Vermont manufacturers test use of post-consumer plastics

Vermont Business Magazine, Apr 01, 1997 by Grodinsky, Carolyn

That if Vermont plastics manufacturers could use recycled plastics, collected through community recycling programs, for their products? What if the recycled plastics were cheaper than the material it replaced, performed as well or better and gave the company a marketing edge?

Finding answers to those questions was the intent behind an EPA-funded study to evaluate the feasibility of using post-consumer resins (PCR) in Vermont manufacturing processes. The Vermont Department of Economic Development and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) applied for the EPA funds in the hopes that the study could ultimately used to create Vermont jobs, add value to recyclable materials and find local markets for recyclable plastics.

Before starting the project, the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) surveyed Vermont plastics manufacturers. Survey results indicated that some Vermont companies had previously tested PCR, but many found that the quality of PCR was often inconsistent and contaminated. Other companies, such as manufacturers of products for the medical or food industries or manufacturers of engineered plastics, were prohibited by regulations and safety considerations from using PCR.

The Agency of Natural Resources contracted with Frankel Industries Inc of Edison, NJ, to conduct the study over a nine-month period ending in July 1996, with some follow-up time through the fall. Although the project time line was sufficient for most companies to evaluate the feasibility of using PCR, it was too short a time to implement recommendations. Frankel Industries developed selection criteria and surveyed Vermont's 26 thermoplastic manufacturers to determine which companies to target. Frankel then selected the four candidates most likely to use post-consumer recycled resins.

Interviews with employees indicated that a number of companies already use PCR in their products. For instance, Himolene Inc, of Rutland, uses 25 percent PCR in some of its trash bags; it is capable of using up to 50 percent PCR in the bags. Hancor Inc, of Springfield, uses PCR in its plastic sewer and drain pipes. While eight of the companies surveyed indicated that they accept PCR as equivalent to virgin resins, only four were actually willing to use it, provided it:

* met product specifications;

* performed acceptably;

* and cost less than virgin resins.

Ultimately, whether companies use PCR will depend on its meeting these three criteria.

The companies found most likely able to use PCR were Carris Reels, Inc of Rutland, Waterbury Companies, Inc of Randolph, CPC of Vermont, Inc of Middlebury and Johnson Filaments, Inc of Williston.

Carris Reels, one of the companies that Frankel assisted, uses postindustrial high impact polystyrene (HIPS) as well as its own in-house scrap for reels (spools) used for a variety of wire products, including electrical, cable, construction and welding wire. The tube and side pieces are attached by a sonic bonding process. Raw material costs are a major factor in deciding which resins to use. With Frankel's help, the company evaluated the feasibility of using post-consumer High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP) resins.

A reel made with the test PCR resulted in a product with significantly different properties than one made with polystyrene. Polypropylene and HDPE resins do not withstand impact as well as HIPS, and HDPE tends to shrink from the injection molds after processing. Carris Reels decided not to use PCR because the production costs to switch did not justify its use.

However, as a result of the JTR project, Carris Reels is now using 10,000 pounds of PCR HDPE per year for a container that holds the reels and does not require a sonic bonding process to manufacture it. According to company personnel, this amounts to about 4 percent of the company's total resin usage. If the price of PCR was significantly lower than the industrial scrap plastic Carris Reels currently uses, it might consider using a much greater volume of PCR in its reels.

At Johnson Filaments, performance is a critical parameter for its filaments. These continuous thin strands, which can be up to miles in length, are used in belts by the paper-making industry.

Frankel Industries recommended that Johnson Filaments test recycled PET in the filament, at approximately 30 percent of the total PET used. The company tested a sample of PET, and although it met the company's specifications, it was not as clean as the material it had replaced. As even a speck in a filament can ruin its application, the cost savings of the PCR and the additional time and labor needed to clean out screens did not justify its use. If the cost of PCR was substantially cheaper than regrind, the company would consider using it. It is worth noting that in 1996 the market for recycled PET fell drastically.

As part of the project, Frankel Industries also provided technical information on PCR properties and processing techniques and PCR sources to other Vermont plastic manufacturers and to new businesses interested in using PCR for their products.