A Recycler's Lament · designed for a Chinese market with no restrictions. But in 2013, China...

Making a Difference for the Environment Locally and Globally Since 1970

December 2018

Special RecyclingEdition

Serving Kent, Portage County and Beyond

Welcome to the December 2018 issue of the Kent Environmental Council newsletter. The focus for KEC in 2018 is making connections.

! A Recycler's Lament Whatdoyoumeanwecan'trecycleglass?!Andyouonlywant#Iand#2plastics?!Andyoudon'twantthecapsfrommyplasticbottlesandcartons?!KECwasintheforefrontinl960sinleadingtherecyclingmovementinOhio,andour

effortsleadtowhatOhioofficialscalledPortageCounty'smodelprogram.So,thisishittingusespeciallyhard,asweseethemarketforrecyclingcrashing.Itfeelslikewe'reslidingbackward.Butweneedtokeepmovingforwardandfocusonwhatwecandountiltheeconomicsofrecyclingchange.Readthefollowingtolearnthenewrulesandwhytheyarechanging,aswellasafewofthenewprocessesthatpeoplearedevelopingthatcanhelpourrecyclingefforts.

--LorraineMcCarty

! So What CAN I Recycle?

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! Recycling's Future?

China'srecentbanontheimportofmanycategoriesofsolidwastehassenttremorsthroughtherecyclingcommunity.Chinahadbecometheworld'slargestconsumerofsolidwaste,increasingitsimportsfrom4.5milliontonsin1995to45millionin2016.AsChina'sappetiteforscrapincreased,cities,asamatterofconvenience,movedtowardaone-binrecyclingcollectionsystem...oursinglestreamsystemandsortingequipmentweredesignedforaChinesemarketwithnorestrictions.Butin2013,Chinabeganimposingqualityrestrictions...highcontaminationratesrequiredmuchmoreworktoextractusablematerials,andrisingChinesewagesmadeseparationevenmoreexpensive.AfterChinaimposedrestrictionsonwaste,about10%ofU.S.shipmentswererejected.TheninJune2017,Chinaannouncedthatbytheendoftheyear,itwouldnolongeracceptimportsfrom24categoriesofsolidwasteandimposedamaximumcontaminationrateof0.3%.Bytheendof2018,Chinawillclosethedoortoallpost-consumerplastics.AnyPETorHDPEwon'tbeallowedinunlessit'sbeenprocessedintopelletsorflakes.

***********************PUBLICNOTICE***********************Theillegaltrashdumpinginpublicormixedinwithrecyclablesisrising,despitewarningsandincreasedenforcementefforts.PortageCountynowwillbeprosecutingpeople,ratherthanissuewarnings!Placingtrashinsidearecyclingbinwillresultinathird-degreemisdemeanorlitteringcharge,whiledumpingtrashoutsideofarecyclingbinwillresultinafelony,punishablebytwoandfouryearsinprisonandupto$10,000infines.***********************PUBLICNOTICE***********************

Fortunately,sortingequipment(MRFs)havestartedintegratingnewtechnologiesdesignedtoauto-sortmaterialstheolderMRFscouldn'thandle...delitrays,yogurtcups,etc.Andnewmarketsforsolidwasterecyclablesareopeningup.Accordingtoanewreport,theglobalwastemanagementmarketisexpectedtogrowto$435billionby

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2023.ThemajorityofthegrowthisexpectedtobewitnessedintheemergingAsia-Pacificregions.

--KennethMcGregor

! Time to Develop New Habits about Plastic Use Plas]cshavebecomeanintegralpartofourlives--fromthetoothpastetubeandtoothbrushweuseinthemorn-ing,tothecontainerswestoreourfoodsin,thetoysourchildrenplaywith,thecarswedrive,thetypewriterkeysI'musingtotypethisar]cle,andsomuchmore.Wecan'tgetridofplas]ccompletelyinourmodernworld.Justthinkofmodernhospitalswithoutsteriletubes,bagsandequipment.Plas]cissoabundantbecauseitisdurableandeasytoformintoamyriadofobjects.Butrememberthatit'sapetroleum-basedproductthataddstoourcar-bonfootprint,exacerbatesclimatechange,increasesthe

moundsofgarbagethroughouttheworldandharmswaterways.

