Surviving Stormy Weather

Several C&D material processors around the country have been able to diversify their businesses, even during the worst economic downturn in decades. Many say the key to diversification has been developing new products for new end markets with a focus on processing recycled materials profitably in all types of economic conditions.

The industry remains diverse enough and with suitable regional differences that recyclers are finding more than one path to choose as they make their equipment investments.

 

Investing In Upgrades

Rich Gersdorf founded Shamrock Recycling & Transfer, Blaine, Minn., with his wife Becky in 2003 as a natural extension of a hauling company that faced high landfill tipping fees.

The company receives materials from its own rolloffs and from other haulers, contractors and the public. In 2008, the company processed about 80,000 tons of mixed materials, shipping out recyclable wood, concrete, cardboard, copper, aluminum, steel, alternative daily cover (ADC) for landfills, compost, concrete, cardboard, plastics, electronics, sheetrock, tires and roof shingles.

Uses for the wood include boiler fuel, landscape mulch and animal bedding. Cardboard and paper are sent back to paper mills and turned into new products. Farmers use ground sheetrock to replace nutrients in soil, though regulators recently have begun to closely scrutinize the potential for wet sheetrock material to release hydrogen sulfide gas, which can be toxic at high concentrations.

Commingled material is fed to an Annihilator low-speed shredder from Continental Biomass Industries (CBI), Newton, N.H., before a combination of automation and employees with quick sorting hands begin creating marketable materials. (See the sidebar “System Snapshots” on page 40 of this issue.)

Paul Correia, facilities manager for New England Recycling, Taunton, Mass., says the company strives to recycle any material found on a job site. The company handles about 100,000 tons of wood, plastic, sheetrock, steel and any other materials yielded on a commercial or residential construction site, and that total does not even include concrete.

For reducing materials other than concrete, the company uses a CBI 4872 Grizzly Mill. According to Correia, about 30 percent of the company’s total volume is wood used for boiler fuel; wood chips that are too small for fuel are used for ADC.

Processing sheetrock poses a challenge in light of the hydrogen sulfide gas issue. “That’s rough because it can’t be painted, it has to be new and it has to be dry,” he says. “Only about 2 percent of what we do ends up being recycled.” To keep the material dry and less susceptible to hydrogen sulfide gas formation and release, “We try to tell our customers to keep all of their dry, clean cutoffs toward the end or beginning of the can—either end; it doesn’t matter to us—then when we get it, we push it off to the side and we have a couple of guys who pick it off by hand.”

United Recycling Co., Snohomish, Wash., has found high-speed, high-torque machinery suitable for primary reduction of its feed material, which is often commingled with metals. The company, which serves the Seattle to Everett region and processes about 250,000 tons annually—primarily wood and plastics—relies on a HogZilla TC II 1564 tub grinder made by CW Mill Equipment, Sabetha, Kan., to limit damage to the machine from tramp steel.

United Recycling President Dan McAuliffe notes that even if a large piece of metal such as plate steel or even an engine crankshaft gets caught in the machine, it does not cause damage. “You’re going to get metal hangers, nails, nail plates, hinges and bolts, and this grinder just eats them,” he says.

The TC series tub grinder has a torque converter drive that is designed to allow the engine to perform at peak efficiency with multiplied torque. Originally designed for use in rock crushing, the torque converter drive allows the engine to operate near governed speed throughout the work cycle regardless of load requirements and prevents engine damage from shock and loads from torsion. The TC series also has an adjustable swing hammer mill assembly configured to allow the operator to adjust the depth of cut, in contrast to single swing grinders that have a permanently set depth of cut. The manufacturer says this assembly allows variable processing aggressiveness, greater productivity and higher resale value.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and before that I was in the sand and gravel and concrete industry, and so I know equipment pretty well all the way around,” McAuliffe says. “[The tub grinder] is high-horsepower and high-speed. We load a 150-yard trailer in less than 10 minutes. There are high-torque, low-speed machines, which are better for contaminated material, but they mean what they say: low speed. On this machine, the conveyors are built the way the sand and gravel industry’s would be—sand and gravel uses all roller conveyors, heavy-duty shafts, heavy-duty pulleys and heavy-duty sprockets.

McAuliffe adds that maintenance is relatively easy because in many cases replacing a bolt substitutes for welding.

United Recycling provides several local paper companies with wood chips to fuel their cogeneration plants. McAuliffe adds that the company can use all of the other materials produced in demolition of a building, including a home’s concrete foundation, which is recycled using a Powerscreen crusher.

As with Shamrock, cost considerations motivated Oberlin Farms Demolition and Recycling, Stryker, Ohio, to launch a C&D processing operation in August of 2008. A demolition contracting company spawned from the core agricultural business in 2003 had been hit hard by fuel costs inherent in transporting its material to landfills up to 30 miles away, explains Scott Oberlin, owner and president. “[The revenue stream] was probably the main driver,” says Oberlin.

