Massachusetts Waste Bans

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) introduced its first bans on landfilling and combustion of easy-to-recycle and toxic materials in 1990. Additional "waste bans" have been phased in over time.

47% Millenn, Gen Z won’t date someone who doesn’t recycle!

Younger generations have stronger green beliefs due to concerns about global warming

If you’re a Millennial or Gen Z'er who doesn’t recycle, there is a chance you may be hurting your chances at finding love, according to a new survey from Decluttr – an online marketplace for selling unwanted CDs, DVDs, games, books and tech items.

In a sample of 1,332 people, Decluttr found that 47% of young Americans would not want to be in a romantic relationship with someone who doesn’t recycle. Another 45% said they wouldn’t date someone who used an excessive amount of single-use plastic.

Moreover, 67% of the survey’s respondents who are between the ages of 18 and 29 said they believe global warming is a “real, man-made and a serious threat.” The issue is such a high concern that 71% ranked it more important than the economy.

Some 90% of Millennials and Gen Z'ers recycle regularly while 43% choose to compost and 27% shop “zero plastic” as a way to save the earth, according to the survey.

However, Decluttr also found that most of these young Americans who would write off a potential romantic partner over their recycling habits are contributors to electronic waste.

Three in five of respondents did not know what the term “e-waste” meant at the time of the survey and 57% weren’t aware of the toxic impact e-waste can have on the environment if gadgets are not disposed or recycled properly.

The top two items that are reportedly hitting landfills in 2020 are charging cords and cables at 49% and headphones at 42%, according to Decluttr.

Mobile phones (29%), speakers (22%), Blu-ray discs and DVDs (22%), CDs (22%), video games (21%) and other gaming items (19%), tablets (19%) and wearables (18%) rounded out the rest of the list.

by Cortney Moore, Digital Associate Writer/Producer for Fox Business

China Indicates Foreign Recyclables Shutdown Permanent

30 Years In Business Today!

It's hard to believe, but Conigliaro Industries celebrates its 30th anniversary today.  Founded on April 22, 1990, on the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day, Conigliaro Industries has recycled over 683 million pounds of material since then.  While we would love to celebrate, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have put our party plans on hold until America Recycles Day in November.

Supply and Demand Drives Rising Waste Tip Fees

Waste 360, Arlene Karidis

Overall, higher pricing is driven by one factor: supply and demand.

National average tip fees have been on the rise for years, though rates vary radically by region and state—as high as $151.19 per ton in Alaska and as low as $24.75 per ton in Mississippi, according to an April 2018 report by the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF). This is based on a survey of 397 landfills.

Overall, higher pricing is driven by one factor, according to Michael E. Hoffman, managing director and group head of diversified industrials for Stifel.

“Tip fees in the U.S. do not go up for any reason but supply and demand. No state has ever, nor have the Feds ever, put in a big tax that makes landfill uncompetitive. Rates go up because capacity comes out of the market, and the remaining capacity can charge more,” he says.

Hoffman cites as an example what is happening in Massachusetts, a trend he says will continue as that state’s landfills close. Spot tip fees there have spiked from the low $40s to almost $70 per ton in the past five years. They could rise to $100 per ton in the next five years, he projects.

The ongoing fee increase at a national level follows a long-time trend, says Debra Kantner, EREF data and policy program director.

EREF’s annual surveys indicate about a 6 to 7 percent increase per year since 2016, but the national average has been climbing since the mid-1980s, even when adjusted for inflation. And there have been greater than the 6 to 7 percent increases in the past, says Kantner.

The highest fees over time have been in the Pacific and Northeast. Though costs have been fairly stagnant or dropped a little in the Southeast, South Central and Mountains/Plains, where there are typically no landfill capacity issues.

Recently, one particular question has circulated among industry stakeholders: Is China's ban having a big impact on tip fees or will they do so moving forward? Hoffman doesn’t think so.

“While massively disruptive to paper prices, it is not of a large enough tonnage locally, where the recycled fiber is captured, to alter the landfill market that much,” he says, adding regional pressure on tip fees will be about how far the waste must move and how many sites are available to haulers.

But Kantner has somewhat different thoughts on the China policy’s potential role.

“Landfilling recyclable materials that can’t find markets will ‘use up’ landfill capacity unexpectedly and could push tip fees to further increase,” she says.

