Plastics recycling technology firm invests in Austrian startup Plasticpreneur.
Erema Group GmbH, Austria, has acquired a 19.8 percent stake in Plasticpreneur GmbH, which Erema describes as an Austrian startup company founded two years ago that makes reprocessing systems for plastic scrap that are mobile and can be operated with minimal training.
In the two years since it was founded, Plasticpreneur has sold 330 machines to customers in more than 70 countries, according to Erema. Plasticpreneur also makes application-specific, custom-built molds designed to comply with individual customer specifications.
“The young founders and their dedicated team exude pioneering spirit, want to shape the future with their work and put their heart and soul into the circular economy and plastics recycling, just like we do in the Erema Group!,” says Erema CEO Manfred Hackl regarding Plasticpreneur.
Plasticpreneur systems may help bring plastic reprocessing technology to more remote and poorer regions of the world, according to Erema. This leads to the discarded material being incinerated or disposed of in landfills, rivers and the surrounding environment. “Our mission, ‘Another life for plastic, because we care,’ is also aimed at supporting these regions with solutions for plastic recycling, and with Plasticpreneur we have found the ideal partner for this,” Hackl says.
The start-up company’s machines can process high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) separately, according to Erema. Plasticpreneur’s product range includes a shredder, an injection molding unit, an extruder unit to make end products, air filters and custom-built molds.
“For our machines to be used in regions with little infrastructure, they must be easy to operate without prior knowledge,” says Sören Lex, CEO and co-founder of Plasticpreneur. “The fact that we also develop end-product solutions needed locally makes our range of services particularly attractive here. As soon as recycling also becomes a source of income for the operators, they become entrepreneurs.”
Lex continues, “That explains the name of the start-up, a word created from ‘plastic’ and ‘entrepreneur.’ Plasticpreneur customers in these countries include social enterprises and operators of refugee camps, where everyday consumer goods—from clothes pegs and school supplies to toys and fence posts—are produced and sold using plastic [scrap]. This means that the added value stays local.”
Erema says the demand for Plasticpreneur machines also is increasing in industrialized countries. That demand is coming from educational institutions and organizations who use them to raise awareness of the need for a circular economy in workshops and to give pupils as well as adults a better understanding of plastic recycling.
Erema says other buyers also include customers who are developing new end products made from plastic scrap. Small companies, product designers and developers are a steadily growing customer segment, according to the two companies.
The association says the complexity of landfill gas estimation would make it difficult for operators to comply accurately with the proposed rules.
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has submitted comments to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its proposed rule on the Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.
The NWRA supports the intent of the proposed rule but noted certain circumstances could arise if left unaddressed.
“NWRA and its member companies are supportive and believe we play a critical role in the transition to a low-carbon economy,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says. “We are not only doing our part to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our operations, but we also provide products and services that help our customers achieve their GHG reduction goals. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule and look forward to engaging with the SEC on this issue.”
Among its concerns with the proposed rule, NWRA says that there is not an accepted method to measure Scope 1 landfill GHG emissions as included in the proposed rule. NWRA recommended that SEC provide a safe harbor to landfill operators from liability as the methodology and measurement of fugitive landfill gases continue to evolve. Part of the reason for this is the complex calculations currently involved in estimating landfill gas emissions, which—if reported too early—could yield “significantly different results than the results estimated otherwise,” Smith writes in the June 17 comments submitted to the SEC.
As such, the NWRA recommends that the SEC allow certain companies to report their climate-related disclosures later in the year separate from the Form10-K filing or to disclose data for a given year on the Form 10-K for the following year.
NWRA also says that disclosing board members with climate expertise could impact board governance structures, and initial compliance dates may not allow enough time for collection, analysis, and disclosure of GHG data.
In addition, the NWRA says any proposed SEC rules that are “requirements that are inconsistent with widely accepted frameworks, namely the standards published by the GHG Protocol and recommendations by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, would be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive to the standardization of GHG reporting requirements that is necessary for investor confidence.”
The agency says the company repeatedly exposed workers to chemical hazards and proposes $311K in penalties.
Federal workplace safety inspectors determined that TAV Holdings Inc., an Atlanta company that provides , exposed workers to hazardous chemicals without warning them of the risks. This is the third time since 2019 that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the company for similar violations.
