Two Michigan counties are incorporated recycled tire rubber in asphalt used in paving projects, but that's not the only way tires are being repurposed in Michigan.

Rubber is meeting road not in the usual sense of tires rolling on pavement, but in rubber from scrap tires becoming part of road surfaces in some areas of Michigan. Recent paving projects backed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in Bay and Clare counties are expanding Michigan’s use of rubber tire scrap in road resurfacing, keeping the materials out of landfills and shaping the highways of the future.

Elsewhere, plastic scrap has been integrated in asphalt as companies and materials recovery facilities become more creative in finding end uses for plastic, rubber and other materials which have proven challenging to reuse in the past.

The projects in Bay and Clare counties also highlight a Michigan recycling milestone. As of 2022, the state’s major scrap tire processing businesses—about 10 in all—no longer send any regular scrap materials to landfills. Apart from small quantities too dirty or contaminated to be recycled, all the material is recovered and repurposed for use not only in road work but as mulch, in rain gardens and septic fields; as weights for construction barrels and silage covers; in molded and extruded plastic product; as porous pavement for trails and pathways; as tire-derived fuel and more.

“The scrap tire market in Michigan is in a transformation from managing scrap tires as a waste to creating economic value,” says Kirsten Clemens, scrap tire coordinator in EGLE’s Materials Management Division.

The repaving in Bay and Clare counties used material from about 59,500 tires on more than 5.5 miles of roadway. EGLE awarded Michigan Technological University a $396,000 grant for project design and testing. Each county’s road commission performed the paving work, resurfacing 4.5 miles of Seven Mile Road from E. Midland Road to E. Beaver Road in Bay County and 1.15 miles of W. Haskell Lake Road from Cook Avenue to Lake Station Avenue in Clare County. At both locations, the repaving was divided into sections to enable side-by-side comparison of the rubberized and conventional paving materials.

These two are far from the first such projects in Michigan. Last year alone, four Michigan counties completed rubberized local road projects using scrap from more than 30,000 tires. As far back as 2005 and 2006, Saginaw County rolled out a pair of 2-mile sections of rubberized asphalt. The Michigan Department of Transportation allows a portion of asphalt mixes to be recycled materials, but it is not required.

“We have about 20 years of projects, and we’ve got some really solid technology now,” Clemens says. “What we’re trying to do is expand the use by getting the material into the communities that need infrastructure solutions.”

The growing consensus is that rubber-modified paving is a winner for local roads. In 2019, EGLE helped fund a Michigan Tech project in Dickinson County to see how an asphalt-rubber mix would hold up to extreme Upper Peninsula weather. A study two years later found the pavement resists rutting during hot weather and cracking in the cold. Researchers will continue monitoring the project—which won a 2019 County Road Association of Michigan award—for 10 or more years.

Installation of rubber modified chip seal on Seven Mile Road in Bay County.

Plastic Energy will use Siemens’ end-to-end technology in future plants.

Munich-based Siemens and London-based Plastic Energy have partnered to help divert plastic scrap from landfills and incineration.

Plastics Energy uses a recycling process that transforms end-of-life plastics into recycled oils that can be used to make new plastic products, such as food-grade packaging. The patented technology is currently used in two plants in Spain where Siemens’ automation and measurement technology, including SIMATIC PCS 7 and COMOS MRO, ensure the smooth running of control systems and overcome the challenge of a complex mix of material consistency, Plastic Energy says.

To meet the growing demand for plastic recycling, Plastic Energy is building several larger facilities across Europe, Asia and the U.S., starting with one in The Netherlands with partner SABIC. These plants will be significantly upscaled and will feature Siemens’ end-to-end technology solutions, including distributed control systems (DCS), process instrumentation and low-voltage switchgear in the form of SIVACON S8 technology, Plastic Energy says.

The long-term collaboration will enable Plastic Energy to continually evolve its technology and process, implementing improvements for better efficiencies and product quality and achieve flexibility and scalability for its plant designs, the company says.