A Waste Business Journal (WBJ) report finds similar national and regional patterns as those reported by EREF (WBJ cites $50.30 per ton as the 2017 average). But the study authors go further by making future projections. They expect another 6 percent increase in tip fees nationwide by 2021, a 10.73 percent increase in the Pacific by 2021 and a 9.45 percent increase in the Western U.S. in that timeframe.

One WBJ reporter and co-authors, writing on rising landfill costs, also provided insight on the relevance of China’s policies, commenting, “It should be noted that the pricing forecasts [in WBJ’s report] do not yet incorporate the potential impact of China’s material ban, which could send millions of additional, unanticipated tons to the landfill that would have been recovered as recently as last year.”

But they cite other factors they believe impact disposal costs, including industry bottlenecks they say “threaten to significantly raise the cost of shipping waste from transfer stations to landfill. They point to a national shortage of truck drivers, but also say that shipping waste by rail generally is not profitable for rail owners, and that longer trip times require investments in more resources to keep trash from accumulating.

On a state level, EREF found a strong relationship between the availability of incineration and higher landfill tipping fees.

“We did not look at cause-and-effect, but we do see that higher landfill tipping fees can indicate whether market conditions are suitable to support expensive waste management options such as waste-to-energy (WTE). This mirrors what has been seen in some European countries, where high tipping fees create a market to support other types of waste management facilities,” says Kantner.

Here are the takeaways from EREF’s report on tip fees:

·         There was a national average increase of 7 percent from 2016 through 2018.

·         Region specifics from 2016-18:

·         18.3 percent increase in the Midwest

·         15.8 percent increase in the Northeast

·         11.9 percent increase in the Pacific

·         4.2 percent decrease in South Central

·         2.6 percent dip in the Southeast

 Tip fees remained fairly flat in the Mountains/Plains.

·         In 2018, average tip fee was $63.26 per ton for states with WTE versus $49.28 per ton for states without WTE.

·         Small landfills had higher tip fees in 2017 and 2018 than medium and large sites.

She's Not Pretty, but She's all ours!

Our newest toy is here to help introduce even more recyclables into our recycled-content concrete blocks.  For more information, see www.conigliaroblock.com

Mixed Paper's Gone Negative - Oh My!

For the first time in the history of our company (30 years and counting), Mixed Paper has actually gone negative.  That means we are now paying $5.00 per ton to send our mixed paper to end-market, even after we have hauled, sorted and baled the material!  This is most likely due to the on-going Chinese "Green Wall".   There is no end in sight.  We will continue to take the material and process it, but our customers will now face an increased cost for us to do so.  File under - we never thought we'd see this!

Say Hello to the Newest Member of our Fleet

Our Fleet Upgrade Continues

Conigliaro Industries now offering 100% Recycled Mulch

Our mulch is made from recycled clean wood generated by businesses and institutions across New England.

The mulch is processed through a 2” screen for a uniform size and appearance.

At $10 per cubic yard, our recycled mulch is less than half the price of other mulch products on the market and it looks and works great.

Delivery also available from 15 to 100 cubic yard quantities.

If you recycle with us, we offer a complete turn-key program; recycle your clean wood waste with us and we will manufacture beautiful mulch which you may purchase back at a great price to landscape your facility.

Mulch is the term used to describe any material that is spread over the ground to insulate and protect soil. It helps increase soil fertility, and can protect plants from nasty insects and pests. Ground up clean wood makes fantastic mulch for your yard or garden.

Sustainability and Zero Waste

Unlike traditional recyclers that focus on straightforward waste streams like corrugated cardboard and metal, we specialize in recycling difficult wastes. For example, we recycle:

If you have a unique material that comprises a measurable portion of your waste stream give us a call. We’ll implement a customer-specific collection, transportation, processing and recycling program for your unique waste.

We even close the loop with some unique waste streams by making new recycled-content products right at our facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. Call today for further information!

More information »

Recycling Industry - Current State of Affairs

January 2018

Dear Customer,

We have always worked hard to save you money and handle your recyclable materials responsibly. The resulting non-recyclable leftover portions of your materials have been disposed of properly - either sent to a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility when possible or a landfill when necessary.  

The last several years have been extremely challenging here in the recycling world and the problems have accelerated more recently. 

China, one of the world’s greatest importers of recyclable materials, announced in July 2017 that they would be placing an import ban on 24 categories of solid waste including certain types of plastics, paper and textiles.  This ban took full effect on January 1, 2018.