The inspection of TAV Holdings Inc. by OSHA in 2021 resulted in the issuance of citations for exposures to lead and cadmium. They were also cited for a failure to provide employees with safety data sheets, training and a chemical list for materials. This includes mineral spirits, hydrochloric acid, Vytaflex, Cal Floc 1516, oxygen, propane and diesel fuel.
Earlier in 2021, the agency issued citations for similar violations at the company’s Greenville, South Carolina, site and in 2019 at the Atlanta facility.
OSHA proposed $311,934 in penalties after identifying three repeat offenses and 28 other safety and health violations in a recent investigation. OSHA says TAV Holdings failed to:
install a fall protection system around unprotected sides of a pit;
keep exit routes unobstructed and post signs along obscured exits to show the correct routes;
specify techniques to isolate energy sources on machines within the energy control procedures;
train employees on hazardous energy sources for equipment;
provide guarding on rotating parts and ingoing nip and pinch points on a drill press and conveyer;
mark electrical panel circuits to indicate their purpose and enclose an electrical control panel;
provide audiometric testing or annual training on hazards associated with high noise levels and provide hearing protection to some employees; and
conduct annual training on the use of respirators and fit tests for employees.
"TAV Holdings Inc.'s repeated disregard for workers' safety is inexcusable, especially after our previous investigations identified the serious risks involved," says OSHA Area Office Director Jeffery Stawowy in Atlanta-West. "They have a legal obligation to provide their employees with a safe and healthy workplace."
During the Atlanta on-site visit, OSHA inspectors found that Atlanta's XL MachineWorks LLC, a metal fabrication contractor employed at TAV Holdings, failed to train its employees on how to safely operate forklifts and properly anchor a bench grinder. The contractor also failed to guard a lathe machine and improperly used extension cords to power equipment. For these violations, the agency proposed $11,188 in penalties to XL MachineWorks.
The current investigation was initiated after receiving a referral from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. OSHA says the companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Recycling Today has reached out to TAV Holdings and the U.S. Department of Labor for further comment.
The funding is available through Susan Harwood Training grants.
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced $11.7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to support training and education for workers and employers. The goal is to help identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.
Administered by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the grants will target disadvantaged, underserved, low-income and other hard-to-reach, at-risk workers and employers. The grants are available to nonprofit organizations, including community-based, faith-based, grassroots organizations, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, Indian tribes and public colleges and universities.
Applicants may apply in the following categories:
Targeted Topic Training: support educational programs that identify and prevent workplace hazards and require applicants to conduct training on OSHA-designated workplace safety and health hazards;
Training and Educational Materials Development: support the development of quality classroom-ready training and educational materials that identify and prevent workplace hazards; and,
Capacity Building: allow organizations to develop a new training program to assess needs and formulate a plan for moving forward to a full-scale safety and health education program, expanding their capacity to provide occupational safety and health training, education and related assistance to workers and employers.
Those interested should submit applications by August 1. Applicants must register at www.grants.gov and the System of Award Management to apply.
The department says the grants honor the legacy and work of Dr. Susan Harwood who developed workplace safety guidelines for benzene, formaldehyde, bloodborne pathogens and lead in the construction industry. Harwood was also the primary author of OSHA's cotton dust standard, which virtually eliminated byssinosis, a lung disease that causes asthma-like symptoms among textile workers.
Entries for association’s waste and recycling safety awards must be received by July 1.
The deadline for 2022 Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) Safety Award nominations is Friday, July 1.
The Silver Springs, Maryland-based association says categories include Biggest Safety Improvement, Best Safety Innovation and COVID-19 Pandemic Resiliency.
SWANA says, “Your organization has done a great job protecting workers and the public. Now get recognized for your accomplishments by the largest member-based solid waste association in the world.”
The association says its COVID-19 Resiliency award was created to recognize organizations that have adapted to working during the pandemic “with a focus on utilizing the hierarchy of controls to protect employees, contractors and customers.” Efforts to increase worker vaccination and to ensure continuity of service also will be considered, says SWANA
The Best Safety Innovation category offers an award for “an exemplary safety innovation undertaken by the solid waste industry during the previous year to reduce hazards and accidents, develop company regulations and best practices or improve worker safety.”
The Biggest Safety Improvement award, meanwhile, honors “exemplary safety improvement undertaken by the solid waste industry during the previous year.”
There is no entry fee for nominees, but the applicant must be a SWANA member. Winners will be announced Tuesday, Sept. 6, with the awards ceremony taking place in December at Wastecon in San Diego.