Plastic Energy also is working with Siemens to unlock further potential using a digital twin. This tool creates a virtual model to give better insights and closed loop optimization of process and plant performance.

Steve Leech, business manager for Siemens Process Control Systems, says, “We have viewed working with Plastic Energy as a long-term partnership from the beginning of our relationship, which brings together the process and industry knowledge of Plastic Energy, with our innovative technology portfolio. The result is a process plant that is flexible and provides the opportunity for value-add use of the data provided, through using SIMATIC PCS 7 and our instrumentation platforms. It is great to be involved with a company so focused on sustainability and contributing to a positive impact on the environment through recycling of plastic waste.”

Plastic Energy says its goal is to recycle 5 million metric tons of plastic scrap by 2030.

The new version includes more than 100 recyclers across North America that accept PVC or vinyl materials.

The Vinyl Institute (VI), based in Washington D.C., has released a new version of its PVC/Vinyl Recycling Directory that includes more than 100 recyclers across North America that accept polyvinyl chloride/vinyl materials. This updated version of the directory includes the name, location, contact information and the types of PVC materials recyclers will accept.

“PVC materials can and are being recycled in North America. Our goal is to connect recyclers with general contractors, organizations and individuals that have PVC materials they want to recycle,” says Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute.

The investments to GP's Broadway mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, include building a new paper machine and adding converting equipment and infrastructure.

Georgia-Pacific, a packaging producer headquartered in Atlanta, has announced a $500 million expansion to its Broadway mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and officially broke ground on the project July 20.

The company says the investments will significantly enhance the company's retail consumer tissue and towel business, and include building a new paper machine using through-air-dried (TAD) technology and adding associated converting equipment and infrastructure.

The project first was announced in December 2021 and is expected to be complete in 2024.

"This truly is an investment in our customers and consumers who value the quality of our products," Georgia-Pacific President and CEO Christian Fischer says. "We appreciate the local community, Brown County, state officials and all of our employees' hard work and efforts to continue making our Green Bay Broadway mill more competitive for the long-term."

Currently, the Broadway mill operates seven paper machines and several converting operations to make bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue for retail and away-from-home use. The facility consumes more than 430,000 tons of recovered paper each year.

Georgia-Pacific says the capital investment at its Green Bay facilities has totaled more than $700 million since 2006. The Broadway mill marked its 100th anniversary in 2019.

Tim Flanagan has been a member of SWANA since 2005.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has selected Timothy S. Flanagan as the new president of the SWANA board of directors. As of July, Flanagan has been at the helm of SWANA’s 21-member board after Brenda A. Haney transitioned into the role of past president.  

“Tim Flanagan brings a strong variety of both public and private sector solid waste experience to the board, and he will be an excellent president,” says David Biderman, SWANA executive director and CEO. “He is very passionate about solid waste, recycling, and SWANA and I look forward to working closely with him.”  

President Flanagan has been a member of SWANA and the SWANA Gold Rush Chapter since 2005. He is a SWANA-certified manager of Landfill Operations and served as director of SWANA’s Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Technical Division, which he also represented on the International Board. In 2016, he was elected to SWANA’s executive board and the SMM Technical Division recognized him with its Distinguished Individual Achievement Award. Before joining SCS in February 2022, Flanagan served as general manager of Monterey Regional Waste Management District from 2015 through 2021, after 10 years as assistant general manager. He is currently serving as project director for SCS Engineers. 

"It is truly an honor to be voted the president of SWANA,” Flanagan says. "I stand on the shoulders of many current and former SCS managers and directors, including past President Michelle Leonard, who helped lead SWANA to be the preeminent solid waste and recycling association in the world.” 

This transition was delayed in FY 2022 in response to the pandemic. Additionally, Art Mercer has taken on the role of vice president, Tammy L. Hayes has become treasurer and Elizabeth Roe was elected to the board as secretary.  

SWANA’s board of directors is responsible for setting strategic direction and overseeing the association’s operations and policy positions. The board receives input from an advisory board made up of delegates from all SWANA chapters, technical divisions, private sector groups and from Young Professional members.