Recyclable material values have dropped - in many cases, substantially.  Future drops in value are predicted.  As a result, recyclable materials have become harder and harder to move to end-markets.  Due to a lack of market, many previously recyclable items have now become essentially unrecyclable.

In addition, local landfills have continued to close putting additional strain on Waste-To-Energy (WTE) facilities located in Massachusetts.  This strain has resulted in long lines and in many cases in the inability to deliver non-recyclable WTE feedstocks, when needed.

All of these factors have led to a substantial back up of materials as well as a reduction in the number of materials that currently enjoy end-markets.  The piles of material are growing and there is currently no light at the end of the tunnel.

Due to all of these factors, we have been forced to institute several changes.  We have begun the process of raising our rates.  When processing your materials, we will continue to seek recycling markets first, waste to energy facilities second and landfills third.  However, based upon all the negative factors affecting our industry and your materials, it is likely that the percentage of materials that cannot be recycled or sent to waste to energy will increase, resulting in a greater portion of your non-recyclable materials going to landfill.  

Your sales representative will be in touch regarding the necessary pricing changes for your account as well as to discuss the possibility of discontinuing the collection of certain materials that do not currently enjoy a recyclable market with slim prospects for improvement. 

For more information regarding the current state of affairs, please see the following articles:

https://phys.org/news/2018-01-china-import-upends-global-recycling.html

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/09/568797388/recycling-chaos-in-u-s-as-china-bans-foreign-waste

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180104/mountains-of-paper-stacks-up-at-el-harvey-after-china-says-no-more

Questions regarding this correspondence may be addressed to your sales representative or our General Manager.

Sincerely,

The Staff at Conigliaro Industries, Inc.

ShopRecycled.com is re-launched!

ShopRecycled.com was created to help people find great quality reclaimed and recycled-content items for their home or business. 

ShopRecycled.com is a division of Conigliaro Industries, a Total Recycling Services company.  Founded in 1990, Conigliaro Industries (www.conigliaro.com) has recycled in excess of 675 million pounds of material from homeowners, businesses, hotels, colleges and industrial facilities across the United States. 

Many of the items received have plenty of useful life left in them.  We began offering these perfectly reusable items for sale over twenty years ago and this part of our business continues to grow. 

In addition to reclaimed items, ShopRecycled.com also offers buyers many "recycled-content" products, that is, products made with recycled materials.  Examples include our PolyCorn Packaging Peanuts which are made from 100% recycled expanded polystyrene, our Plas-Crete Blocks made with recycled mixed plastic aggregate (www.conigliaroblock.com) and our Boston's Best Patch pothole filler made from recycled mixed plastics. 

Please browse our online store or visit our facility in Framingham, MA often as our offerings are updated hourly!  When you buy from ShopRecycled.com you'll save lots of money and help the environment - a win, win!

VISIT WWW.SHOPRECYCLED.COM !

Latest EPA figures highlight effect of evolving ton

By Bobby Elliott, Resource Recycling

June 23, 2015

Numbers released late last week by the U.S. EPA suggest the nation's recovery of recyclables is at a standstill, with recycling and composting flat in 2013. Industry experts pointed to the shifting material mix as a primary factor in the stagnant U.S. recycling rate.

According to the EPA's nearly 200-page report, the U.S. generated 254 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2013 and recovered 34.3 percent of it – 0.2 percentage points below 2012's recovery rate of 34.5 percent and 5.8 percentage points higher than the 2000 rate of 28.5 percent.

While some material types experienced increased recovery in 2013, including scrap electronics, recovery rates for paper, plastics and food – segments that combine to account for roughly 54 percent of overall generation – were all within a percentage point of 2012 totals.

The 2013 paper recovery rate, by far the highest among major material categories, was 63.3 percent in 2013, while the plastics recovery rate (9.2 percent) and food recovery rate (5.0 percent) remained in the single-digits.

"Sooner or later, people have to ask themselves what is a realistic recovery rate [to achieve]?" Chaz Miller, director of policy and advocacy at the National Waste and Recycling Association, said in an interview. "I think it's clearly more than 34 percent, but I think a lot of cities and states hurt themselves by setting unrealistic, unachievable goals."

