Pennsylvania study involving Advanced Drainage Systems used recycled-content HDPE in transit corridor culverts.

Researchers at Villanova University in Philadelphia have completed a study of the performance of recycled-content corrugated, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin in commuter rail installations, finding its performance to be indistinguishable from pipe made from virgin material.

The three-year field and laboratory evaluation was designed to help validate the use of corrugated HDPE pipe manufactured with recycled materials for both railroad and highway applications. It was funded by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), via its Project 4-39.          

“The railroad industry is reliant on drainage infrastructure materials that are sustainable and resilient and offer a long service life relative to the cyclical live loading conditions typical in these applications,” says study author Michael Pluimer, a PhD graduate from Villanova with pipe industry research experience. “Since pipes manufactured with recycled materials can be more sustainable and cost-effective than those manufactured with 100 percent virgin materials, it was important to compare the performance and durability of the pipes in these applications.”                  

In the study, the field portion of which concluded in 2016, two 30-inch diameter corrugated HDPE pipes manufactured by Hilliard, Ohio-based Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS) were installed underneath a SEPTA main commuter rail line near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles north of Philadelphia. One pipe was made with 100 percent virgin materials and the other with 49 percent post-consumer recycled content.

Approximately 36 trains passed over the pipes daily for three years, after which an analysis showed both pipes to be performing as designed with no noticeable differences between them. Based on field measurements, a laboratory test was developed to assess the long-term performance of the pipes relative to fatigue and stress cracking. Based on that testing, it was determined both pipes “should have a service life in excess of 100 years,” according to the study.

“The transportation industry, just like many other areas, is seeking to incorporate more sustainable and cost-effective engineering materials and practices into their infrastructure systems,” says Tony Radoszewski, president of the Irving, Texas-based Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. (PPI). “The incorporation of recycled materials into products used in transportation infrastructure offers both economic and environmental benefits.”

Comments Daniel Currence, director of engineering for the Corrugated Plastic Pipe Division of PPI, “For more than 50 years, HDPE pipe has been known to stand up to tough environments including toxic waste and high pH levels. Its projected 100-year service life has been documented by independent studies and state and federal government agencies, including departments of transportation.”

He continues, “Additionally, pipe made from HDPE can be recycled into many products including pipe, which is exactly what was used and validated in this study.”

Company says the move is part of a broader program to help address the issue of plastic straw waste.

Switzerland-based Tetra Pak has announced its plans to develop a paper straw that is suitable for its portion-sized carton packages before the end of 2018. The company says the move is part of a broader program to help address the issue of plastic straw waste.

Straws play an integral functional role on portion packages, Tetra Pak says, but if not properly disposed of, they then become part of the plastics waste problem. The company says it has been working to encourage consumers to push straws “back in the pack” once empty, so they can be collected along with the rest of the package. Tetra Pak says work is underway to develop a paper straw that is suitable for use on its portion-size carton packages.

“It sounds simple enough,” says Charles Brand, executive vice president, product management and commercial operations. “But in reality, there are a number of significant challenges to producing a paper straw with the required properties.”

“That said, our development team is confident they can find a solution, and that we’ll have a paper straw alternative ready to launch by the end of the year,” Brand continues.

On average, Tetra Pak packages are about 75 percent paperboard. The company says paper straws would be another step toward the its long-term goal of offering a completely renewable portfolio.

Tetra Pak is the one of the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company.

The company is part of the Carton Council, which formed in 2009 to increase recycling of cartons used to package many food and beverage products, such as milk, juice, water, soups, broth, wine and beans. The Carton Council is composed of Elopak, with U.S. offices in Wixom, Michigan; SIG Combibloc, Chester, Pennsylvania; Evergreen Packaging, Memphis, Tennessee; and Tetra Pak, as well as associate member Nippon Dynawave Packaging, Longview, Washington.

Slow Down to Get Around legislation requires motorists to slow down or move over when passing collection trucks.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has announced Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will sign the bill Operation When Approaching Vehicle with Visual Signals into law, making Maryland the 18th state to pass Slow Down to Get Around legislation.

Slow Down to Get Around is the name commonly applied to legislation that requires motorists to slow down or move over when passing waste and recycling vehicles that are in the process of collection. It is like many existing laws that require motorists to be cautious when traveling through a construction work zone or when passing a stopped public safety vehicle.

“SWANA is very pleased that Maryland has enacted these important protections for waste collection workers, and I am pleased that I had the opportunity to testify in support of the bill,” David Biderman, SWANA executive director and CEO, says. “This is an excellent example of what the industry can do when we work together to achieve a common goal.”

Feb. 6, 2018, SWANA submitted written testimony in support of a Maryland Senate Bill that would add waste collection to the existing list of vehicles requiring traffic to move over or slow down when approaching. At a similar committee hearing Feb. 15 in the Maryland House of Delegates, Biderman testified in support of Slow Down to Get Around and explained to lawmakers why waste and collection workers need these protections.

The first two waste industry worker fatalities in 2017 were both in the state of Maryland, including the death of city of Laurel employee Marcus Colbert. Laurel Mayor Craig Moe testified at the Maryland statehouse to help pass the state’s Slow Down to Get Around bill.

Recyclers are striving to forge ties with the entertainment industry to get the recycling message out to the wider public.

A presentation and reception that followed at the ISRI2018 convention, held in Las Vegas in mid-April, explored ways the recycling industry could forge connections with the entertainment industry to broadcast critical recycling messages to the wider public.

At the session, Boston-based Berklee College of Music graduate Kanika Patawari showed video clips and offered ideas on how the two industries can work together to boost recycling best practices and the volume of materials recycled. Patawari is the daughter of Surendra Patawari Borad, who is chair of Belgium-based recycling firm Gemini Corp.

She urged session attendees, predominantly members of the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the convention organizer, to draw upon friends, family and professional connections to “gather star power” to create short films or YouTube clips to promote recycling.

Patawari referred to the ISRI2018 MusicRecycle session as “the first step through the door” in making such connections happen. “Making recycling cool is in everyone’s best interest,” she stated.

Patawari and fellow Berklee College alumnus Clint Valladares said the Berklee community of alumni and faculty is a place to start for the MusicRecycle project, but they urged those in the audience to consider whether they had any entertainment connections in Southern California, since ISRI2019 will be hosted in Los Angeles.

“We want to make recycling hip,” said Valladares, adding that next year’s convention in Los Angeles provided “an opportunity to work with really incredible people.”

In a news release leading up to the MusicRecycle session and reception, ISRI states, “We are looking for recycling industry professionals with existing connections in the music and entertainment industries and/or a commitment to more and better public education on the need and the process of recycling.”

In that same news release, ISRI indicates those who wish to connect with the RecycleMusic project or who want more information can contact ISRI staff member Bob Ensinger at bensinger@isri.org.

ISRI2018 was April 16-19 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Machinery will be able to process more than 4,000 pounds of plastic scrap per hour.

The Green Line Polymers subsidiary of Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS) has commissioned a new plastics recycling line at its facility in Pandora, Ohio.

Austria-based NGR Plastics Recycling Technologies, which provided the equipment, says the plastics granulating line is the largest such piece of machinery it has ever produced.

NGR indicates the model being installed can convert more than 4,000 pounds per hour of a diverse type of plastic scrap, including industrial polyethylene, into what it calls a high-quality recyclable plastic granulate.

The recovered granules will be used to manufacture drainage pipes and hoses for ADS, which produces a variety of thermoplastic pipe and hose products used primarily in the construction industry.

NGR says it has supplied more than 1,200 machines worldwide.