In 2008, the company processed about 20,000 tons of wood and 80,000 tons of concrete. Oberlin says the company processes C&D material from construction sites as well as tree limbs from cities, counties, townships and residents.

To downsize most material, aside from concrete, Oberlin uses a 3680 Beast Recycler from Bandit Industries, Remus, Mich., which has a theoretical production rate of 500 yards or more per hour. Oberlin reports that the operation uses the machine for wood and asphalt shingles. After these materials are reduced by the machine’s carbide-teeth-equipped rotary grinding wheel, they are screened, and nails are magnetically separated. Oberlin sells colorized mulch to landscapers and homeowners. Concrete is processed by an Extec I-C13 crusher and used for backfill or roadway base material.

 

Fuel And More

In 1993, Recovery1 of Tacoma, Wash., began operations with the intention of making wood fuel and wood pulp for recycled paper manufacturers. (See “At the Threshold” in the Nov./Dec. 2009 edition of Construction & Demolition Recycling.)

Today the company processes about 70,000 tons annually and provides 21 different recycled C&D products for resale, including gypsum for portland cement, bailed plastics, carpet, carpet padding and cardboard, as well as rocks, bricks, concrete, porcelain and glass for aggregates.

To reduce maintenance and energy-consumption costs, Terry Gillis, general manager, altered his processes in mid-2007 by installing a new Pri-Max PR-4000 primary reducer from SSI Shredding Systems, Wilsonville, Ore., which is located upstream of Recovery1’s 600-horsepower West Salem Machinery, Salem, Ore., model 5472 vertical feed grinder, a.k.a. hammer mill. Previously, the company employed one 1,000-horsepower swing-hammer hog mill. Counting so much on that machine resulted in high operating costs, says Gillis.

The low-speed, high-torque Pri-Max PR-4000 operates at a typical speed of about 58 rpm, compared with a typical 1,000 rpm speed in the hammer mill. During primary reduction, most steel pieces that would damage machinery are liberated from the feed and captured by an overhead magnet. The material is conveyed across a short sorting line and under a magnetic head pulley and then into the hammer mill for final grinding. Gillis points out that a magnetic excavator attachment and a reverse gear on the Pri-Max machine also keep steel infeed to the processing machinery at a minimum. The Pri-Max PR-4000 has taken stress off of the hammer mill and allowed Recovery1 to start recycling railroad ties, which often contain steel spikes or even rail pieces, says Gillis.

The machine, which processes up to 75 tons per hour, also reduces the amount of time that excavator operators spend breaking up large material and provides a more even flow of material. Material is fed into the hammer mill via an infeed chute and drops into the grinding chamber. A massive rotor assembly with 27 swing hammers weighing 150 pounds each (and equipped with reversible and replaceable tips) crushes the material against a crushing door, shears it against an anvil, and then drags it over modular screen grates resulting in typical reductions to about 18 inches.

“Going with a two-stage system has resulted in a significantly lower electric bill as well as a significantly lower maintenance bill,” he says. The new equipment configuration also has reduced the company’s power costs by about 20 percent. “We used to calculate that if we ground material for an hour, then we would weld on our hammer mill for an hour.” He points out that the hammer mill’s infeed conveyor has a ballistics chute attachment that is designed to remove large tramp metal material out of the grinding. Two magnets downstream of the hammer mill also minimize steel commingling with other materials.

Recovery1 primarily serves three markets with its wood products. For landscapers who sell mulch, the company operates a mulch colorizing system that dyes chips dark walnut, black or red. Wood chips are used for fuel in plants such as paper mills and cement kilns. A customer for wood pulp, Cascade Pacific Pulp, Halsey, Ore., provides paper companies with recycled wood pulp. A future market for Recovery1’s wood products is particle board.

 

Rewards For High Rates

Gillis says he does his best to ensure the soundness of Recovery1’s processed materials. He says C&D material providers must have had the AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) inspection done on their material and provide the company with that documentation and ensure that the material has no lead-based paint. “We’re real sticklers on that—we have five certified AHERA inspectors on staff,” says Gillis.

According to Gillis, Recovery1’s 16-year average diversion rate is 98.33 percent. He says the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements have helped drive the high diversion rate.

United Recycling has the luxury of being able to aggressively pursue more sales during downturns, McAuliffe says. “If we see a little downturn, we’ll push harder and get 10 more customers.”

Oberlin contends that customers of Oberlin Farms Demolition and Recycling are feeling the cost crunch of high landfill tipping fees and behaving predictably. “Actually, we’re getting more business than our business plan projected because we’re the alternative to a higher price of [landfilling] material. Our tipping fees are about $1 per ton, compared with about $40 per ton at the landfill. And, if people need stuff they’re going to come to us because we’re a lower price than virgin material,” he says.

Says Gillis, “These are challenging times, but challenging times aren’t necessarily bad times—they’re just different.” He adds, “Building piles isn’t recycling. Making products that have value in the marketplace—that’s what recycling is all about.”