The England-based paper mill is partnering with Forge Waste & Recycling, Hubbub Foundation to recycle disposable paper cups.

England-based James Cropper Paper Manufacturing received its first bales of used coffee cups from a pioneering pilot scheme in collaboration with Forge Waste & Recycling, Leeds, England, and environmental charity Hubbub Foundation and Leeds City Council. According to a James Cropper news release, the delivery “marks a significant step in [James Cropper’s] ambition to help recycle some of the estimated 3 billion takeaway cups that are currently thrown away in the U.K. each year.” 

The mill uses CupCycling technology, which is a process dedicated to upcycling disposable coffee cups. According to a James Cropper news release, the mill also has the capacity to upcycle about 500 million used coffee cups.

James Cropper reports that Forge Recycling has collected about 200,000 single-use coffee cups since launching on Oct. 18, 2018. The cups have been collected from workplaces, coffee shops, universities, shopping centers and on-the-street cup bins. 

Running until March 2019, the pilot will take place alongside the #LeedsByExample campaign. According to a James Cropper news release the campaign seeks to improve on-the-go recycling infrastructure for coffee cups and other packaging such as plastics and cans for consumers in Leeds. Waste is collected by Forge Recycling, which introduced a new paper cup collection service as well. The recycler has performed a cup collection service for Leeds University and Leeds Beckett University. 

According to a news release, the cups that the mill collects go through the mill’s CupCycling facility, which launched in September 2017. To date, the mill has upcycled more than 30 million disposable cups. 

“With the capacity to upcycle 500 million coffee cups per year we welcome the thousands of discarded cups brought to Kendal today and hope this is just one of many local initiatives we can support to meet the capacity that we have,” says Phil Wild, chairman and CEO of James Cropper. “This scheme demonstrates that with the right infrastructure, great in-roads can be made to tackle the coffee cup issue. 

“There needs to be a change in mindset in how we handle waste and source materials, and ensuring packaging is easy for consumers to recycle is key to this. The delivery marks a pivotal moment for recycling in the UK – and for us, it’s a step towards realizing the potential of our CupCycling capabilities.”

A host of major brands, such as such Asda, Coca-Cola GB, Costa Coffee, McDonald’s, Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Shell, have joined Hubbub’s #LeedsByExample initiative to date. While the trial in Leeds ends in March 2019, Forge Waste & Recycling estimate that the number of coffee cups it could deliver to James Cropper in one year from Leeds alone could exceed 1 million. 

“In just three months we’ve quickly moved from collecting very few cups to nearly 200,000 that are ready for delivery to the James Cropper mill,” says Sam Goodall, operations director at Forge Waste & Recycling. “The pilot shows that the potential for our work with Hubbub and James Cropper to transform UK waste and embed circular economy thinking when it comes to coffee cups in cities is very real.”

“We’re incredibly proud to work with Forge and Hubbub, who have successfully delivered a game-changing system which can help us become a nation that truly creates value from waste,” Wild adds, “We encourage more cities across the country to explore how they can adopt this pioneering initiative.”

Washington’s Department of Ecology introduced SB 5545 and HB 1543 to help find new recyclable commodities markets.

Several groups and individuals in the state of Washington have released proposed legislation to help address some of the major challenges in recycling and solid waste management in the state. The Washington state Department of Ecology introduced some of those proposed bills—Senate Bill 5545 and House Bill 1543—which will look to address the recycling industry problems caused by China’s import restrictions.

“Ecology wanted to address the problem caused by the collapse of the recyclable commodities market in Washington,” says Laurie Davies, program manager for solid waste management at the Washington Department of Ecology. “Because of Washington’s proximity to ports on the West Coast, we have become dependent on markets in China and other Asian countries. When the government of China placed restrictive new rules on recycling imports, valuable commodities in Washington started piling up without sufficient alternative markets to handle the materials. Also, we wanted to address the ongoing problem of contamination in recycling and help improve the quality of the materials collected.

“Our dependence on these markets has grown over the past two decades. A result is that we have not grown domestic recycling infrastructure.”

Also on the recovered fiber side of things, Davies adds that the state of Washington lacks access to domestic paper mills. “The Southeast [U.S.] has more operating mills these days. Our number of [paper] mills has gone down dramatically. So, getting mills to want to take mixed paper and recovered fiber has become more difficult.”

Davies says she hopes SB 5545 and HB 1543 could help to alleviate some of the new problems in recycling for the state of Washington. SB 5545 specifically aims to create a Recycling Development Center in order to research, incentivize and develop new markets for recyclable commodities in Washington. 

“Having local markets will help Washington take care of their waste and create jobs locally,” she says. “Our hope is the updated plan requirements will help local government develop a recycling system that works for their jurisdiction and is economically viable and environmentally sustainable.” 

The Recycling Development Center would be made up of a small team of staff members within the Department of Ecology who would work alongside the state’s Department of Commerce. Davies says the center would provide research and development, marketing and policy analysis to develop markets for recycled commodities. The center would assist businesses that transform or manufacture materials into products or marketable materials. Additionally, the center would conduct research to help the industry understand the waste stream supply chain and strategies that would help retain and attract recycling business. 

