The Straight Scoop

Staying Strong

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:59:00 +0000

Markets for waste paper and cardboard continue to stay strong into a month that historically sees markets drop off. Most cardboard markets are usually stronger in the early fall preparing for the holiday purchasing of boxes containing products we may purchase toward the end of the year. What does this mean? The overall economy is starting to come out of its slump? More consumer goods buying? Maybe a little of each.

History has shown that this time of the year these board mills are announcing holiday down time, but not this year. What is happening? Let’s go back a few months and maybe find the reason.

When our economy was in a serious slump, not that it isn’t bad today, you and I weren’t too anxious to buy appliances, furniture, televisions which may require cardboard boxes. As a result, the boxes, once used were not finding their second life as scrap cardboard to once again be shipped to these board mills. Most recycler’s inventory is nil, so, with any running time, the board mills need inventory of waste paper. Therefore, they can’t afford downtime and not build an inventory. Make sense?

We are an industry governed for the most part by supply and demand. With exporting to China slowing way down because they now have their fill from paying extravagant prices, domestic levels may become somewhat balanced over the next few months. We will see.

Exciting Future!

noreply@blogger.com (Christy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:47:00 +0000

We apologize for the absence in updating our blog, but the last few months have been too fast and furious. Our industry appears to be changing daily and it’s very difficult to keep up with everything.

Needless to say, paper and plastics have rebounded nicely, certainly not to the ridiculous markets of 2008, nor the rollercoaster drop of 2009, but we are in a market that everyone can be successful, material is moving and supply and demand are more in balance.

We have made some great changes, and are involved in some exciting ventures proving to have great potential early on. GER is moving more towards developing markets for materials not being marketed do to contamination, multiple components, etc. We have made steady strides and are developing the reputation as the company to go to when everyone else says it can’t be done.

Our sister company, Industrialbags.com, Inc. has taken on a line of biodegradable and compostable bags and films. We have a major relationship with the world’s largest manufacturer, and the only supplier accepted by From the Earth and the Biopreferred web sites launching in just a couple of weeks. Take a look at www.Industrialbags.com when you have a minute. Great site and fun to navigate with ease.

Let's recycle our pride and work together!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:44:00 +0000

Well well, our fickle industry is backing off pricing for cardboard and a few other grades of paper. Many of the domestic mills realized that pushing the price sky high was not the answer to attract more tonnage, and now they must slow their building of inventories which are bulging at the seams. So, the markets are correcting themselves in light of this, export consumers not chasing the domestics and the weather improving which permits wood generation in the Southeast.

Someone once told me, your profits are made on the buy, not the sale. Hopefully not many recyclers bought on come only to be left holding the bag.

On another note, our trade magazines and several conventions are providing major information on successful recycling programs for cities such as ours which unfortunately doesn’t have a residential program. The absolute key to success is letting the experts in their respective fields work hand in hand with solid waste districts, such as SWACO in Columbus and the cities politicians. I certainly do not know how to run a landfill or balance the cities deficits, no more than SWACO has a clue about recycling. It is time to step down from the grandstand, swallow some pride and work together as a team.

March Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:59:00 +0000

So much for domestic or export markets leveling off, or even slowing down. March markets came out with prices reflecting supply and demand exceeding the pre recession prices. Cardboard and certain other types of paper for recycling shot up $30.00—37.00/ton.

What does all this mean? It means that the lack of consumer spending trickles down to the lack of scrap cardboard and other grades, and the demand by off shore markets, and certainly some domestic mills is causing this huge uptick. It appears that the domestic markets are stronger than the export markets, actually causing these off shore buyers to raise their prices to keep up with our demand. Let’s not forget the weather, especially in the East and South, more than hampering harvesting trees for their fiber.

So, let’s hope that spring weather is conducive to tress harvesting, supply becomes a bit more available, and things get back in balance. If not, I fear that when the markets cool, these astronomical prices could tumble in a bit of a free fall.

