RECYCLING What We Will Cover: I. Aerosol Can Recycling from an MSW - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What We Will Cover:

I.

Aerosol Can Recycling from an MSW perspective

• II. Easing Regulation of Non-Empty Aerosol Waste

III.“So you recycle it… Could you be more specific?”

RECYCLING

From USEPA’s Annual (2018) MSW Fact Sheet

But …. Recycling has become messier in recent years.

• Demand for collected “recyclables” has dipped.
• Consumers, if engaged, are easily confused.
• Markets are stressed, creating unhealthy systems.

Who doesn’t Recycling?

https://www.steelsustainability.org/article/aerosol-containers-are-accepted-in-most-recycling- programs?siteLocation=48774ce4-0c35-4364-9d63-407adb786392 WASHINGTON, D.C., July 27, 2016 – A comprehensive new study commissioned by a broad industry coalition shows that about 70 percent of Americans have the

• pportunity to recycle empty aerosol containers at the

curb or at nearby recycling facilities. The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), The Aluminum Association (TAA), the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), and the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI)… The study was organized by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), a project of GreenBlue, and conducted by Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) and Moore Recycling Associates.

An Aerosol Industry’s Value Proposition to US communities:

• A. Recycling rates for Steel Cans and

Aluminum Cans are already high, compared to other recyclables.

• B. To consumers, Aerosol Cans are

similar!

• C. Adding Empty Aerosol Cans will

boost financial health of an ailing recycling industry.

FROM EPA’S ANNUAL (2018) MSW FACT SHEET

Could we actually “move the needle?”

Denver, CO 2017 Recycling Pilot: The Recycling Partnership conducted a 3- month pilot to find the best way to increase residential recycling.

• Education - 4000 household focus on aluminum and steel cans.
• Trash carts were tagged, instructing residents to put cans in their recycling carts.
• Residents also received the message through mailers, signs and social media.
• Result: 25% increase in can recycling.
• If expanded to the whole city, expect + 225 metric tons of aluminum & steel cans

recovered, saving ~ 1,200 metric tons of GHG emissions, improving financial viability of the system.

• Follow-up – Results suggest an expanded city-wide roll-out (172,000

households), to include capture rate studies to quantify the impacts.

MRF REVENUE SNAPSHOT

EDUCATION: Increased Metal Volume can have disproportional impact on MRF revenue

• Boosting Steel Can tonnage is GOOD
• Boosting Aluminum Can tonnage is GREAT. (Most valuable commodity.)

PROBABLE REASONS:

1) Did not know aerosols are recyclable. 2) Volume too insignificant to consider. 3) Scrap metal outlets do not accept aerosols. 4) Do not want to risk receiving non-empty aerosols

SOLUTION: INCREASED EDUCATION OF -

Residents, Businesses, MRF Managers, Metal Recyclers

Aerosol cans with liquids, propellants or pressure still in the can are prohibited.

What We Will Cover:

I.

Aerosol Can Recycling from an MSW perspective

• II. Easing Regulation of Non-Empty Aerosol Waste
• III. “So you recycle it… Could you be more specific?”

RECYCLING

HOW DID WE GET AEROSOL WASTE REGULATORY RELIEF?

IS THERE A BETTER WAY?

EPA listened - Proposed less burdensome regulation

What We Will Cover:

I.

Aerosol Can Recycling from an MSW perspective

II.

Easing Regulation of Non-Empty Aerosol Waste – Our world

III.“So you recycle it… Could you be more

specific?”

RECYCLING

Recycling 2.0 aspires beyond downcycling. Consider …

• Are all materials used in a product recyclable or only some?
• Is a material actually recycled or only collected for recycling then sent to landfill?
• Can the material be recycled infinitely or is it only recyclable once or twice before it

becomes waste?

• Is all of the input material available as recycled output or is a significant portion of

the material lost during recycling?

• Is a product recycled into something of similar value or is it downcycled into

a product of less value that might not be recycled again?

 Metal aerosol containers can be endlessly recycled. - RA’s practices aspire

along with consumers and other stakeholders to go beyond downcycling:

Circular Recycling or Downcycling?

Moving the Recycling Goalposts

Many aerosol products include a propellant gas as an essential ingredient. We developed an automated system that safely reverses the can manufacturing, extracting and separating the propellant from the product. The propellant which could have ended up as a hazardous waste gets another useful life as either Green Energy or other uses. The original liquid products are collected for reuse or recycle.

The Aerosol Concept

Metal aerosols can be endlessly

• recycled. -

Along with

consumers and

• ther

stakeholders, RA’s practices go beyond downcycling:

Recovered, Segregated Gases & Concentrates Safely Stored for Recycling through Other End Uses

Recycling of Empty Containers Raw Materials Separation

Aerosol products and identities destroyed – Proprietary system extracts ferrous, non-ferrous, and plastics for sale to end use markets. Next Generation Recycling - * Join us in placing AEROSOLS in the CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Gary Okey, CHMM Vice President Business Development RECYCLE AEROSOL LLC 69 Evans Drive Bells, TN 38006 731.617.2183 (Cell) 731.663.3900 (Office)

www.RecycleAerosol.com gary.okey@rds-llc.com

THANK YOU