Both SB 5545 and HB 1543 were drafted in part on some of the ideas of the Clean Washington Center from the 1990s. Currently, HB 1543 has 14 representatives signed on, and SB 5545 has eight senators signed on. 

“Many people are supportive,” she adds. “But I would say that we’ve had a mixed response to it. It’s been good response from recyclers and the environmental community. The local governments, it would be a new workload for them—they’re not necessarily opposed, but they would have to find resources to commit to this.”

She adds that many in the state of Washington are looking to solve some of its recycling problems as a number of other groups have introduced proposed legislation.

“All the different ideas have elements that will be very helpful in dealing with the issues,” she says. “I think the challenge is going to be to get a bill that passes that meets everyone’s goals and wants. I think all these ideas have both good elements and challenges.” 

Equipment and technology firm adds plastic extrusion monitoring capabilities.

Pawcatuck, Connecticut-based Davis-Standard LLC says it is adding to the extrusion technology capabilities at its Technical Center in that city via two equipment additions in the first quarter of 2019. The company says it will offer trials for its Davis-Standard Helibar groove feed extruder and its DS Activ-Check control system for continuous extruder monitoring.

“These technologies have been proven in the field, and we’re pleased to offer experimentation in our technical center,” says John Christiano, the company’s vice president of extrusion technology. He says both additions create new opportunities for customers to improve and strengthen their plastic extrusion processes.

“We are firm believers in partnering with customers to make processes better and in maximizing their capital investments,” says Christiano. “I am eager for customers to use both the Helibar and Activ-Check in establishing performance baselines during real-world trials.”

Davis-Standard describes the Helibar extruder as the next generation in its groove feed extruder line. Helibar technology has been shown to increase extruder output rates while improving energy efficiency and reducing barrel and screw wear, says the company. Other advantages include lower startup costs, shorter residence time and the ability to process higher levels of regrind.

The DS Activ-Check system uses a continuous monitoring platform designed to strengthen preventive and predictive maintenance in extruder operation. With the technology, operators are able to monitor key mechanical and electrical components of the extruder and gearbox and receive early notification of potential component failure to prevent unscheduled downtime, according to Davis-Standard.

“The capability to monitor extrusion line variables such as mechanical and electrical system conditions is essential in order to bring products to market faster,” says John Clemens, Davis-Standard’s director of extrusion controls.

Davis-Standard describes itself as focusing on the design, development and distribution of extrusion and converting technology for customers in the agriculture, automotive, construction, health care, energy, electronics, retail and food and beverage packaging sectors. The firm has more than 1,350 employees worldwide, with manufacturing and technical facilities in the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Finland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Executive order designed to strengthen “buy American” aspects of highway, other projects.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Jan. 31 titled the “Executive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects.” The text of the new order refers to an April 2017 executive order designed for the same purpose.

The new executive order includes a definition of materials that will apply that states in part, “’Manufactured products’ means items and construction materials composed in whole or in part of nonferrous metals such as aluminum; plastics and polymer-based products such as polyvinyl chloride pipe; aggregates such as concrete; glass, including optical fiber; and lumber.”

Additionally, regarding steel, “'Produced in the United States’ means, for iron and steel products, that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United States.”

The president also defines purchasing cases that involve “Federal financial assistance” as those “consistent with the definition provided by the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, found at section 200.40 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations.”

The order defines the term “infrastructure project” to mean “a project to develop public or private physical assets that are designed to provide or support services to the general public in the following sectors:  surface transportation, including roadways, bridges, railroads and transit; aviation; ports, including navigational channels; water resources projects; energy production, generation and storage, including from fossil-fuels, renewable, nuclear and hydroelectric sources; electricity transmission; gas, oil and propane storage and transmission; electric, oil, natural gas and propane distribution systems; broadband internet; pipelines; stormwater and sewer infrastructure; drinking water infrastructure; cybersecurity; and any other sector designated through a notice published in the Federal Register by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.”

In terms of follow-up to the order, President Trump writes, “Within 120 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency administering a covered program shall identify in a report to the president, through the assistant to the president for trade and manufacturing policy, any tools, techniques, terms, or conditions that have been used or could be used, consistent with law and in furtherance of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, to maximize the use of iron and aluminum as well as steel, cement, and other manufactured products produced in the United States in contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders or subawards that are chargeable against federal financial assistance awards for infrastructure projects.”

Mike Southwood of CRU considers a potential looming zorba glut in light of changes to China’s scrap import policies.

As 2018 came to an end in the United States aluminum scrap market, plenty of mill and secondary grade scrap units were available to go around, while demand for these units was weak and spreads continued to be very wide. Mills continued to be adequately stocked, with no need to purchase additional scrap units, and demand for secondary scrap was light as secondary smelters worked down existing inventories before the end of the year.

Changes to China’s scrap import policies in the second half of this year will likely further affect the U.S. aluminum scrap market.

In early 2019, the market has picked up where 2018 left off—slow demand because mills and secondary producers have adequate scrap on hand, an ample supply of scrap at the yards and very wide spreads. For example, the spread between P1020 and mill grade segregated scrap prices in January 2019 was around 23 cents per pound, the same as it was in late 2018, and two-cents-per-pound wider than January 2018.