Bad Luck – Incompetence or Sabotage; We report, You decide.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:46:00 +0000

It is long past time that someone needs to do an in-depth review of SWACO’s high profile development projects. Most if not all of the projects appear to be stalled. SWACO has ceremoniously broken ground, issued press releases, posted picture on their website, distributed newsletters and hyped the heck out of all of these projects. If you buy all this hype you would think great things are happening. The reality is none are operational to any extent reducing what is going to landfills or producing significant energy or creating jobs. It is either a most improbable string of bad luck or SWACO is totally incompetent as developers or being more cynical they have methodically “killed” off these projects for reasons only known to them. We think the truth is a little of the last two. Whatever the reason, SWACO has effectively killed off or delayed these projects at great expense to the taxpayer. In chronological order:

Grossman Recycling

SWACO harassed this recycling company, threatening it with breach of contract, etc. for doing what SWACO wanted to do; for what SWACO is supposed to do: RECYCLE. An unfortunate fire ended the opportunity for this company to grow at the SWACO site; but, did SWACO lend a helping hand?.....No, they continued to harass Grossman until they effectively drove the company away.

Kurtz Bros. and Ohio Mulch

Here again SWACO has a history of harassing their own contractors to the point of breaking the deal. The feud between these companies and SWACO spilled over into the public spotlight briefly, but was quickly covered in a pile of compost. Why does SWACO do this harassment? SWACO says to save money; they take a holier than thou attitude of being good stewards of the taxpayer’s money….but there is more to this than is visible…..one needs to dig into the emails to find the rest of the story.

Rastra

In SWACO style there was there was a big ground breaking celebration for this innovative “green” building material at which they gave away polystyrene ice chests as souvenirs (find out how much that cost and what they did with their over-purchase). They made a really big deal about this. Now, less than a year later a $2 million building sits empty and idle at the former Trash Plant site. SWACO is in a lawsuit with Rastra. There is little hope this project will get back on track. Meanwhile, SWACO pays taxpayer dollars for an empty building. The highly touted job creation project to recycle plastic and save all that landfill space is dead and no one seems to care. Who is paying back the loan to the State of Ohio? How does SWACO intend to proceed? What are they going to do with a brand new building that is sitting idle at the site of the former Trash Plant? How ironic is it that SWACO knocked down the former Trash Plant that was losing money and then built a brand new multimillion dollar building in its place that is losing money.

Green Solutions Technology

This is a project with the idea to clean up the water from the landfill that SWACO currently sends to the City of Columbus Wastewater treatment plant. This was the subject of a recent highly publicized announcement that SWACO and Green Solutions was the recipient of multiple millions of job stimulus funds.

Here is what is said on SWACO’s website:

SWACO’s Board of Trustees announced the institution of a new Emerald’s category for the 2009 awards. “The Chairman’s Award” was presented to Green Solutions Technologies. Trustees Chairman Bradley Frick presented the award to company founder Brad Malatesta. “Brad is a green pioneer who is cleaning up our environment and bringing new jobs to Central Ohio through his ground breaking technology.” Malatesta was instrumental in helping bring federal stimulus money for a revolutionary onsite water treatment plant at SWACO’s Franklin County landfill. He is also helping to install a first-of-a-kind treatment facility at Port Columbus that will recycle the de-icing fluid used on airplanes.

The reality is the project is stalled. Why? What is going on behind the scenes? Will the project ever come to fruition? The Chairman of the Board of SWACO personally gave the company an award for bringing federal stimulus money for a water treatment plant at the landfill. Where is the money and when are they going to build this thing. Someone needs to get the facts out on the table.

It is believed that this project is also “dead in the water” and that $5 million of federal job stimulus funds are literally have been flushed down the drain by SWACO.

Green Energy Center – Firmgreen Fuels

This is another award winning project. Here is what is said on SWACO’s website:

SWACO’s Green Energy Center has received a “Project of the Year” award from the U.S. EPA. The honor was presented at the U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) annual conference in Baltimore January 13, 2009. The Green Energy Center transforms gas from SWACO’s Franklin County Landfill into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicle fuel as well as energy for a 250 kW micro-turbine which provides electricity for the Grove City, Ohio facility. The Center is a public-private partnership with FirmGreen Inc.

