The medals, made from old electronics, were part of a larger effort to reduce electronics going to landfills.
Medalists at the Tokyo Olympics aren’t the only ones taking center stage this summer, the medals are also. This year, medals given to winners at the Summer Olympics are made of recycled electrical devices.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), approximately 78,985 tons of discarded devices were collected. This includes about 6.21 million used mobile phones, along with digital cameras, handheld games and laptops, all of which were then classified, dismantled and melted down by highly trained contractors.
The effort was part of a collection program called the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, which began in 2017. The project attracted donations and support from 1,300 educational institutions and 2,100 electronics retail stores across Japan. Donation boxes also were strategically placed across Japan for local donations, according to the IOC.
Up to 90 percent of Japanese cities, towns and villages participated by setting up donation collection sites where Japanese citizens donated their old electronic devices, reports technology publication ZME Science.
Through the initiative, the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project collected 70 pounds of gold, 7,700 pounds of silver and 4,850 pounds of bronze. The gold alone derived from the project is worth some $2 million, according to ZME Science.
This is not the first time Olympic medals have been made from recycled materials. In 2016, the Rio Olympics awarded bronze and silver medals that were made from 30 percent recycled materials, according to the IOC, while medals for the 2019 Winter Olympics also featured recycled-content medals.
Using recycled electronics for the medals at the Tokyo Olympics is just one way the organizers of the event have worked to minimize their environmental footprint. Other sustainable practices include:
The company says total corrugated products shipments and shipments per day were up 9.6 percent in the quarter compared with the same time frame in 2020.
Packaging Corp. of America (PCA), a packaging producer based in Lake Forest, Illinois, has reported healthy containerboard and corrugated demand in its latest earnings report.
Overall, PCA says it achieved second-quarter 2021 net income of $207 million, or $2.17 per share. Second-quarter 2021 net sales were $1.9 billion compared with $1.5 billion in the same time frame of 2020. The company says earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the second quarter, excluding special items, totaled $397 million this year compared with $299 in the second quarter of 2020.
According to PCA’s second-quarter earnings report, the company’s latest earnings included special items expense and income rounding to a negligible impact, while the net income in the second quarter of 2020 included special items expenses of 79 cents per share related primarily to the impairment of goodwill associated with PCA’s Paper segment.
Several expenses were higher in the second quarter. According to PCA, inflation-related increases affected converting costs, and freight and logistics expenses were higher compared with the same time frame in 2020. Additionally, depreciation expense was slightly higher, and Paper segment prices and mix were slightly lower.
Also in the second quarter, the company worked to build up its inventory levels; however, Mark Kowlzan, PCA chairman and CEO says the company’s weeks-of-inventory supply reached a new low for this time of the year ahead of an expected busy second half of the year. He says the company’s Packaging and Paper segments implemented price increases in the second quarter, and the company continues to work on initiatives and capital projects to reduce costs and improve efficiencies at its mills and corrugated products plants. He adds that reducing costs and improving efficiencies will help the company as it navigates logistics challenges with inbound and outbound freight.
In PCA’s Packaging segment, total corrugated products shipments and shipments per day were up 9.6 percent in the second quarter of the year over the second quarter of 2020. PCA reports that containerboard production was 1.192 million tons, and containerboard inventory was up 20,000 tons from both the second quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
“Our plants achieved a new all-time quarterly record for total box shipments as well as a second-quarter record for shipments per day, both of which were up 9.6 percent compared to last year’s second quarter,” said Tom Hassfurther, executive vice president of corrugated products at PCA, during the company’s second-quarter earnings call July 27.
He said outside sales volume of containerboard was 43,000 tons above the second quarter of 2020 but down slightly compared with the first quarter of the year because of lower export shipments.
“Demand in our Packaging segment remained very strong,” Kowlzan said. “Our mills and plants continued to do an outstanding job of meeting our customers’ needs while managing through certain material and chemical availability issues, a tight labor market, various freight and logistics challenges, as well as the planned maintenance outages at four of our mills during the second quarter.
He added, “The mills executed the planned outages extremely well and, with the help of the No. 3 machine at the Jackson mill, provided our plants the necessary containerboard to achieve an all-time record for total box shipments.”
In PCA’s Paper segment, sales volume was up 21,000 tons in the second quarter of 2021 compared with the second quarter of 2020 and down 24,000 tons compared with the first quarter of the year.
EBITDA excluding special items in the second quarter was $12 million for this segment with sales of $142 million or an 8 percent margin compared with second-quarter 2020 EBITDA of $5 million and sales of $123 million or a 4 percent margin. Kowlzan said volume in the Paper segment was up 17 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the same time last year when pandemic issues caused the company to take both machines at its Jackson, Alabama, mill down for two months.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, Kowlzan said PCA expects demand will remain strong for containerboard and corrugated products with one additional day for box shipments. He said the company’s Paper segment volume should remain flat in the third quarter, primarily because of the scheduled maintenance outage at the company’s mill in Jackson.
Additionally, he said he expects recycled fiber costs to remain high in the third quarter of the year. “You have to believe with the current trends it’s going up and there is nothing that indicates it’s going to go down anytime soon. Some of the latest data that’s come out indicates record-low nationwide inventory levels of recycled fiber availability, all-time demand for all recycled fibers across the board. And so, unless something happens to the marketplace in the world, I don’t see that changing. … We build ourselves around flexibility, and we still remained the lowest dependent on [old corrugated containers] as an example compared to the rest of the industry. We can take advantage of it, but again, we’re always mindful of maintaining our flexibility and fiber utilization.”
