Aerosolv Aerosol Can Recycling Technology Receives Certification From The U.S. EPA And California Environmental Protection Agencies.

Business Editors/Environment Writers

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2000

"We put a hole in a can," says Michael Campbell. "That doesn't sound very exciting until you consider what happens next. Those cans get recycled, which conserves a tremendous amount of energy and diverts a huge hazardous waste stream from landfills. The cans' residual contents are recovered and used for other industrial applications, allowing organizations both large and small to save a bunch of money."

Campbell is president of Katec Incorporated, which has just been awarded certification for its patented Aerosolv(R) aerosol can recycling technology by a landmark program administered by the U.S. and California Environmental Protection Agencies. One of only ten environmental technologies nationwide to be selected for participation in the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) pilot program, the Aerosolv system has been recognized as a simple, yet cutting-edge process for safely puncturing and draining aerosol cans, enabling the contents and the steel can to be recycled.

"The chief benefit of the certification is that it streamlines the regulatory requirements our customers have to deal with when they dispose of aerosol cans," says Campbell. "ETV certification opens the door for more companies to use the Aerosolv(R) system to collect and recycle paints for fuel blending -- and solvents for cleaning and degreasing equipment. Then they can sell the empty cans as scrap steel, which they can't do if the cans aren't empty. This simple, straight forward technology saves money, prevents tons of steel from winding up in our landfills and conserves the energy it would take to produce new steel from ore."

According to the Steel Recycling Institute, each pound of recycled steel saves 5,450 BTUs of energy in subsequent steel production, as an alternative to traditional raw materials. Campbell says the average large user of the Aerosolv(R) system recycles about 1000 cans per month, which represents about 250 pounds of scrap steel. He says industry statistics show that 3.2 billion aerosol cans are sold in the U.S. each year; 10.5 billion are sold worldwide. Large industrial consumers and government entities such as the military account for a significant portion of those sales.

For example, in one year of use the Resource Recovery and Recycling Program at Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia, implemented the Aerosolv(R) system and recovered 17 tons of scrap steel from recycled aerosol cans, which would have been bulked in drums as solid hazardous waste and sent to a landfill. The 17 tons of recycled steel from the naval base represents a subsequent energy savings of 185 million BTUs, enough energy to light over 5,000 households for a year. In its first year of operation at the naval base, the Aerosolv(R) system produced savings of $333,738.

The Aerosolv(R) System processes virtually any size aerosol can in less than 15 seconds. It safely punctures the can and drains the residual liquids into a 55 gallon collection drum. Meanwhile, the residual propellant is filtered enhancing operator safety.

As Katec took the Aerosolv(R) technology through the ETV program it was supported in part by grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and personnel from the U.S. Navy. Additional funding came from The Sherwin-Williams Company, Target Stores and Porous Media Corporation, who participated as good community partners. Technology testing was conducted by the California EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Department of the Navy at North Island Naval Station, San Diego, California.