Recycling equipment maker adds 24,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Jesup, Georgia.

Bakersfield, California-based Sierra International Machinery is citing “the overwhelming demand for the Sierra REB line of two-ram balers and conveyors” as having prompted an expansion project at its manufacturing facility in Jesup, Georgia.

What Sierra says is its fourth expansion project since the plant in Jesup opened in 2008 will add 24,000 square feet of space to its manufacturing facility there. The expansion will allow Sierra to increase its production capacity and meet steady demand for the Sierra product line, says the company.

“I’m incredibly excited to be able to expand for our fourth time in Jesup, Georgia,” says Sierra President and co-owner John Sacco. “The market acceptance of our machines has been so great that we need to increase our capacity to move more equipment through to be able to deliver on a more timely basis.”

Sacco continues, “The team at Sierra in Georgia has done incredible work of delivering quality products, top engineering, and it’s time we expand again. We are blessed beyond.”

Every machine in the Sierra product line passes through the Georgia facility, according to the company. Additionally, every Sierra two-ram baler and conveyor is fully engineered, manufactured and assembled in Georgia.

The company calls the Jesup plant “truly the birthplace of the Sierra two-ram balers,” referring to a product line that offers three different two-ram models and numerous conveyor models.

Once the phase-four expansion is completed, Sierra’s Georgia manufacturing facility will be 96,000 square feet in size.

View a four-minute video tour of the plant conducted with Emory Olds and Jose Pereyra of Sierra below. 

European company’s 2030 strategic plan includes focus on battery materials and precious metals recycling.

Belgium-based metals and recycling company Umicore is hinting at further investments in recycling as part of its “Umicore 2030 – RISE” strategic plan, which it is fully unveiling this week at its Capital Markets Day.

Referring to itself as “a frontrunner in battery recycling” in part because of its pyro-hydro technology, Umicore says its Battery Recycling Solutions business “will be scaled up significantly in Europe, while an expansion in North America is being analyzed.”

Umicore adds, “The strategic plan assumes an investment of approximately $525 million in a large-scale battery recycling greenfield plant with a name-plate capacity of 150,000 metric tons, deploying the newest evolution in Umicore’s pyro-hydro flowsheet.

“Upon commissioning of the plant in 2026, Umicore is expected to be the first company in Europe covering the full cathode active materials (CAM) value chain at large scale, thereby strongly contributing to the European Union’s objective to establish a sustainable and circular electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem in Europe," the company continues.

Regarding its Precious Metals Refining unit, which operates a smelter in Belgium fed in part with scrap materials, the firm says its “leadership in sustainable and complex recycling is seen to continue to create sustainable value with EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] margins above 35 percent and to continue to generate substantial cash flows, at normalized platinum group metals prices.

The company says it sees electronics and EV recycling aspects of its business as a critical part of its 2030 plan, calling it a “strategy driven by powerful mega-trends, in particular the rapid acceleration towards cleaner mobility, which is anticipated to result in a tripling of Umicore’s addressable mobility market by 2030.”

Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich says, “Our Umicore 2030 – RISE strategy builds on our proven ability to embrace megatrends, our strong market positions, technology leadership and organizational excellence and will allow us to accelerate sustainable and profitable growth and to be a net beneficiary of the changing world, particularly of the rapidly accelerating mobility transformation.”

He adds, “In line with our vision for sustainable growth, we continue to build on our clear purpose to produce ‘materials for a better life’ through businesses that will help shape a more healthy planet and society while delivering sustainable value to our stakeholders.”

The new shredder and downstream system are scheduled to come online in the summer and fall of 2022, respectively.

Norfolk, Virginia-based Greenwave Technology Solutions Inc. says its second auto shredder and downstream system are scheduled to begin operations during the third quarter of 2022. Greenwave’s subsidiary, Empire Services Inc., will operate the shredder.

Greenwave says the second shredder will process cars, household appliances and industrial products, while the downstream system will increase recovery yields of copper, aluminum, brass, steel and other metals. According to a previous report from the company, the system will allow it “to double its processing capacity, which could result in its dealer scrap product line generating an additional $8 million to $15 million in revenue over the next 18 months.”

The shredder and downstream system are scheduled to come online in the summer and fall of 2022, respectively, and are expected to double the company’s processing capacity while increasing its profit margins.

“We have made significant investments in our infrastructure this year to support the planned expansion of the number of scrap metal yards we operate through both organic growth and potentially acquiring independent, profitable facilities,” says Danny Meeks, chief executive officer of Greenwave. “Since founding Empire in 2004, we have successfully navigated several economic climates and believe Greenwave is positioned to continue generating positive operating cashflows while growing its revenues through a likely recession. We’d like to thank all of Greenwave’s shareholders for their continued trust in our company and look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.”

Greenwave has not mentioned where its planned second shredder will be. Empire currently operates 11 metal recycling facilities in Virginia and North Carolina.

Mobile shears and material handler maintenance among topics at September event in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Scrap Expo event, to take place in mid-September in Louisville, Kentucky, will include technical training sessions designed to help scrap processing machinery owners prevent equipment downtime.

Representatives from dealerships and equipment firms will offer insight into maintaining mobile shears, material handlers (including the hydraulic system), two-ram balers and loggers and flatteners that crush auto hulks and pre-treated appliances.

