[GRRN] Vertically Integrated Wash Lines

RecycleWorlds (anderson@msn.fullfeed.com)
Wed, 30 Dec 1998 09:39:31 -0600

According to the October 1998 World Wastes, a MRF in Cincinnati owned and
operated by Rumpke (of landfill landslide fame) vertically integrated a
plastics wash line for the PET stream inside his MRF. He states in the
article that the
original intent was to produce flake for the high paying bottle market, but
failed to make the grade. Instead, they are successfully selling into low
end fiber and strapping markets. (Note: the price difference between the
high and low grades is approximately 4-6 cents per pound.)

He states that they are moving to 10 million pounds per year. (Note: that
is 5000 pounds per hour on a single shift basis, the size of full scale
commercial equipment. Presumably he has these kinds of very substantial
throughputs, suggestive of either a million person recycle shed or tolling
operations, because he indicates that he has a partner for the wash line.

We previously wrote up a description of a vertically integrated plastic
wash line in a New York City MRF (with Tom Rattray from P&G co-author) in
the September 1994 Resource Recycling.

Issues of vertical integration implicate the ability of recyclers to
capture more of the value added activity in the scrap business in order to
improve their economics.
____________________________________
Peter Anderson
RecycleWorlds Consulting
4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15
Madison, WI 53705-4964
Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011
E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com