This project went “live” in September 2008, almost a year ago at a huge ribbon cutting ceremony. The project is supposed to take landfill gas, clean it to high purity natural gas with the idea of selling the gas and making some electricity. Here we go again with a job stimulus project which would never have been built or is it feasible without a subsidy from the federal government to the tune of almost $2 million. But, what is actually happening to the gas that is being cleaned by the highly touted Green Energy Center. Have SWACO produce data, charts, graphs, etc. for how much gas leaves the landfill, enters the Green Energy Center, is cleaned then turned into CNG that is sold into the marketplace. How much gas is recovered? How much is sold? And how much is simply burned in their flare with no energy recovery. The belief is that almost one year after their grand opening; they are still burning with no energy recover most of the gas. If anyone actually calculated the total real cost of the gas that is produced and used it would be exorbitant compared to conventional fuels. This is in part because they never figured out how they would cost-effectively distribute the gas.

2010 Slow Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:31:00 +0000

2010 has started off with a increasing lack of supply for the demands that the paper and plastic consumers are placing on them. Prices have moved up proportionately, and while we do not anticipate huge jumps like we saw last year, we do see a steady recovery with few bumps along the way.

When you combine the demand with our weather most of the country has experienced which hampers collections and overall generation, it is fairly easy to see how this is causing the shortage. The general economy, improving manufacturing, greater distribution, increased recycling programs that are now sustainable with the help of higher prices and markets and some shortages of export containers, all add to improving markets.

This will not continue and could flatten out over the next few months, but with the adverse supply factors, markets should remain stable. While we have seen fairly steady improvements and the re-capturing of pricing by demand, let’s keep in mind that we still remain far below the highs attained in the late months of ’08. Also keep in mind that those markets were unrealistically high, and doubtful we will be back to them any time in the near future.

The economy has a very long way to go in recovery. These improvements we’ve all seen are wonderful, but with hundreds of thousands of people out of work, many markets way off the pace such as housing and the failures that have happened, and will continue this year, it will be some time for stability.

On a local note, I would be remiss not to mention that our solid waste authority, SWACO who continuously seeks the publicity and hoopla of recycling but never, or at least rarely mentions their failures, has now announced that their local, highly publicized JITTERS program will end in March of this year. Interesting that they didn’t have the same hoopla with this failure as well as four other private companies that unfortunitly failed or never got off the ground after SWACO promised the moon. How long will Columbus put up with all this? It is really sad.

Christmas Season Recycling

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:26:00 +0000

As we near the end of 2009, I think it best to simply say this year was primarily flat in terms of pricing and marketing for scrap paper and plastic. Sure there were some upward trends and certainly some recovery from a year ago, but overall most of the supply and demand is in decent balance.

Various regions of the country saw somewhat different trends. If it was weather in the Southeast shortening the supply of OCC, a slowdown of exporting out of the various ports or the overall doldrums of the economy, there just wasn’t a lot of excitement.

There are mills in the Northeast and some in the Southeast who are a bit concerned over supply and are building inventories. Do the suppliers have the product? We’ll know soon enough after the Christmas season what comes out or not because so much is based on what you and I buy retail and recycle the cartons.

Our company made major strides coming off of a year of re-building after our fire. With extra efforts and working double time, we were able to survive, increase our customer base and yes, increase our overall volumes as a result. We overcame the attrition of not our customers, but their volumes, and are sitting in the best position we have been in years.

All of us at our respective companies wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season.

The Perfect Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Some call the current markets for scrap paper the “perfect storm”. The calm before what could amount to rapidly rising cardboard and other grades early next year. Actually, things have been a little quiet for months. We have gone out of our way to create alternative markets for all of the materials being offered to us, keeping them out of land fills. Alternative markets don’t necessarily follow conventional supply and demand markets, so the opportunity to increase our business and reduce customers hauling and land fill costs are great.

Our sister company, Industrialbags.com is trying to increase their volumes for supplying industrial and commercial plastic bags, lumber wrap and various films. We prefer to work only with domestic suppliers and manufacturers so we have to be quite creative to offset foreign pricing, which always seems a little lower, as is their quality.

Give us the opportunity of working with you on marketing any difficult to market item(s), complete destruction of any materials or supplying most poly bags and wraps.

