Twenty-thousand ball markers and 5,500 divot tools will be created using recycled HDPE from last year’s Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

For the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (GLBI), Midland, Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. has worked with partners across the value chain to reuse and recycle plastic mesh fencing—equivalent to 1 ton of plastic—to create golf tools as part of Dow’s GLBI closed loop initiative. 

Dow; recycler KW Plastics of Troy, Alabama; molder Core Technology Molding Corp. of Greensboro, North Carolina; and sustainable golf company Evolve Golf of Wilmington, North Carolina, collaborated to reuse high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic mesh fencing from the previous year’s GLBI in the form of 20,000 ball markers and 5,500 divot tools for this year’s event.  

“As the world’s largest plastics recycler, finding innovative ways to recycle used HDPE and PP plastics with partners like Dow is at the core of what we do best,” says Scott Saunders, general manager, KW Plastics. “Finding new life for last year’s plastic mesh fencing was an exciting challenge and a continuation of our collaboration to create more sustainable solutions.” 

Each company plays a vital role in recycling and reusing critical materials from the annual tournament, from collecting and cleaning the used plastic mesh, to pelletizing the HDPE and molding the recycled plastic into useful tools, Dow says. Last year’s closed loop initiative recycled more than 1,500 pounds of plastic mesh fencing molded into more than 20,000 golf tees, according to Dow.  

“Our partners at KW Plastics, Evolve Golf and Core Technology Molding Corp. went above and beyond to create the ball markers and divot tools for this year’s Dow GLBI,” says Toby Smith, senior customer manager, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. “It’s only by working together with other like-minded organizations like these that we’ll continue to discover and scale sustainable solutions that extend the useful life of materials and the resources that go into making them. I can’t thank them enough for the collaboration.” 

As the first ever Golf Environment Organization- (GEO-) certified Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) event, the GLBI is planned and executed with sustainability in focus, Dow says. GEO certification requires a five-year sustainability plan and commitment to establish sustainability initiatives and best practices. Previous tournaments recycled or reused 77 percent of postindustrial material generated, 80 percent of signage was reusable in the future and 26 percent of Dow GLBI shirts were made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. 

The exhibit will feature more than 70 pieces of Cat equipment and attachments.

Caterpillar dealer Zeppelin, based in Germany, will display Cat construction equipment inside and outside Hall B6 at Bauma 2022, a construction and mining machinery trade fair held in Munich, Germany. Under the theme “Let’s Do The Work,” the overarching messages will expand beyond the equipment to highlight Caterpillar’s technology, services and sustainability solutions.  

The exhibit will feature more than 70 pieces of Cat equipment and attachments from Caterpillar Construction Industries (CI). Separately, the Caterpillar Industrial Power Systems Division (IPSD) will display multiple Cat engines from its product range, from 0.5-liter to 30-liters, in Hall A4, stand 336. 

Among the multiple technologies on display, the Cat Command Station enables operators to work remotely and safely, nearby the site or many kilometers away, seated in a virtual cab with familiar controls and display. Attendees will be able to sit in the Command Station and operate a machine remotely.  

Accessed via laptops and mobile devices, Cat Productivity will be on display, demonstrating a cloud-based application that provides a complete overview of machine and job site production. It delivers consolidated and actionable site-level information to analyze performance and improve productivity, the company says. 

Cat Grade with Assist for excavators uses machine position sensors and operator-defined depth and slope parameters to automate boom and stick movements for more accurate cuts with less effort to help increase operator efficiency.  

The Cat PL161 has been designed for asset tracking and work tool recognition, according to Cat. It mounts to attachments and other items so their locations can be viewed across multiple sites. When installed on a Cat work tool operated by a next generation Cat excavator, the PL161 enables numerous additional features, such as work tool recognition and the tracking of hours worked.  

Cat dealers can offer customers solutions like VisionLink to help increase uptime and maximize profitability, Cat says. Attendees will experience many services choices at Bauma. One key offering is Customer Value Agreements (CVA), which provide customers hassle-free ownership of their new and used equipment to help reduce owning and operating costs. 

Bauma 2022 attendees also will learn about the hundreds of new Cat Reman and Rebuild product offerings as well as the range of repair options that lower equipment owning costs. Cat Rebuild services run 350 separate tests and recondition or replace up to 7,000 parts during a Cat Certified machine rebuild to return it to a like-new condition at a fraction of the cost of a new machine.  Cat Reman salvages, re-engineers and remanufactures components to provide like-new performance and durability at a price that is on average 20 percent to 40 percent less than the equivalent new part, Cat says.

Caterpillar also will unveil to Bauma 2022 attendees several electric models currently under development.  

The exhibit will include different model platforms to effectively meet a broad range of customer needs and applications.  

Highlights of the Caterpillar Building Construction Products (BCP) division display include nine next-generation Cat mini hydraulic excavators, all delivering increased performance, higher breakout forces, longer service intervals and lower owner and operating costs compared to prior models, the company says. From the 1- to 10-metric ton models, these mini excavators offer common features and consistent controls layouts to simplify training and operator adaptation. The 3.5- to 10-metric ton next-generation models can now be equipped with Cat Grade technologies as an aftermarket option.  