He concluded, “We will also continue to implement our previously announced price increases in both our Packaging and Paper segments. Our annual outage costs will be lower with one outage in the third quarter versus four mill outages in the second quarter. Inflation associated with most of our operating costs as well as freight and logistics expenses is expected to continue. Energy costs will also be impacted due to higher seasonal usage, and wood costs in our southern mills will be higher due to wet weather, low inventory and high demand. Considering these items, we expect third-quarter earnings of $2.37 per share.”
American Waste Control will operate the single-stream system in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma-based American Waste Control (AWC) has selected Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) to supply a replacement of the company’s single-stream recycling system that was heavily damaged by a fire this spring.
According to BHS, the new material recovery facility (MRF) system in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will boost throughput by 33 percent and increase AWC’s targeted recovery performance on its fiber and container lines with the addition of the latest BHS optical and robotic sorting.
The new design includes BHS “no wrap” Tri-Disc screens, National Recovery Technology (NRT) optical and Max-AI artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Max-AI technology has been designed to identify recyclables similar to the way a person does, plus collect and report material characterization information.
As part of the new AWC system, nine Max-AI AQC (Autonomous Quality Control) robotic sorters will identify and pull residue and return recyclables from sort positions. The robotic sorters include a Max-AI AQC-C unit, plus a CoBot that is designed to work alongside people and can be installed on narrow walkways and other tight locations with minimal structural requirements and footprint.
“The industry has changed, and this new system will bring Tulsa to the forefront of recycling excellence,” says AWC Vice President of Recycling Robert Pickens. “BHS offers the overall quality, partnership and advanced technology to help AWC achieve the throughput and quality to meet our business goals. We believe the future of recycling will rely heavily on using technology and data to optimize performance and the Max-AI and NRT equipment in this system will deliver that for our operation. We are excited for our future and confident that this innovative technology will empower us to meet recycling expectations for our community and for our business.”
BHS Sales Director Paul Holman comments, “This single-stream system is an excellent example of new technology being used to adapt to change in the industry. The system features proven screen technology to increase throughput and precisely present material downstream to NRT and Max-AI sorters to maximize both recovery and product purity. We are thrilled to deliver this creative solution to meet our customer’s business objectives. I want to thank the AWC team for choosing BHS and we look forward to our future collaboration.”
BHS describes itself as a worldwide leader in the innovative design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition industries.
Gary Young named U.K. recycling firm’s new chief operating officer.
Ipswich, United Kingdom-based Sackers Ltd., which operates Sackers Scrap Metal & Waste Recycling, has appointed Gary Young as its new chief operating officer in a move the company says will support the business and its growth plans.
Young has more than 30 years of experience working within the metals and engineering sectors, with a track record of delivering business growth, high performance and continuous improvements, according to a Sackers news release.
Young started his career with a four-year apprenticeship in metals casting technology and has undertaken roles of increased responsibility with international metal and manufacturing companies. “His 30 years in highly successful operations roles, combined with his business knowledge allows him to bring skills and experience to grow Sackers to the next level,” the firm states.
Sackers Managing Director David Dodds says, “Our business is all about processing and operations, and that’s where we can make the biggest improvements. Gary has proven success and experience in process improvement and product efficiency. I’ve seen the way he runs a business and it’s second to none. We couldn’t ask for a better fit for our business, or have more confidence in anyone more competent to take on the new operation projects than Gary”
Young says, “Sackers is well known to me, and I’ve used them as a supplier in my previous roles. I’ve worked in the metal industry for a number of years, so I’m able to bring along some skills and knowledge to make a difference quickly. There are exciting growth plans ahead that I am very keen to get my teeth into and be part of improving the business further. It’s all about continuous improvement in a role like this and I will be looking at new technology, process improvements and I will be able to offer tangible value to the operations”.
Sackers describes itself as “predominantly an operational outfit” that processes and sorts more than 75,000 metric tons of scrap metals and more than 30,000 metric tons of other discarded commercial materials annually.
The company says it has invested heavily in the circular economy over the last decade, with a 3 million pounds sterling ($4.16 million) investment in what it calls its region’s only steel shredding plant, shredding items such as end-of-life vehicles. Sackers has invested another 1 million pounds sterling ($1.4 million) in a copper cable granulating plant. “These investments allow the business to have a competitive edge and be the end processor of scrap and waste,” states the company.
This summer, Dodds was listed among 100 “global recycling stars” by Netherlands-based Recycling International magazine.
Furnaces in the U.S. are operating at 84.6 percent of capacity, according to AISI steelmaking association.
Steel producers in the United States continue to respond to demand for finished steel by raising their output at furnaces this summer.
According to the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), in the week ending Saturday, July 24, nearly 1.87 million tons of crude steel was made in the U.S., representing another 0.5 percent uptick from the previous week.
AISI says the late July capability utilization (capacity) rate has reached 84.6 percent. The July 2021 weekly figure represents a a 38.4 percent increase compared with production of just 1.35 million tons during the same week in 2020, when furnaces were running at 60.3 percent of capacity.
2021 production through July 24 has surpassed 52.6 million tons, an 18.4 percent from the 44.5 million tons made at furnaces and melt shops during the first six-and-a-half months of 2020.
The ongoing steady demand for finished steel has helped spur a 2021 ferrous scrap market with prices trading at the higher end of their range throughout the year.