Rollercoaster Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:04:00 +0000

What a roller coaster market we seem to be in. Less than a month after most grades of paper and plastic continued climbing, some have cooled off, while the unexpected ones continue to rise. It is almost impossible to forecast, except to possibly say we continue in a tough economy, there has been some improvements but we have a long way to go.

Markets appear to be in balance between supply and demand, which is a treat if we think back to a year ago and the free fall.

Local efforts to re-build on recycling projects that has taken years to put together and were hurt with last year’s market downturn, are once again in jeopardy, but this time because of a small item called flow control.

In Columbus we have a board of trustees that controls the agency SWACO, our solid waste authority whose revenues come from tipping fees, in other words, dump charges on every ton of garbage, recyclables, etc. that gets into the landfill. Years ago they permitted, through waivers, haulers and recyclers to haul trash out of county for processing, recycling and some land filling. With the economic downturn they claim their revenue has dropped and they may be bankrupt by the end of next year. What do they do, send notices out that the waivers will end by 12/31/09. They want more trash!!

There isn’t one member of the board or in an executive position at SWACO with a solid background in hauling, recycling or operating a private business. They only know how to play the political game saying “we are SWACO, we can do what we want”. Don’t we all wish life was that easy?

September Tital Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Just as many of us thought supply and demand were heading back into balance, September rolls in like a tidal wave of demand. Almost all paper grades went up from $5.00 to $20.00 per ton, a significant increase, the higher end grades went up as much as $50.00 per ton.

What is this showing us? With some of the exporting slowing a bit due to customs becoming far more stringent, especially in China, along with balances more in line, our domestic mills are becoming stronger and their demand is increasing. What does this mean? Could it be that the economy is finally making a turn for the better? Keep in mind that waste paper goes into making cartons and other paper products that will be in demand just a few months from now. Therefore, might many mills be seeing their orders increasing based on real demands in the near future?

I would be remiss to not acknowledge that our company, Grossman Environmental Recycling, Inc. just won The Best Recycling Company in Columbus, something each of us are very proud of. We thank Columbus and the readers of C.E.O. Magazine who was responsible for this voted award.

In Like A LION

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:30:00 +0000

August came in like a lion with regards to most grades of scrap paper. Fueled in large part by export demands, cardboard/OCC increased by $5.00 to $15.00 per ton in most markets. Many of the domestic paper mills are claiming they are in good shape based on supply and demand; however, several mills in the Southwest are paying premiums to bring in raw materials out of the Midwest.

The gap between exporting of cardboard and domestic consumption is widening. Domestic, Southeast mills are paying approximately $80.00 to $85.00 per ton, while exporting out of that region is approaching $125.00/ton. This same situation was the catalyst for vastly increasing pricing over the last couple of years leading up to the collapse when the exporters pulled back overnight and our general economy was worsening day by day. Let’s think caution this second time around.

Perception.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Perception--- A way of understanding or interpreting something; accurately, or inaccurately might be the facts.

This is what is going on in our industry at the present time. Of course we acknowledge a recession, less recyclables coming out, and just maybe the demand is starting to improve. Is it real? Are economic changes occurring for the better?

The stock market is saying so. Will that last? No one knows for sure, but what we all know, is if we all sit back and just talk about how bad things are, no one is doing anything, the public is not spending, etc., then no, nothing will happen for the better. But, if we are positive, the glass is really half full, we use our talents which have been fine tuned over these past few months, then maybe, just maybe, we can watch things improve, which they should.

Perception!

Central Ohio Landfilling

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:38:00 +0000

When central Ohio's landfill near Grove City opened its gates to surrounding counties, officials were sure they could lure more paying customers with a big bargain.

For just a dollar extra per ton, private haulers could avoid trucking trash halfway across the state.

The $36.50 per ton that the outside garbage would generate for the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio would plug a $1.5 million hole in this year's $32 million operating budget.

How does $1 per ton generate $1.5 million of profit to plug the hole? If Charging $36.50 per ton on the tonnage they now get loses them $1.5 million then how will $1 per ton more on the 60,000 tons that Mills says needs (see below) get them back even. This math does not work. Someone should dig into this and find out what is going on.

"We sat down individually with each company and explained what we were trying to do," said Ron Mills, SWACO's executive director. He figured haulers would seize the savings.

