A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier
Although there is some easing of all the restrictions placed on us during this very unfortunate period of the world undergoing a virus pandemic, a recent email to contacts from the Call2Recycle organization expressed the feelings of many better than I ever would hope to. Thus, I am using parts of it to start today’s article.
Their message started: “To our valued partners: Together, we are facing a truly unprecedented situation. This is a challenging time for all of us, personally and professionally, affecting our families, our businesses, our communities, and our entire way of life.”
They expressed how hard it is to conduct "normal business" when things are anything but normal. Even with the complexities and changing conditions of the coronavirus, however,, their top efforts will always remain the safety, health and general well-being of everyone they are associated with.
They ended their message with: “This is uncharted territory for all of us, but if we remain resilient, we will emerge stronger, together. We appreciate your continued support, patience and understanding as we navigate through this challenging time together and look forward to working with you now and when things get back to more ‘normal’ times. Stay safe and healthy.”
I completely agree with them and can only pray this trying period we are all experiencing will end soon. Now going to an article on recycling plastics taken from a Resource Recycling newsletter.
A company in the central part of the country is in the process of spending $32 million to upgrade a 100,000 square foot facility to produce food-grade RPET pellets. Even before this effort, it is the largest PET producer in the Western Hemisphere.
“The facility, which sits on 15 acres, has a capacity to produce 100 million pounds of washed RPET flakes per year, including clear, green and mixed-color streams,” the article said. These flakes will be blended with virgin PET material to produce the pellets. These pellets will probably all be used in making bottles.
Although some of the materials and equipment for the upgrade could be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, they expect the plant to be operational by the third quarter of 2021. The plant will then operate 24/7.
This plant will be the company’s second to produce food-grade 100 percent RPET pellets for use in bottles. The other, with a capacity of 35 million pounds per year, is located in Argentina.
And finally for today, still sticking with recycle plastic, an item from the New York Times. They reported a French firm is making a watch from recycled plastic materials of fishing nets and the waste plastic found floating in oceans — I can’t help but wonder if it smells fishy.
Till next week, do have an enjoyable and safe one.
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432.