According to the Recycling Today Media Group, organizer of the event, “Each session will be delivered by some of the industry’s top maintenance technicians.”

Scrap Expo, which is billed as an equipment live demonstration event, will be held Sept. 13-14 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Those interested in attending can find more information on this web page.

The three companies have joined NextWave to work towards prevention of ocean-bound plastic pollution.

NextWave Plastics has announced the addition of international consumer technology company Logitech and ocean-bound plastics suppliers Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material to its consortium of cross-industry companies and organizations taking measurable strides to keep plastic in the economy and out of the ocean. Nearly five years since the inception of NextWave Plastics, a growing number of member companies across a range of industries are collaborating to reach their shared goal of diverting a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of plastic, equivalent to 2.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles, from entering the ocean by the end of 2025.

“With almost five years our belt, the story of NextWave Plastics continues to be centered on empowerment, transparency and collaboration,” says Adrian Grenier, co-founder of Lonely Whale. “The addition of Logitech and ocean-bound plastic suppliers Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material adds to the strength, diversity of knowledge, experience and potential of the NextWave consortium to create even greater impact and transformational change within and across industries.”

Logitech joins the ranks of NextWave member companies like HP and IKEA, recognizing that real change is drive by partnerships and collaboration, NextWave says. In addition to its pledge to avoid single-use plastic packaging whenever possible, Logitech was the first consumer electronics company to make the commitment to provide detailed carbon impact labeling on product packaging across their entire portfolio, with its first carbon labeled products hitting shelves in April 2021. They have open-sourced the methodology, measurement process and the label itself for others in the industry to use so that consumers can make informed purchase decisions.

“Plastic debris constitutes one of the most serious threats to ocean health. We are excited to join the NextWave Plastics consortium and collaboration on ways to divert and reuse plastic waste before it enters ocean-bound waterways,” says Prakash Arunkundrum, global head of operations and sustainability at Logitech. “At Logitech, we are committed to continuing to expand our efforts to eliminate single-use plastic and we are increasingly using post-consumer recycled plastic as our preferred material at scale as we design for sustainability across our portfolio.”

Core to NextWave Plastics achievement of its 2025 objective is development of the first global network of ocean-bound plastic suppliers, the organization says. Today that network spans 21 countries and 25 suppliers offering members a variety of ocean-bound plastics including material sourced from abandoned fishing gear and packaging. In alignment with NextWave’s social responsibility framework, Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material are not only giving ocean-bound plastic new life, they are supporting local communities across the coastlines most at risk from ocean plastic pollution with reliable income and creating recycling infrastructure where they are needed most, NextWave says. The addition of Prevented Ocean Plastic and #tide ocean material enables the consortium to learn from these organizations and together grow the global network towards greater traceability and more holistic community sustainability.  

“There is talk that at least 160 billion euros will need to be invested in making Europe’s plastic systems more circular and carbon-neutral by 2050 if long-term environmental commitments are to be met. In truth we can’t wait for governments and big corporations to take action when there is so much that can be done today,” says Raffi Schieir, director of Prevented Ocean Plastic. “By working together we can lead the transformation of the recycled materials industry and build a positive, transparent circular economy where everyone is respected. By collecting and preventing ocean plastic there is a huge opportunity for ocean-bound plastic to build infrastructure, create jobs on at-risk coastlines and drive up the value of plastic.”

Prevented Ocean Plastic is recycled plastic material made from discarded plastic collected from coastal areas at risk of ocean plastic pollution. Used by supermarkets and brands across the world, it meets regulatory health and safety standards, is traceable back to source and can be identified on-pack through its distinctive triangular logo. Prevented Ocean Plastic has a wide range of commercial applications, from food packaging to cosmetics to personal protective equipment and today, diverts over 1,000 metric tons of ocean plastic pollution per month and counting, NextWave says.

The upcycled ocean-bound plastic material from #tide ranges from filament used for 3D printing, granules for electronic products to yarn suitable for apparel, bags, shoes and home and office interiors. #tide ocean material is certified ocean-bound plastic and fully traceable using block-chain tracking technology. Every shipment comes with a digital material passport, providing in-depth data about provenance, volumes, quality, processing steps and journey of the material.

“Tackling the issues of plastic pollution can only be done collaboratively. We are putting egos aside by learning from each other and growing as companies and as an organization. This is the culture we need,” says #tide founder and CEO Thomas Schori. “Our materials are as good and versatile as virgin plastics and building a resilient and efficient ecosystem is what will enable us to rapidly scale this market.”

In 2021 alone, NextWave member companies collectively prevented 959 metric tons of plastic, equivalent to more than 100 million plastic water bottles, from entering the ocean and gave it new life in over 337 premium products, including Humanscale’s Path chair, Dell’s packaging trays and CPI Card Group’s credit and debit cards, according to NextWave. Additionally, Shinola, a Detroit-based lifestyle brand, released an extension to its Detrola Sea Creatures Collection on World Oceans Day encompassing watches made using #tide ocean material granules and yarn. The brand, while known predominantly for watches, also released totes and fanny packs crafted from 100 percent recycled polyester and REPREVE, a material created from upcycled ocean-bound plastic bottles.

Drawing on nearly five years of knowledge-sharing and progress, NextWave recently released a series of case studies, Currents of Change, offering an exclusive look into how these global leaders catalyze transformative change and are taking the lead on tackling challenges, finding solutions and creating real impact.