This shows his total lack of understanding of the market. If they can’t figure this out, how can anyone trust that they are going to come up with another scheme that is better?

But six weeks later, not a single one has taken the offer. So today, SWACO officials told private haulers that they're considering Plan B: Bring us your trash or we'll force you to use our landfill.

SWACO's board told Mills to begin talking with private haulers about imposing flow control, meaning that garbage collected within SWACO's central Ohio area would have to go to its landfill in Jackson Township near Grove City.

Did the Board do this by resolution? Did all Board members agree with this?

Currently, haulers take about 25 percent of central Ohio garbage to their private landfills.

Mills figures he doesn't need all that trash to operate in the black; recapturing just 60,000 of the 350,000 tons that 19 haulers truck off each year would balance SWACO's books.

How is SWACO going to manage who gets to go out and who is subject to the flow control. It is leaving now for only one reason: IT IS CHEAPER. Are they going to pick winners and losers? Make some haulers stay in the county and let others go out?

But that could cost other communities, said Kathy Trent of Waste Management, which owns a landfill near Newark.

"We have about 4,000 customers in Franklin County, and we own and operate a transfer station in Canal Winchester, and what you're talking about could impact their communities, too," Trent said.

Canal Winchester collects fees for hosting the transfer station. Waste Management is the largest garbage exporter in the county, trucking out 169,000 tons in 2008.
Haulers are allowed to do so under waivers granted by SWACO. Those waivers, however, expire Dec. 31, and SWACO could instead require that the local landfill be used.
Bradley N. Frick, chairman of SWACO's board of trustees, said SWACO must notify haulers this fall if it intends to make a change.

This fall is too late. Some communities and private companies are looking at bids and proposals now as they plan next year’s budget. The sheer uncertainty causes prices to be higher.

Until now, the waivers have been a good deal for both sides. Happy haulers don't file lawsuits, and each ton of trash dumped elsewhere preserves the lifespan of SWACO's landfill. SWACO still collects a $5-per-ton generation fee, no matter where the trash is buried.

SWACO also collects the Waiver Fee which goes to pay off the Trash Plant debt no matter where the waste is dumped. So this entire issue has nothing to do with recycling, yard waste, household hazardous waste, education, trash plant debt, Rastra, blah blah blah. It has to do with the COST of running the SWACO landfill. The costs are higher than they were expected; the costs are higher than they need to be; and revenues are down. So their only solution is to force people to pay more. When is anyone going to look at their costs and why they are higher? The board made a strategic decision to take over running the landfill.

But trash receipts have plunged. Dumping is expected to be down by 60,000 tons this year as people buy less and throw away less.

There is another huge reason that the reported has missed and SWACO is not disclosing. Their cost are higher than they predicted. Why are they higher? Because when Waste Management ran the landfill for them, there could be drops if waste receipts of hundreds of thousands of tons and waste management by contract could not charge them more money. SWACO covered their risks by pushing that to the private sector. Now, they have assumed all the risk and it is being balanced on the backs of the waste generators. This did not need to happen and can be fixed by contracting for landfill services by the private sector. It is an option that at least should be explored and more importantly should be drilled into by the reporter. There are other reasons for this dilemma that are not being disclosed. This is a cost issue not only a revenue issue. No one is willing to talk about costs. How do they spend their money on salaries, benefits, perks, etc. They just bought out a bunch of people with early retirement and are hiring the same people or positions back. Doesn’t make sense. Look at costs.

To recoup lost revenue, SWACO's board approved a plan in May to accept trash from outlying counties. Trustees said they'd rather trade landfill life to avoid raising dumping fees, which large customers such as the city of Columbus can't afford.
"All we have to do is not renew the waivers," Mills said.

This is a very arrogant attitude. The last time they did this they got sued big time by MidAMerica Waste and got their funds tied up for years. They should take a more “hat in hand” attitude and work with haulers and be more inclusive to have them help solve problems to get back to a win win including allowing more recycling and waste reduction. This is not good.

SWACO is essentially saying to the community that the number one priority is to send waste to the landfill and reducing reliance on landfills is secondary at best. But, SWACO was created to reduce reliance on landfills. It is right in the Ohio Revised Code. They have a plan that shows that. They are violating everything they were established for.