Inourlastnewsle`er,IwroteaboutcommentsthatSherriA.Mason,Ph.D.,professorofchemistryandchairoftheDepartmentofGeologyandEnvironmentalScienceattheStateUniversityofNewYorkatFredonia,madewhenshespokeattheClevelandCityClubonAugust14.Masonstressedthatwehavetobepartofthesolu]ontotheexcessofplas]cinourlivesbytryingtocutdownontheplas]cweuseinthefirstplace--espe-ciallysingle-useplas]cs,plas]cbagsandstraws,andtake-outcontainers.Shealsourgedeveryonetopledgetoreducetheiruseofplas]csandtocon]nuetorecyclewhatwecan.

--LorraineMcCarty

! New Processes for Plastics Emerging

Herearesomeofthenewdevelopmentsineffortstomakeplasticsthataremoreeco-friendly:

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Plasticintofuel.Thereareseveralformulations.Oneistoconvertpolyethyleneintodieselwithoutwasteproductsorpollution,usingrheniumandiridiumcatalysts.Anothertouseend-of-lifeplasticsthatusuallycannotberecycledintocrudeoil.Anotherisasmalltabletophouseholdmachinethatheatsplastic,runsitthoughcoolingpipesandchambersuntilitcondensesbackintooil.Whilethesemethodscouldremovemillionsoftonsofplasticgarbage,theystillwouldcontributetocarbonemissions.Anotherprocesshasbeencreatedthatturnsplasticintoethanol,usingacheapandaffordablecatalystcalledcalciumbentonite,whichbreaksplasticdownintoethane,methaneandpropane.

BiodegradableandcompostableplasVc.Thedevelopmentofbioresinhashelpedindevelopingamoreenvironmentallyfriendlyplas]candplas]c-basedproducts.Therearetwotypesofbioresin:degradableandcompostable.Degradablebioresinscanbebrokendowncon]nuallyintosmallerandsmallerpieces.Compostableresinscanbereducedtosimplebiologicalma`erandbeusedasmulchagerbeingmixedwithspecificbyproductsatacompos]ngplant.Bothofthesenewplas]csarepro-jectedtogrowby20%peryear,withplas]cfilmbeingtheprimaryapplica]onforboth,especiallyinthemedialandfoodindustries.

EdiblefoodpackagingtoreduceplasVcwaste.Ediblepackagingisversa]leandeco-friendlybecauseitcanbeeatenorcomposted,anditmaydras]callyreduceplas]cpackagingwaste.Packagingmadefromcasein,amilkprotein,canbeeatenorcom-postedandwillbeespeciallyusefulforsingle-serveitems(thinkstringcheese,wheretheediblepackagingwouldbeprotectedbyaseparatepackagetokeepthecaseincleanandsanitarytoeat).AndthereisShrilk,abiocompa]bleandbiodegradableediblefilmpackagingmadefromshrimpshellsandsilk.Itisonlyhalftheweightofcomparablealuminumalloysbutmatchestheirstrengthandtough-ness.NewprocesstestedbiodegradableplasVcs.MangoMaterials,locatedintheSanFranciscoBayarea,developedanewprocesstocreateabiopolymercalledpolyhy-droxyalkanoatefrommethanebyusingbacterialfermenta]on,whichmakesthema-terialbiodegradableandpetroleum-free.Thenewmaterialhastheaddedadvantageofcapturingmethaneandsequesteringthecarbonintoahigh-valuematerial.Thetechnologywouldbelocatedatthesiteofmethaneproduc]ontoreducemethane

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emissions.ThecompanyhasdeterminedthatcapturingmethanefromU.S.landfillswouldproducemorethan3billionpoundsofbiopolymereveryear.ThecompanyisusinggrantsandworkingwiththeEnergyDepartment'sSmallBusinessVoucherspi-lotprogramandtheLawrenceBerkleyNa]onalLaboratorytotestafinalstepofre-movingwaterfromthefinalbiopolymerandtoscaleuptheirbusiness.

Biodegradableandedibleutensils.Thesetoolscaneasilywithstandhot-foodtem-peratures.Six-packringholdersforbeverages.Ringholdersmadefromwheatandbarleyarebeingdevelopedfromthenaturalby-productsofbeerproduc]onandareedibleandmorefriendlytoanimalsandsealifethancurrentmodels.BiodegradableplasVcs.Underdevelopmentarebiodegradableplas]csthatcanrotunaidedinaditchorinalandfill,usingplantsugars,starchesandseaweed.Theplas-]csdecayintocarbondioxideandcanproducemethane.Ideally,awaytocapturethemethanecanbefound.