As of mid-January, scrap supply was not an issue in the market, as winter weather had yet to impact peddler traffic to the yards; shredders were still generating zorba and twitch; and industrial scrap continued to be generated at strong levels. However, the severe winter storms and extreme cold temperatures experienced in late-January in the Midwest likely will affect load deliveries and peddler inflow and will cause a slowdown in shredding activity. While this will curb scrap generation for a short time, it will not cause the scrap surplus to shrink significantly as such dynamics would need to be more than a short-term event to change the current oversupply situation.

As the early weeks of 2019 progress, mills and secondary producers are expected to come back to replenish scrap supplies that were worked down at the end of the year. On the mill grade side, demand isn’t likely to resume right away in 2019. With high scrap inventory at mills, they have no pressure to buy with wide spreads and ample availability. In fact, CRU understands that new deliveries are not being booked until the second quarter and that some orders from November/December 2018 have not been scheduled for delivery yet. This will likely support continued wide spreads.

In addition, with a surplus of obsolete scrap units available in the market at wide spreads, secondary smelters are not moving up the food chain to obtain higher grades of scrap, removing what would be a source of additional demand for mill-grade units. However, for secondary grades, demand has started to come back slowly at the start of the year as secondary smelters look to replenish inventories at low prices, and automotive manufacturers, die casters and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) come back after end-of-year slowdowns.

Like most of 2018, as of the start of 2019, there is just very little demand outside of contractual shipments, and with scrap continuing to be generated, it remains plentiful in supply. We understand that some mills have booked less scrap volumes on contract for 2019, as they look to take advantage of lower spot prices. This has surprised some scrap dealers, who had anticipated mills to fully contract and take advantage of historically wide scrap spreads.

A potential scenario exists that when current inventories are depleted and mills enter the market for scrap units later in the year, a shift could occur from a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market.

A drastic change to U.S. scrap market dynamics has come in the form of an announcement from the Chinese government that as of July 1, 2019, scrap items under HS code 7602000090 are being moved from the list of raw materials that can be imported into the country without restrictions to the list of solid waste items for which imports are restricted. To give a sense of the impact, in 2018, China imported more than 2 million tons of aluminum scrap from all trade partners under the HS code 7602, 99 percent of which would now fall under the restricted list.

The particular customs code in question (HS code 7602000090) includes “Category 6” scrap items. Category 6 aluminum scrap includes twitch/zorba material, which makes up a vast majority of aluminum scrap that the U.S. exports to China. According to current regulation for restricted imports, the importers will need to apply for a license to bring in these products.

The impact on the U.S. scrap market will be huge. Imports of aluminum scrap from the U.S. to China already are subject to a 50 percent import duty, which has greatly reduced volumes going to China from the U.S. According to the latest trade data, exports from the U.S. to China were down by nearly 40 percent through October 2018.

With the move of Category 6 scrap to the restricted list, on top of the existing 50 percent import duty, the writing seems to be on the wall. Unless policy changes are implemented between now and July 1, U.S. exports of such aluminum scrap grades to China will effectively end.

In addition, the 50 percent import duty on U.S. aluminum scrap into China likely will hinder any potential efforts by importers/exporters to ship large volumes to China during the first half of the year in advance of this deadline. If exports to China effectively end at the beginning of the second half of 2019, the current U.S. scrap glut would become larger, unless alternative destinations are identified.

In response to lower demand from China and the 50 percent import duty, U.S. exporters were successful in finding alternate homes for their units in 2018. As a result, total U.S. exports of aluminum scrap actually rose in 2018, as gains in exports to other countries, such as India and Malaysia, outweighed the large decline in exports to China. However, CRU questions the ability of these markets to sustain such levels of imports. Even if these alternate homes could sustain 2018 levels, it is highly unlikely that they could absorb the full weight of volume loss that would occur if U.S. exports to China ceased in the second half of 2019. As well, this would not be able to replace the amount of aluminum scrap that goes to China on an annual basis.

Without permanent long-term new homes to go to, this material that once went to China will stay in the domestic U.S. market. As the zorba that typically goes to China is not a product that is used in the U.S., it needs to undergo further processing to turn it into a twitch package that can be sold here. This could lead to an increase in capital spending to expand or enhance separation equipment at scrap processors.

Zorba generation is traditionally tied to shredding operations, which are driven by steel prices. U.S. steel prices had a good run in 2018, which incentivized shredding, thereby generating more zorba. This resulted in a glut of material in the U.S. market last year.

With scrap export volumes set to drop this year, this situation could become worse because even if more zorba is processed into twitch, the homes for twitch are limited. More zorba and twitch could pile up if shredding continues at the 2018 pace.

However, steel scrap prices have been weaker in 2019, which likely will have a negative impact on the amount of shredding that occurs. If so, this may be the lone factor that can pull in the reins on growing zorba and twitch supplies.

Mike Southwood is senior analyst, aluminum, for London-based CRU. He is based out of the company’s Pittsburgh-area office and can be contacted at mike.southwood@crugroup.com. More information on CRU is available at www.crugroup.com.