They are worried about raising tipping fees. In 1994 the tipping was more than doubled and all the communities including Columbus agreed to that because the amount of waste landfilled went down by over 80 percent.

Having cheap landfills is not the only way to save money. Even in the face of increasing tip fees if Columbus, the suburbs and businesses would reduce their waste they can save money. With higher fuel costs, people conserve gas, drive less, buy more fuel efficient automobiles, etc. Then the market drove costs down. Simply keeping costs the same and supplying more waste does not help long-term conservation efforts or costs as we will simply run out of landfill sooner and have higher long term costs. SWACO is supposed to figure this out and lead the way. They are going to the wrong way.

Finally, they are taking a defeatist attitude. They are saying to the community that with the priority of filling the landfill we can only recycle after we have filled the landfill. They have artificially set a cap on how much waste we can recycle because everything must go to the landfill and we can recycle only what is left. This is again wrongheaded.

What is in store for July?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:49:00 +0000

As we move into July we are continuing to notice some small, but definite improvements in the industry. Corrugated box shipments are improving ever so slightly, but improving. Paper mills will be taking a bit more down time in July, historically a month for vacations and change over for new products. Several of the larger paper mills continue to use up inventories and are now beginning to buy ever so slowly.

Our industry will recover, but it will take quite some time. Far too many supermarkets, communities and solid waste authorities have stopped much of their recycling efforts because the markets and consumption are simply not there at this time. My feeling is they should continue recycling, work to develop other alternative outlets for their products. It would be a real shame for so many to completely give up what took so long to develop without exploring every option.

We believe that once we get through July we may see a little better improvement in markets, but the jury remains out on that.

Lean, Mean, Fightin' Machine.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Ok, June has arrived, and with it we see higher pricing for most waste paper items. Actually, we see increases of anywhere from 5 to 30% price increases. Some of us may say markets are still too low, we can’t make money processing, etc. This may be true in a few cases, but frankly, an increase is an increase, and it is pointing to stronger demand from our consumers.

Sure, we have a long way to go for all of us to be happy, but wouldn’t you agree that 2008 was unrealistically priced too high for most consumers, and yes, November, 2008 the bottom fell out signaling a serious need for adjustments based on the economy, supply and demand. Maybe this is happening.

Many mills remain in trouble, with bankruptcies occurring every month. Most of the mills will come out leaner, and stronger than ever, and we as suppliers must do the same. Things will level out over the next many months. There isn’t an overnight fix, but we are heading in the right direction, and for this we may want to be positive, and more focused.

Simply Put

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Simply put, the recovered scrap paper industry is in one of the worst global financial market in history. World demand and paper generation is at a all time low. When the demand for consumer goods is down, the need for packaging is down, and when these are both down, the supply of scrap paper and board are down.

Far too many major paper mills, converters and distributors are in bankruptcy or about to be. Credit is tighter than it has been in decades and most account receivables are extended to longer terms than we’ve seen in years.

Couple all of this with the inadequate solutions for recovered recyclables that are now not being consumed as intended, and you will see our landfills building again. We all need to work together to reverse these trends. We need to think and act positively, yet responsibly, develop alternative solutions for much of the efforts many of us worked so hard to develop in recovering and selling these materials, and last of all, get the politicians out of the mix and bring back the business people who know what is needed for success.

Earth Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:52:00 +0000

As we celebrated our 39th Earth Day, many of us thought about how we can do our part to improve our world for today and tomorrow. Paper recycling is a valuable reminder of how communities, businesses and environmentalists can do great things by working together.

In 1990 the paper recycling industry established its first goal of recovery. Last year roughly 56% of all paper consumed in this country was recovered for recycling. This was a growth rate of 85% since 1990. Our goal for 2012 is 60%. Each percentage point increase toward this goal makes a huge difference, equating to one million tons, enough to fill more than 14,000 rail cars. Recycling paper is a valuable commodity in making new paper products, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from avoided methane emissions from landfills.

America must maintain its efforts to accomplish the recovery goals in spite of the economic downturn which threatens our recycling efforts. We must strive to not only capture more paper for recycling, but continue our efforts to find alternative uses for these recovered products.