Biorenewable,biodegradableplasVcalternaVves.ColoradoStateUniversityre-searchershavefoundanewwaytoproduceacompoundcalledbacterialpoly(3-hy-droxybutyrate),orP3HB,whichshowspromiseasasubs]tuteforpetroleumplas]csinmedicalandmajorindustrialuses.Theresearchersareusingastar]ngmaterialcalledsuccinate,whichisproducedbythefermenta]onofglucose,andismuchquickerandlessexpensivetoproduceandscaleupthanP3HBcompoundsformedusingalgae,bacteriaandothermicroorganisms.Structureofbacterialenzymethatgeneratesusefulpolymersdiscovered.Mass-achuse`sIns]tuteofTechnologyresearchershavefoundthestructureofPHA,anenzymethatnearlyallbacteriausetoproducelargepolymersthatstorecarbonwhenfoodisscarce.Bacteriaproducedifferenttypesofpolymersdependingonthestar]ngmaterial.PHAsynthasecanstringtogetherupto30,000subunits,makingmuchlargerpolymersthanhumanscanmake.Theresearchersfoundawaytocrys-tallizetheproteinandthenperformx-raycrystallographytorevealtheprotein'satomicandmolecularstructure.Theresearchersnowcanseetheentranceandexitstructures,therebyenablingthemtomakespecialtypolymeraddi]ves,latexandmedicalapplica]ons.Buttheprocessisnotcostefficientenoughtocompetewithoil-basedplas]csformostuses.Theresearchershopethisnewframeworkwillen-

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ablethemmakebe`erpolymerswithuniqueproper]esandopenupnewmaterialsandapplica]onsinthefuture.Othereffortsarelookingatnewtypesofindustrialrecyclingplantsthatcanrecycleourcurrentandfutureplas]csonalargerscale,includingcarsandotherlarge-scaleitems.Staytuned.

Sources:;ThomasIndustryUpdate;ColoradoStateUniversity;MITNewsOffice;U.S.DepartmentofEnergy,OfficeofEnergyEfficiencyandRenewableEnergy.

--LorraineMcCartyandKennethMcGregor

! Four New Inventions in 2018

Checkouttheseinnova]onsfrom2018:

Shoesthatcouldhelpsavetheworld.RetailstartupAllbirdsismovingawayofpe-troleum-basedfootwearwithSweetFoam,aproductmadefrompartsofsugarcanethatarenowdiscardedastrash.Thecompanystartedwithflip-flopsandaremovingontoincorporateitsuseintheiren]reproductline.Mostexci]ng,theyhavemadethetechnicalknow-howbehindSweetFoamavailabletoeveryonewhowantsit.

Theelectricsemitruck.ThorET-Onehasconvertedaformerlyfuel-burningtruckintoasleekelectricsemiprototypethatcanhaulupto80,000poundsforupto300milespercharge.Whilethereareothernewelectricrigsintheworkswithothercompanies,Thor'smakersareconfidentthatconver]ngoldtruckscanhelptheircompanymakeadifferencenow--notinthefuture.

Amoreefficientwaterheater.HeatworksModel3SmartWaterHeatersendselec-tricalcurrentthroughthewatertoheatitquickyandonlywhenresidentsneedhotwater,ratherthanhavingthewatersitreadyinthetank.Thecompanyes]matesasavingsof$240ayearfortheaveragefamilyoffour.

RoofingthatfightssmogpolluVon.3Mhascreatedamaterialforroofingshinglesthatbreaksdownsmogpar]clessotheycanbewashedawaybyrainfall,and

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MalarkeyRoofing(atopU.S.shinglemanufacturer)hasalreadystar]ngusingthesenewgranulesintheirshingles,whichtheysayhasreducedthesmogequivalentto100,000trees.Theyareaimingtodoublethisfigurenextyearandagainthefollow-ingyear.

Source:"The50BestInven]onsof2018,Time,Nov.25/Dec.3,2018.

--LorraineMcCarty

! KEC Membership

We welcome anyone who wants to join the Kent Environmental Council and support our efforts. If you are already a member, you will be receiving a reminder of renewal by mail the month before the expira-tion date for your dues. Remember, dues are the main source of income for KEC.

We need your support to do our work.

Just send in your name, address, phone, email address and your check made payable to: Kent Environmental Council Mail to: KEC, P.O. Box 395,Kent, OH 44240.

To join or renew online with PayPal, go to kentenvironment.org/Membership.

Membership levels are $45, Sustaining; $35, Family; $25, Individual; $15, Golden Buckeye; $10, Stu-dent; $500, Lifetime; and $200, Organization. KEC dues are not tax deductible because the organization has a 501(c)(4) status.

View our Website at www.kentenvironment.org

Communicate with us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KentEnvironmen

Come for an informal breakfast discussion of environmental issues at Little City Grill every Friday at 8 a.m. No reservations necessary.

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