The material mix

One challenge noted by Miller and others in the industry is the so-called evolving ton, the phenomenon of increasingly lightweight, sometimes plastics-based packaging replacing heavier, more easily recyclable paper and glass packaging. In other words, a ton of recyclables today is harder to amass than it was a decade ago.

Keefe Harrison, the executive director of The Recycling Partnership, a group that helps support and assist municipal recycling programs nationwide, said single-stream programs have grown in the U.S. The programs have led to higher recovery rates on a community-by-community basis, but they have not been immune to today's lighter ton.

"What I see when I look at the report is not an indicator of consumer apathy or even declining rates – I see a changing packaging scene," Harrison said. "This speaks to me more about the evolving ton than the impact of single-stream to deliver more material."

Plastics generation, accounting for 13 percent of the waste stream in 2013, has increased 27 percent since 2000 while paper generation has fallen by almost 22 percent. In that same time frame, glass volumes have decreased by about 10 percent.

Looking forward

Bill Moore, an expert on recovered paper markets and president of Moore & Associates, said it's safe to predict annual paper generation to fall further in the next five to 10 years.

According to Moore, annual paper generation could soon reach a bottom of 60 million tons (in 2013, U.S. paper generation was 68.6 million tons). He predicted in the coming years the rate at which the material is recovered will be "flat at worst, but probably has a small growth potential left."

One material that might need to pick up the recovery slack, experts say, is food scraps. Food waste increased by 2 percent in 2013 and now accounts for about 15 percent of the overall waste stream. The food recovery rate, meanwhile, is at 5 percent.

Nora Goldstein, the editor of organics-recovery publication BioCycle, says just 2 percent of U.S. households currently have curbside food scrap collection, but she noted efforts to donate unused food are gaining ground.

"The good news, despite these realities, is that generators of food waste continue to be interested in diversion of this stream from disposal," Goldstein said. "And demand for quality compost is growing rapidly."

On the plastics front, increasing the recovery rate has been a unique challenge, said Steve Alexander, the executive director of the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers. He noted plastics generation continues to grow.

"Growing the [recovery] rate as the denominator is growing is tough, but it's also a nice problem to have because it means there is a sizeable opportunity in plastics recycling," Alexander said.

Recycling is Stalling? We don't think so!

Despite the tough recycling markets Conigliaro Industries is helping our customers recycle more and more every day! 

Click here for more information about the worldwide markets: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Shingles, Shingles Everywhere!

With the incredible snows and the resulting ice dams this past winter, Massachusetts residents are faced with damage to their homes and business properties.  The damage to roofs, both pitched and flat, is especially widespread.  The good news is that roofing materials are recyclable once removed.  Shingles can and should be recycled if you are re-roofing and Conigliaro Industries can help with our cost-effective shingle recycling programs.  We can drop containers, haul the material and get it recycled all with just one phone call.  This spring the volume of waste shingles being handled by Conigliaro Industries has been very high with no end in site.  So if you are generating shingles give us a call at 888-CONIG-25!   

Conigliaro Industries participates in CARE Conference

Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) held their annual carpet recycling conference in New Orleans last month.  The conference was a huge success.  Carpet collectors and recyclers like Conigliaro Industries were able to learn all about the carpet industry as well as learn all about the amazing industry initiatives to increase carpet recycling rates nationwide.  Of note, industry leaders are working hard to develop ways to recycle the ever-increasing volume of PET carpet that will soon hit the waste stream.  For more information about Conigliaro Industries' carpet recycling services call 888-CONIG-25.

US Facing Glut of Scrap Materials

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the US is experiencing a glut in the scrap and recycling industry. 

More information »

Conigliaro Industries Goes Solar!

Celebrate Earth Day with us as we “FLIP THE SWITCH” on our brand new, state-of-the-art Solar Power System!  Once we “FLIP THE SWITCH”, Conigliaro Industries shall begin using renewable energy to power our recycling machinery – a first for Massachusetts!

Where:     Conigliaro Industries, Inc.
                701 Waverly Street, Framingham, MA

When:         Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, 2010, 10:00am

April 22, 2010 marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day and also the 20^th anniversary of Conigliaro Industries.

We consider this a giant step towards a smaller carbon footprint (pardon the pun) as this solar array will generate 63 kwh’s of power for recycling machinery!    This is the largest of its kind in Metrowest, and will generate enough electricity to continually power over ONE THOUSAND 60 watt incandescent light bulbs.