted and has a lot of chrome plated parts it is very nice, but you better give it a look inside and check the important parts of it.
Most of manufactures say the time to replace blades is from two to three hours; it may be true if you do it yourself with the aid of a strong man besides you but the standard time, for a standard worker is anything between 6 and 8 hours, if everything goes smooth.

The KREYENBORG Group (Muenster, Germany) are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a unique Polyester Extrusion and Recycling Forum event at the Novotel Hotel, Newcastle Airport on Wednesday 29th September 2010.

The United Kingdom has one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving polyester extrusion and recycling industries in Europe. In recent years there has been a total transformation as the UK PET industry has evolved, from a sector with few facilities and low collection rates, to its current status. Investments have been made in collection systems, post consumer bottle sorting and washing facilities. This coupled with strong consumer demand for packaging containing recycled rPET has led to the development of the packaging, bottles, strapping tape and recycling industries.

KREYENBORG Group have recognized that there is a complete absence of any local conferences dedicated to this important sector of the plastics industry, and have set about rectifying the situation. We will be inviting all the major processors and re-processors that are involved with PET bottle flakes to get together with fellow industry professionals at this unique event.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE EVENT

• The event is the only UK based conference in 2010 dedicated to the Polyester Extrusion and Recycling industries.
• Key industry professionals from a Broad Range of Businesses are invited to attend a one day conference with Leading industry figures presenting highly topical KEYNOTE Speeches
• High importance is being placed on providing ideal conditions for industry professionals to network and to ‘ask the experts’ for advice on a wide range of subjects relevant to extrusion processing and recycling of post consumer PET bottles.
• Further details or to register online for the event please visit www.polymermeeting.com

For further information please visit www.odemade.com

About the KREYENBORG Group:

The Kreyenborg Group is one of the leading suppliers for components and systems for the plastics and recycling industry.

With more than 50 years of experience in mechanical engineering and plant construction, countless patents and thousands of machines currently in use all over the world, we have gained the technical leadership in many market segments.

Since it’s foundation, the Kreyenborg GmbH has been family owned, as well as the management has been predominantly remained in the hands of the Kreyenborg family.

Our status as a family business is reflected in our company’s philosophy. „Made in Germany“ – a quality attribute which is based on traditional values. At Kreyenborg, we act upon these values, so our customers can always depend on us in terms of reliability, punctuality and quality.

The company is now operated by the managing directors Jan-Udo Kreyenborg and Jan-Hendrik Ostgathe in second and third generation.

CHINA’S polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production surged in January-June this year as imports remained strong and demand growth declined, according to the Shanghai-based commodity information service, CBI.

Hopes being expressed that pricing might have bottomed-out therefore seem a tad premature - especially as Asian cracking operating rates are reported by ICIS pricing to still be at 90-100%.

The graph below shows the steep increase in polyolefin production as new Chinese capacity came on-stream.

Domestic production was up by 30% with total polyolefin imports rising by only 1%.

You can argue, though, that there should have actually been a substantial fall in January-June imports - given the much-stronger local production.

In addition, 2009 import levels reflected an exceptionally strong market: 2009 PE demand growth was 30.3% and PP 26%, said CBI.

These extraordinary increases were the result of a temporary boost given to demand by re-stocking, the decline in recycling and huge and unsustainable government economic stimulus.

It has been clear from January of this year that growth in bank lending in China would be reduced, with restrictions introduced since then that have successfully cooled-down the real-estate sector.

In January-June, apparent demand growth (domestic production plus imports) for polyolefins was 20%, according to CBI.

But the information service estimates that actual demand growth - when you remove stock building - was no higher than 10%.

Despite what are arguably very strong imports in the context of higher local production, overseas shipments have fallen for three consecutive months since they peaked in March - a clear indication of inventory indigestion.

Low-density PE (LDPE) imports fell to 91,000 tonnes in June from 116,000 tonne in May, according to the New York-based trade data and analysis magazine, International Trader Publications.

Linear-low density PE (LLDPE) shipments slipped to 151,000 tonnes from 162,000 tonnes.

High-density PE (HDPE) imports declined to 245,000 tonnes from 267,000 tonnes.

PP imports, however, rose slightly to 303,000 tonnes from 292,000 tonnes. This suggests that a long-term decline in propylene availability, which we discussed last week, could be helping to prop up the market slightly.

The question now is whether the overall Chinese market is about to recover.

Cautious optimism was evident this morning as a trader told the blog that he believed prices might have bottomed out. This was in line with what my colleagues at ICIS news were told late last week.

But he was unable to offer a clear view as to whether the inventory overhang - which as we’ve said is likely to be particularly acute in PE - has been consumed.

The trader was basing his optimism on a recovery in crude-oil pricing and a corresponding rebound in the Dalian Commodity Exchange LLDPE futures contract. Crude could easily decline again on the uncertain economic climate.

Operating rate cuts at Asian liquids cracker are still being discussed, which, in the end might be the only way to bring the market back into balance.

Permanent and substantial shutdowns of high-cost Asian capacity, talked about for so many years, might now have to take place.

design and recycling
bottled water is the fastest growing beverage industry
in the world. according to the international bottled
water association (IBWA), sales of bottled water have
increased by 500 percent over the last decade:
1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water every
year, unfortunately the recycling process is messy and
inefficient. plastic bottle recycling has not kept pace
with the dramatic increases in virgin resin polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) sales, particularly for PET bottles.
it’s interesting to note how the last imperative in the
ecological triad of reduce / reuse / recycle,
has emerged as the one given prominence.
the consequences of demanding an emphasis on the
first — reduction of consumption and production —
puts one on the path of confrontation with a system which
seeking to function at maximum capacity, not minimum.

last update:
in august 2001 even perrier, world’s leading bottle water
company, moved away from the iconic trademark glass
bottle, which for almost 100 years has set the design standard
in mineral water packaging. the company launched
a 50cl format in PET plastic.

a close look at the myths about recycling shows they
are being perpetrated less by those committed to ecology
and more by those doing the most damage to the planet.
plastics recycling only minimally reduces the amount of virgin
resources used to make plastics.
recycled plastic is a small percentage of what is manufactured
and the amount is actually decreasing!
even those active in administering recycling programs
have come to recognize, for instance, that plastics
consumption is actually encouraged by recycling!

most of the increase in virgin resin sales has been for
single-serve PET soda bottles that now make up 60 percent
of soda bottle market share. the 50cl form is particularly
suited to the out-of-home circuit, in particular the on the
go market.

the notion, that recycling is even a little better than
nothing produces only more illusions, not environmental
sanity. mad levels of production and consumption are at the
core of market economies, and unless that process is
confronted, little will change !