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A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier

Sunday, August 9, 2020

As mentioned last week, from a Resource Recycling newsletter, we find every year Americans throw away around 45 billion aluminum used beverage cans (UBC). And these landfilled cans are estimated to be worth about $800 million. (This waste is a Bummer!)

What makes not recycling them even worse, aluminum cans can be recycled infinitely… saving both the ore they are made from originally and huge amounts of energy. (Making a new can from a recycled one only uses 8% of the energy as making one from the original material. That’s about a dozen new cans may be made from recycled ones as compared to the energy used for just one can made from virgin ore.)

We also mentioned that a greater effort is being made to at least capture these cans that end up in a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). At the MRFs, only about 50% of the cans are recovered. They hope to recover more through the use of upgraded eddy current separators and more robotics.

Although most MRFs have eddy current separators, few have robotic systems. The robotic system uses artificial intelligence plus visual identification technology to sort out the desired materials. As a spokesperson explained, “Used in tandem, the efficacy of these can’t be understated.”

It is believed the adding more of these items to the current separation lines would pay for themselves in one to two years. Interestingly, currently, if a UBC arrives flattened, it often is sorted into the paper or cardboard line. Using new improved machine-learning sorters, or artificial intelligence, would help capture these UBCs.

These improved systems can even tell the difference between a steel can and aluminum can or even different types of aluminum. Such improved systems have already proved their worth in Florida and Minnesota. In one line in Florida, 14 robotic separators were added last year. These not only increased product quality, but also reduced labor costs,

There, one added UBC robot is catching between 70 and 80 picks every minute. It also pulls out and puts in another area other aluminum cans such as those used in some aerosol containers. It is good to learn such improvements are being made at some MRFs, but there's another good way to capture the UBCs is before they end up there.

We are now talking about how some states have a deposit system on cans and bottles. We find, “Container deposit programs charge a refund value (usually 5 or 10 cents) to the consumer at point of purchase, incentivizing the container’s return so the consumer can get this refund back.” Currently, such programs exist in 10 U.S. states and Guam.

And such systems are expected to increase as calls for deposit legislation grow. It should be noted, “Already this year, 12 states have proposed bills to either start or reform container deposit programs.” And in Congress, a national container deposit program has been proposed.

A big reason for this is it has been found the recycling rate for aluminum cans is about 40% in non-deposit states, but average more than 80% in those states with deposit programs.

Part of the closing statement of the article was, “The vast majority of Americans embrace recycling as a simple way to help the environment and live more sustainably. Most would be appalled at the high number of aluminum cans going to landfill each year.”

(That’s one of the reasons we submit these “A Word about Recycling” columns to help inform and thankfully, the Daily Record chooses to publish them.)

Till next week, do have a safe and healthy one...

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666