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THE
PULSE
Newsletter of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries
Volume 17, No. 12, December 2012
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE | BEST PRACTICES | MEMBER ACTIVITY | FAST FACTS
CARI President Dennis Cebula,
CARI staff Donna, Tracy, and Len,
and the CARI Board of Directors wish every member, its employees and their families, a wonderful holiday season
and a prosperous New Year.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
 At this time of year we often reflect on the year that has passed and look forward to the year ahead. CARI’s staff spent 2012 working to promote our industry as a whole, and to help CARI members cut costs and reduce impediments to doing business.
This year saw some of the industry’s long-standing issues such as metal theft, railway service, and stewardship programs gaining increasing attention from governments and the public. CARI was at the forefront of each of these issues, arguing for our members and our industry. Although we know issues like these will never be resolved through simple legislation, we have made strides in limiting the damage undue regulations might do to our industry.
CARI worked with the Ministries of Justice in B.C. and Nova Scotia to minimize the impact of their metal theft legislations on our industry, and argued the industry’s case to Alberta MLA Quest as he prepared to introduce a metal dealers act in that province. In B.C. we succeeded in reducing the number of restricted materials and eliminating reporting requirements for industrial and dealer-to-dealer transactions. Nova Scotia has not yet set regulations for their legislation, but the Ministry has agreed to evaluate the amount of theft and the law’s success within a couple of years. MLA Quest’s bill was killed on the floor of the Legislature.
Earlier this month the federal government introduced the Fair Rail Freight Service Act (Bill C-52), which addresses many of the concerns CARI and other members of the Coalition of Rail Shippers brought to the government. The new Act includes the right to a service level agreement, a dispute settlement mechanism and significant penalties to the railways for non-compliance.
CARI is also looking forward to 2013, and for new ways we can improve the social and economic position of our members. I’m sure many of you have recently planned your budgets for the year ahead and I encourage you take advantage of the cost-cutting programs available to CARI members. Many members are benefitting from CARI’s group rates for Property and Casualty Insurance with Cowan Insurance and for Health Benefits Insurance with Agro Insurance. Not only do these programs offer reduced rates for CARI members, they are administrated by people who know and understand our industry. CARI members can also join the NASCO-OP purchasing co-operative for free, and save money when they purchase their equipment and supplies. And the Petro-Canada SuperPass gives CARI members a welcome 2.4 cents/litre discount on gas or diesel. Participating in these cost-cutting programs makes good business sense; they are one of the great benefits to CARI membership.
We are also planning to have a little fun next year. We’re already preparing the popular networking and business-building events that you all love: our 72nd Annual Convention in Halifax, our National golf tournament at Glen Abbey, and consumers’ night at the Hyatt Regency in Toronto. I look forward to seeing you at one or all of these events in 2013. Until then, I wish all CARI members a very happy new year.
Dennis Cebula
President
BEST PRACTICES
In response to B.C.’s new provincial bylaw that limits cash payment to $50, scrap dealers have been writing more cheques. This method of payment has created another issue, which one CARI member brought to our attention:
“Most customers simply deposit our checks into their accounts, however some of them cash the checks at our bank. We’ve had a policy with our bank that they contact us when someone tries to cash one of our checks. This policy came in handy the other day as someone tried to cash one of our checks without matching identification. When the teller told the person she had to call us to verify, the person snatched the check and left the bank. Luckily for us our bank followed procedure and no fraud occurred.”
Keeping this in mind, those businesses issuing cheques to their customers should consider applying a similar policy with their banks.
MEMBER ACTIVITY
CARI member BENLEE has acquired Dunright Trailer Manufacturing. Dunright has been a manufacturer of roll-off trailers and roll-off trucks since 1976. The new combined company will be known as BENLEE DUNRIGHT.
FAST FACTS
- Novelis has begun construction of a $250 million aluminium recycling and casting centre at its plant in Nachterstedt, Germany, adjacent to its existing aluminium rolling mill. The company says this will be the world’s largest aluminum recycling centre, and they expect to produce 400,000 tonnes of aluminium sheet ingot from recycled material annually.
 Last year the steel recycling rate in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 92%. More than 85 million tons of scrap steel was consumed by steel-making furnaces. According to the Steel Recycling Institute, the recycling rate for steel packaging also reached an all-time high of 70.8%, and more than 1.5 million net tons of steel recycled. The automobile recycling rate was 94.5%, and appliance recycling was at 90%. Construction rates also held steady with a 98% recycling rate for construction plates and beams, along with a 70% rate for construction rebar.
- The Spanish steel association says Spain recycles more domestic steel than any other European country. The European average for domestic steel recycling is 50% and the worldwide average is 40%, while Spain recycles 80.6% of its domestically produced steel. Spain produced less steel in 2011 than in the previous year, but internal demand for scrap remains high
- China’s crackdown on imported waste plastic has already made an impact on the industry. Some plastics recyclers say their imports have dropped as much as a third. Last year Guangzhou and other ports in Guangdong province began a pilot program with customs officials where imports of waste plastic where closely scrutinized. The result of the crackdown has been higher costs and more difficulty clearing customs. The government says these restrictions are intended to reduce pollution and increase safety as many of the recycling plants are operated by farmers with basic technology. According to customs figures, recycled plastic imports through Guangzhou’s port dropped 52 percent in the first half of the year, however, imports through other ports actually increased in the first six months. China’s government says this program will be expanded across the country.
- Facing legal challenges from the Ontario Convenience Stores Association and the Canada Plastic Bag Association, Toronto City Council rescinded its decision to ban plastic bags in retail operations. The ban was due to begin on January 1, 2013. However, the city had also added plastics bags to its curbside recyclables collection program, which created confusion about the status of plastic bags.
- The Province of Manitoba is considering an amendment to the Waste Reduction and Prevention Act that would ban certain dangerous materials from landfills. The province will consult with stakeholders early in the new year to determine the specific materials covered by the ban. Suggested materials include used oil, used antifreeze, lead-acid batteries and other automotive products like tires. Manitoba has also released a new smartphone app and website called Eco-Depot (www.ManitobaEcoDepot.ca). The app provides a map of collection depots for recyclables such as electronic waste, paint, tires, batteries, and compact fluorescent lamp bulbs.
- ISRI says the U.S.’s proposed national Metal Theft Prevention Act will create confusion and redundancy by duplicating but not overriding state metal theft laws. The Association does support the provision in the bill that designates certain types of metals theft as a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. ISRI had been working with the senator who introduced the bill, advocating for a “thieves only” bill that included this provision. The proposed Act would require scrap metal dealers to keep records of metal purchases for two years and make them available to law enforcement agencies. It would also impose a $100 cash limit on all scrap metal purchases. ISRI had instead pushed for the bill to permit recyclers to use ATM-style cash dispensers that would photograph peddlers for the transaction record.
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