The company says its equipment is ideal for metal fabrication applications.

Alpena, Michigan-based Endura-Veyor says its scrap metal handling and conveyance solutions can reduce worker injury and maintenance time, which ultimately boosts process efficiency and uptime.

The lineup of equipment is ideal for metal fabrication applications ranging from steel belt, drag chain, fabric belt, z-style, magnetic conveyors and magnetic separators. In addition to the equipment itself, a full range of options and accessories are available to further customize and create solutions that fit unique applications.

Endura-Veyor’s conveyance solutions have the potential to handle a variety of scrap and other shredded metal materials while also excelling in harsh metal stamping, forming and fabrication environments, the company says. This can be seen on Edura-Veyor’s Steel Belt Conveyors, which are a staple in metal fabrication operations in light of their durability and ability to handle wet or dry scrap material with great efficiency. The Steel Belt Conveyors feature removable bottom pans, side access covers, abrasion-resistant steel reinforcements and more.

The Top Flight Drag Conveyor features chain-driven flights that push a high volume of sharp, loose, bulky and problematic materials. This conveyor is equipped with an abrasion-resistant, hardened steel trough or channel that contains loose materials and is designed to be less susceptible to jams, overloading, maintenance and premature wear.

In environments with space limitations, Z-Conveyors can provide more versatility, according to the company, which says its rugged, modular construction makes the most efficient use of production and processing space and reduces transition points. The Z-Conveyor design features one continuous belt and can be customized and configured to meet specified needs.

Endura-Veyor says when considering conveyor solutions for metal recycling, it is important to also consider magnetic separators and conveyors that are engineered to “attract” materials even under the toughest metal handling conditions. Magnetic Slide Conveyors are also available for applications that require products to be dropped on and then secured from the bottom surface. Alternatively, Overhead Magnets are available to lift products out of a stream of other materials from the top, firmly securing for further handling.

Endura-Veyor’s Magnetic Slide Conveyors are chain-driven and have no external moving parts for added safety, making them suitable for challenging ferrous applications such as machining chips and stamping scraps. Endura-Veyor’s heavy-duty strength magnets are custom fit for each application by optimizing the magnetic circuit and ultimately improving the production.

The Debris Mitigator is an optional feature for many conveyor types the company provides. Fine, shredded materials can cause maintenance problems for conveyors and conveyor belts. This feature provides a way for material that migrates underneath the belt to exit through the frame, so it does not collect and buildup between the belt and the frame. According to Endura-Veyor, the Debris Mitigator provides for a quick visual check of buildup and lowers the need for maintenance of cleaning under the belt and the frame, prolongs the life of the belt and reduces costly downtime.

Delterra will receive $6 million in multiyear funding, as well as a $3.5 million challenge grant and additional in-kind support, from McKinsey & Co.

McKinsey & Co. is a founding partner in a new environmental nonprofit known as Delterra, which has adopted the company’s Rethinking Recycling initiative as a flagship project. McKinsey & Co. will provide $6 million in multiyear funding, as well as a $3.5 million challenge grant and additional in-kind support, to help realize Rethinking Recycling’s goal of delivering recycling to countries across Asia, Latin America and Africa.

McKinsey.org launched Rethinking Recycling in 2018. Over the last three years, the initiative has built scalable, self-sustaining recycling ecosystems in Indonesia and Argentina, including solutions for plastics and organic waste, according to a news release issued by Delterra. The nonprofit says it believes the initiative has reached an inflection point and is ready to further accelerate and scale its impact.

In the coming years, Delterra says it will add other initiatives to its portfolio that are designed to develop scalable solutions that redesign human systems for the good of people and the planet. 

Through its proof-of-concept and scale-up programs in Indonesia and Argentina, Delterra says Rethinking Recycling is on track to bring recycling and waste management services to more than 250,000 people by 2022, most of whom had no access to recycling solutions before. Its programs have also achieved recycling rates of up to 60 percent, which is higher than those of most U.S. cities. To date Rethinking Recycling has improved the livelihoods of more than 450 waste workers, many of whom are marginalized women, by increasing their salaries by up to 200 percent and providing them with access to health care and safe working environments, Delterra says.

Shannon Bouton, president and CEO of Delterra, which is headquartered in Washington, says, “We are a very different organization today than when we first formed in 2018 as part of McKinsey.org. In many ways, adopting a new name and identity of our own is the next logical step in our growth journey. We are thrilled that our Rethinking Recycling programs will continue to operate in our new home, Delterra. The team and I are very excited to create the next phase of impact and to deliver Delterra’s mission of redesigning human systems at scale for the good of people and the planet.”

Michael Silber, senior partner, global social responsibility, at New York-based McKinsey, says, “McKinsey & Co. is committed to helping organizations create positive, enduring change in the world and to realize sustainable, inclusive growth. Through McKinsey.org, we have incubated nonprofits to develop innovative approaches to the world’s most pressing problems. The Rethinking Recycling initiative has been an important part of our approach to societal responsibility, which includes empowering our people to give back to their communities, operating our firm in ways that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible and working with our clients to serve all stakeholders and achieve holistic impact. As Rethinking Recycling transitions out of McKinsey.org to Delterra, McKinsey & Co. will continue our support of this initiative and the nonprofit.”

