Cutting edge sorting system for recycled plastics is unveiled today in Oregon.

SALEM, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1994--Plastics recycling took a leap forward today with the introduction of a new sorting system that uses advanced computer technology to automatically identify various types of plastics.

The heart of the plastics recovery facility is an automated plastic sorting system including four infrared, x-ray and vision sensors plus seven separate computers -- developed by Magnetic Separation Systems (MSS) of Nashville, Tenn.

It has dramatically expanded the variety of plastics that can be processed in the Pacific Northwest. The Garten Foundation -- an established recycler in Salem is the site for this million dollar investment by the American Plastics Council (APC).

"The plastics industry wants to see as many types of plastics recycled as there are sustainable markets for them," said Red Cavaney, CEO and president of APC. "Our intent is to demonstrate the viability of this new technology and use it to help us better understand the economics -- and free-market limits -- of plastics recycling."

He added, "Even if the recycling stream were limited to plastic bottles coded 1 and 2 -- including soda bottles, milk jugs and detergent bottles -- that would be 90 percent of all plastic bottles."

Unlike most other states, Oregon has not had material recovery facilities capable of sorting different types of plastics. "The infrastructure for recycling more than milk jugs just did not exist in the state," said Cavaney. "But now, residents and businesses can include more types of plastics in their recycling programs and this facility is able to sort and market them to plastics reclaimers locally and nationally."

The plastics recovery facility (PRF) features a specially configured MSS BottleSort(R) system that works as follows: as plastic containers speed down a conveyor belt at a rate of up to 1,250 pounds per hour, a computer-aided detector determines their optical density (clear, translucent or opaque), specific resin type (PET, HDPE, PVC, PS and PP) and color (red, blue, white, etc.).

A programmable logic controller tracks the containers and uses a series of air jets to push them off the conveyor and into collection bins with similar containers. Sorted containers are baled and shipped to recycling markets.

According to Dr. Garry Kenny, president of MSS, "A number of plastics recyclers have taken advantage of automatic sorting systems with limited capabilities in the past few years -- such as sorting PET from PVC, or sorting a few types of bottles -- but this is the first time in the world that such an advanced system has been configured to sort plastic bottles and other containers into so many different streams."

The American Plastics Council has been helping communities around the country, including more than a dozen in Oregon, expand their plastics recycling capabilities and improve the cost efficiency of their programs. According to APC's Cavaney, "The plastics industry has been a catalyst for technology development, demonstrating technologies such as this that communities and businesses across the country can adopt."

Approximately 2 million pounds of additional mixed plastics from around the Pacific Northwest that currently do not have markets will be shipped to the Garten Foundation for sorting at the PRF.

In 1993, more than 1 billion pounds of plastic packaging were reclaimed nationally into new plastic products, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year, according to a study conducted by R.W. Beck & Associates. All plastic bottles were recycled at a rate of 19 percent in 1993. Beck also estimates that nearly 15,000 communities, or about 59 percent of Americans, now have access to plastics recycling programs.

The American Plastics Council is an association of 24 major plastic resin producers committed to demonstrating the benefits of plastics and their efficiency in conserving natural resources. The APC supports increased plastics recycling that is economically and environmentally responsible and sustainable, as well as integrated approaches to solid waste management.

CONTACT: Garten Foundation

             Dan Hoagland, 503/581-4472
                    or
             Magnetic Separation Systems
             Garry Kenny, 615/781-2669
                    or
             Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers
             Tom Rattray (Procter & Gamble), 513/983-2301
                    or
             American Plastics Council
             Susan P. Moore, 202/371-5211