Among the exhibited compact wheel loaders, attendees will see the recently introduced Cat 906, 907 and 908 (in a high-lift configuration) models. They feature a re-engineered operator’s station that leverages Caterpillar technologies to improve operator experience and the new Cat 2.8 engine with an upgraded drive and powertrain for faster roading speeds and drivetrain performance.  

The nearly 30 displayed Caterpillar Global Construction & Infrastructure (GCI) models are anchored by nine tracked and four wheeled next generation excavators ranging in capacity from 15 to 95 metric tons, a rail-road excavator and three material handlers. The 980 XE medium wheel loader features a continuously variable transmission (CVT) delivering increased fuel efficiencies up to 35 percent compared with the M series models. It also has an expanded technology platform to increase machine performance, Cat says. 

 To move large volumes of materials, the Hall B6 stand also includes articulated and off-highway trucks with capacities ranging from 30 to 70 metric tons and Cat 992 and 988K XE wheel loaders. Rounding out the CI exhibit, recent updates to the D4 dozer take the value up a level with improved sight lines, reduced operating costs and a broad choice of Caterpillar technology features. Complementing the range of Cat construction equipment, dozens of attachments will be on display. They include hammers, shears, grapples, couplers, buckers, Smart dozer blades, augers, demolition grapples and tiltrotator systems.  

Team members from Cat Financial will be available to discuss the latest leasing and financing programs as well as extended protection packages to help secure customers’ investments.  

Caterpillar IPSD will exhibit in Hall A4, stand 336 a range of current and future power solutions designed to support original equipment manufacturers in their energy transition goals. The display features a newly released Cat C3.6 industrial power unit, plus to C7.1, C9.3B, C13B and C18 engines—each meeting EU Stage V emissions standards and compatible with low-carbon fuels.  

The exhibit will also include Caterpillar’s latest telematics service offering that supports customers’ connectivity requirements.  

For a recycling loop to fully close, collection is an obvious and necessary link.

Encouraging progress toward increasing the recycling rate of coffee cups seems to have been made in the past several years, with many stakeholders in that chain demonstrating a willingness to get involved.

Most recently, paperboard and packaging producer Sonoco announced it is among the paper mill operators that have made arrangements to use collected cups (or unused cup stock or inventory) as part of its recovered fiber mix.

Paper recycling industry veteran Jonathan Gold also is encouraged by recent developments, but he says he maintains concern that widespread progress in collecting used, discarded cups might not be receiving the support it needs.

Gold is not alone in this viewpoint, with Joel Litman of Dallas-based Texas Recycling and Leonard Zeid of St. Louis-based Midland-Davis both questioning, in a May Recycling Today article, whether viable, widespread collection efforts have been established in the United States.

Gold, who spent decades connecting recovered fiber with mill destinations, is more than just a disinterested observer. He currently is playing a supporting role with California-based Smart Planet Technologies. That company offers a mineralized barrier material for paper cups known as EarthCoating that makes cups 100 percent recyclable, Gold says.

In that role, Gold says what he has observed is that while cup producers, material recovery facility (MRF) operators, some mills and traders have offered support to boosting cup recycling, that same level of support from retailers can be harder to nail down.

One barrier to a fully closed loop involves the polymer coatings commonly used to make cups versus the alternative barrier material that is offered by Smart Planet but not yet widely adopted in America.

Current polymer coatings present a ceiling for paper mill use of cups, Gold says. “What would happen if a full truck load of baled polycup or baled polyboard arrived at a mill?” he asks Recycling Today. “Would it be accepted? I would wager to say most could not use a full truckload.”

To borrow a phrase sometimes applied to unwanted substances placed in a larger body of water (and not always applauded), “The solution to pollution is dilution” seems to be the mindset.

Gold continues, “Most of these mills are stating they will accept cups in their mixed paper, and the reason is very simple: In your average bale of residential mixed paper (RMP), or in an office paper mix, there has typically been 1 percent or less of cup material in their bales. The specification for mixed paper states the bale can contain up to 3 percent out-throws and 2 percent prohibitive materials in a bale. Therefore, the material would be acceptable if the mill is purchasing grade No. 54 grade mixed paper.”

The cups thus make it to the mill, but Gold is skeptical as to what happens after that. “At most paperboard mills, the polycoated material ends up in the detrashing or rejection system and is not pulped. That material ends up in landfill. A key question to ask is whether it is actually being recycled.”

Gold adds, “We all know that it’s difficult to recycle polycoated paper cups, and polycoated cups do not pass industry-standard recyclability tests. However, calling polycoated cups recyclable relaxes the pressure on retailers to use paper cups that pass industry-standard recyclability tests, and recyclers will continue to receive cups that create challenges in recycling. We should be improving the quality of bales rather than excusing contaminating materials.”