"Five years ago we embarked, as part of the city of Buenos Aires government, on the Barrio Mugica integration project, a historic transformation of one of the city's most iconic settlements,” says Donatella Orsi, director of economic integration, Ministry of Human Development, Buenos Aires. “Although hard infrastructure issues were the most pressing ones, we strongly believed that inclusive, collaborative projects focused on sustainability also had their place. Rethinking Recycling’s Barrio Mugica project is one of these highly successful initiatives of our integration project. Rethinking Recycling partnered with city staff and 13 local labor cooperatives to provide the residents with door-to-door waste collection and recycling services: a win-win for everyone. Cooperatives now benefit from the income generated by the sale of recyclables, and local residents are increasingly proud of their improved surroundings."

Mulch provider will supply more than 100 Kroger stores with bagged product in 2022.

Orlando, Florida-based Sustainable Green Team Ltd. says its subsidiary Mulch Manufacturing Inc. has been awarded a 2022 mulch packaging contract renewal with retailer The Kroger Company’s Louisville, Kentucky, division. The agreement continues the company’s current contract to supply and service 114 Kroger stores.

“We are excited to continue our relationship with Kroger again in 2022 and look forward to assisting them with their year-over-year continued sales growth in the Louisville division’s mulch and soil program,” says Paul Stolly, Mulch Manufacturing’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Our recognized brand and quality products keep consumers coming back each year to purchase mulch and soil products from Kroger’s stores.”

Sustainable Green Team Ltd. describes itself as a wholesale manufacturer and supplier of wood-based mulch and lumber products derived from providing arbor care and storm recovery services at the residential, commercial and municipal levels and by offering “green waste solutions to large- and small-scale waste disposal and recycling companies” in the southeastern United States.

Public opinion and recycling-friendly policies can receive a boost when the right words are used during the dialogue stage.

For several decades, the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has conducted a semantics campaign to stress that scrap is not waste and that recyclable materials are secondary commodities.

This publication has been a steady supporter of this message, with its editorial staff trying earnestly not to use the word “waste” interchangeably with scrap, secondary commodities or other words that convey many discarded materials have value. (My colleague DeAnne Toto stated the case perfectly just this July.)

Despite considerable successes to this campaign’s credit, ISRI reportedly is considering changing or updating its phrasing concerning recyclable materials and how to best distinguish them from landfill- or incinerator-bound waste.

A suggestion from this corner is the term “circular commodities.” Like the word “sustainability,” the phrase “circular economy” seems to have staying power and to be recognized as a good thing by people and governments around the world.

Unfortunately, the terms “scrap” and “secondary commodities” each have shortcomings. In many peoples’ minds, something that is scrapped is being written off. In those same minds, something secondary could be considered second rate.

A circular commodity label fends off these connotations. Gaining unanimous backing for any policy is an unlikely prospect. In the current climate, however, sustainable and circular policies tend to gain considerable support.

The rephrasing is by no means a panacea. Governments and policy advocates who want to restrict trade in and financial support for circular commodities (for perceived environmental or protectionist reasons) will continue to do so.

Circular commodities in 2021 are establishing new and higher price benchmarks, including in the oft-criticized plastics recycling sector. That has not stopped recycling critics from staying on the attack. China has prohibited many circular materials despite the fact their residue levels are significantly below those of metal ores or concentrates. Malaysia may essentially follow China’s lead.

Advocacy for keeping raw materials closer to home also is a trend gaining momentum around the world. It must be noted that rephrasing alone will not stop all policies or corporate decisions made in the wider economic and policy arenas.

A form of linguistic high ground, however, could be a welcome result of a term such as circular commodities. Making a public case against materials circularity—reuse and recycling and the resource conservation it entails—becomes trickier than lobbying against waste, scrap or secondary materials.

To those of us in the industry, all those terms may mean the same thing, and we’re comfortable with the old terminology. In the policy arena, though, words are twisted and manipulated, and recyclers and traders seem to be in need of some keener phrasing.

Doug Dugan has more than 20 years of experience in operational leadership.

VLS Recovery Services, an environmental solutions provider in Houston, has announced that Doug Dugan has been named the company’s vice president of southeast operations for the Waste Services Division. He will report directly to Platt Moore, vice president of waste services, North America at VLS Recovery Services.

According to a news release from VLS, Dugan has more than 20 years of operational leadership. Before joining VLS, he worked for Covanta Environmental Solutions, where he oversaw the operations of multiple facilities in North and South Carolina. He also served as general manager of Bodine Services and Weavertown Environmental Group within Univar Solutions.

Dugan received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Phoenix.

“Doug has tremendous experience and knowledge in the industry and has great working relationships with our current team,” Moore says. “As we have continued to grow and expand our geographic footprint, we remain extremely focused on operational excellence and strong customer service. Adding Doug’s expertise and insights will help us further enhance our capabilities, and we are excited to welcome him to VLS.”