Gold, who acknowledges he has a dog in the hunt in favor of nonpoly coatings, says directly, “Retailers truly interested in a closed loop should be embracing fully recyclable barrier material. Sustainability starts with design.” Clearly, he wonders whether many retailers would just as soon not bother.

His fear is that retailers who can tout the appearance of making progress in coffee cup recycling prefer that road versus making investments that do not present an instantly foreseeable return.

“Many of the large coffee store or restaurant chains want the public to believe their companies are both sustainable and strong environmental champions for recycling,” Gold says. “However, the commercial waste stream from these chains has high amounts of polycoated materials, far above the minimal amount of polycoated material being tolerated within the residential mixed bale. In order to make these materials more acceptable to recyclers, beyond using recyclable packaging, there will be a need to act on recovering and recycling this material at their stores.”

Gold adds, “For them, this could become a ‘hassle,’ and they don’t want to be bothered with it. If not the reason, then why are they not using a recyclable cup? None of this makes sense, unless they want the public to believe they are sustainable but don’t want the burden to act on this.”

In addition to resolving the coating issue, another potential objection of retailers is that recycling collection is not a core competency for them. As well, the ability of used cups with sweetener and milk residues to attract pests raises an objection long-held (perhaps understandably) by retailers that also have traditionally opposed mandatory participation in soda and beer container deposit-return systems.

Recycling more coffee cups each year can be seen as something to be celebrated. However, progress toward collecting and recycling a high double-digit percentage of the cups could require additional thought.

Gold says he is more than just an advocate for Smart Planet when he raises the issue of coffee cup recycling’s uncertain genuine progress. His 40-plus-year career supplying recovered fiber to paperboard producers has him convinced that “packaging materials should be designed to be recovered as a material that is useful as possible.”

He says EarthCoating works, with Smart Planet’s coating having been used in “over 1.5 billion cups to date—qualified in premium paper bales, rather than mixed paper—with some being made into gift wrap for Hallmark or copy paper by Australian Paper.”  That figure has been reached in Europe and Australia, Gold says, with little American involvement.

Mills in the U.S. need the material, he adds, and ultimately would benefit by having access to cups that are fully welcome in a recycled-content pulping process.

German trade association says lack of natural gas could hurt scrap-melting steelmakers.

The Düsseldorf, Germany-based Federal Association of German Steel Recycling and Disposal Cos. (BDSV) says it has discussed with a member of the German Bundestag (parliament) the connection between energy security, the use of steel scrap and decarbonization.

BDSV Managing Director Thomas Junker says he commented to Bundestag member Sebastian Roloff that if Germany’s natural gas supply is cut or burdens are placed on distribution to industry, it “will have a massive economic impact.”

Junker and BDSV Public Affairs Officer Bernd Meyer and BDSV Vice President Stephan Karle also say the discussion focused on the CO2 emissions savings potential of recycled raw materials (ferrous scrap) and how remuneration opportunities, subsidies and investment safeguards can help strengthen this aspect of the circular economy in Germany.

Karle indicated to the elected official there is not only a fair market between primary and secondary raw materials but that Europe must “position itself as a qualified processor of scrap for the world.” In particular, BDSV says, free world trade in steel scrap is essential for market pricing. “The processing of high-quality steel scrap is very time-consuming and costs a lot of money, which the steel manufacturers must be willing to pay,” Karle says.

In electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills in Germany, one-third of the energy required comes from natural gas, says BDSV.

Junker says, “If we really want to operate in a climate-neutral manner, we need direct support for the use of scrap in the European Emissions Trading Act or a legally stipulated minimum use quota for steel scrap in steel production. Investments in future technologies of the circular economy and tax incentives for companies to make greater use of secondary raw materials are also indispensable. A first step in the right direction would be to introduce simplified and accelerated approval procedures for steel recycling companies.”

The company is opening facilities in Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.

Green Wave Electronics, an e-scrap recycler and reverse logistics company headquartered in Indianapolis, is expanding its e-scrap collection operations. The goal is to further its client reach into the Northeast, upper Midwest and southcentral regions of the U.S.  

With the addition of three branch facilities in Illinois, New Jersey and Texas, Green Wave Electronics says it now can reach 15 additional states. The company says it has more than 300,000 square feet of operations in Indianapolis and Atlanta.  

Green Wave Electronics says it helps organizations properly recycle e-scrap and destroy data-containing items to ensure security. It offers complete, auditable, e-scrap recycling solutions for businesses, government agencies, education, solid waste districts and the general public.   

"Vastly expanding our e-scrap collection footprint will allow us to rapidly promote our primary mission of providing our stakeholders with cost-effective sustainable e-scrap solutions that adhere to our no landfill policy," says Mark Sherman, CEO of Green Wave Electronics.  

In 2021, Green Wave says it recycled and diverted 23 million pounds of e-scrap from landfills and is on pace to exceed that total by 26 percent in 2022.   

For more information, call 317-899-0000 or email pickup@greenwaveelectronics.com.