Positive or Negative?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Wow, April already and so much uncertainty exists in our industry. We are unable to get through a day without hearing about another paper mill laying off people or shutting down. The box manufacturers are obviously in the same boat, cutting back production, lying off employees when necessary or in some instances, closing all together.

The plastic industry isn’t much better, as all of this is consumer driven, and in today’s economy it is tough to go out and look at unnecessary purchasing when so many of us struggle to just make ends meet.

So, what are our companies doing during these times? We are growing, and intend to continue along those paths. The country did not come to a stop. People still shop, buy things, eat, go to movies and have popcorn, get out and enjoy Spring, and yes, even buy or need a lot of consumer goods. Sure, we are all a lot smarter with our spending, but we are spending, and when we do, we generate waste paper and scrap plastics, items we recycle.

Too many recyclers and consumers are hurting, in part because they took advantage of higher priced export pricing over the last few years, now only to find our domestic partners are supporting those of us who supported them. Fortunately, our companies are in the latter group, and because of that, we are seeking out new accounts, additional volumes to recycle and opportunities of working with all of the available institutions, companies, communities, etc. who still need and want to recycle.

We all have a choice, that being to think positive or negative. We are a very positive company and are looking for positive partners.

Heading into Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:39:00 +0000

Ok, we’re approaching the end of February and it does appear that there may be a sliver of light at the end of the recycling tunnel.

There were increases in both demand and pricing for several of the bulk grades a couple weeks ago, which could continue well into the Spring.

Some people said “no big deal, only a $10.00 per ton increase”, but come on, that was almost a 50% increase in value. That’s nothing to sneeze at.

A lot of grades of paper and plastic didn’t change, which could be a good sign from the landslides over the past few months. We need to concentrate on finding alternative uses for many of the items that are kept out of landfills. If not, during weak markets the recyclers and solid waste authorities will find much of this back where it started as they can’t afford to process.

Our company is still trying to get out from the entire unbelievable amount of internal work that comes with a devastating fire. The fire report was finished and closed, but for the life of me I’d think the landlord should have some responsibility for securing water that was properly working for our site. Ohh well, politics at work.

Sloppy Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Christy) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:15:00 +0000

As January is about to end we are seeing a sliver of light through all of the accumulated bales of paper, plastic, etc. that have been in storage because the markets became so sloppy. Naw, not actually sloppy, it became almost non existent, especially for all the recyclers and brokers who took advantage of the export markets premium pricing only to be left out of significant domestic movement because of lack of support for those markets when they were called upon.

Ok, many of us are guilty of seeking out the highest prices, banking the premiums paid and now scurrying to find homes. Homes are starting to open up a bit, but who knows if it’s real, or just a tease. We’ll sure know in the next couple of months.

We need hard and soft covered books for destruction/recycling at our facilities in Tenn. and Wisc. Actually, we are very fortunate and looking for just about any grade of paper, plastic or items that are being liquidated and need recycled instead of land filled.

Back to the Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Now that the start of the New Year has come and gone, many of us are wondering what this first quarter will bring related to scrap paper, plastics, metals, aluminum, etc. Will prices continue the free fall? Will demands start to turn providing at least a partial home for so much of these items that are accumulating and most assuredly will begin finding their way back into landfills? Will exporting become a means of marketing once again? Will far too many of us once again chase the inevitable export premium pricing only to potentially have the rug pulled out from under us?

Think about this. Let’s turn these recyclable commodities into something other than what most of us have been doing, recycling back into plastics, paper, metal, etc. GER has always been a leader in making markets for the difficult to market. Now we need to get on the bandwagon and find alternative markets for the common materials and not rely on conventional processes.

What is ahead for the reycling industry?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:08:00 +0000

As we approach the year end, I reflect back on 2008 and try to understand what things may look like for 2009.

The skyrocketing markets over that last few years sure came to a screeching halt the end of October and the beginning of November. Everyone is singing the blues, but too many of us seem to forget in such a short time the unrealistically high prices for all scrap paper, plastics, etc. came crashing down. Why? Supply and demand, the driving forces, both ways. When off shore sales were going through the roof at premiums to the generators, far too many of us became greedy. Now their demands have cooled for the foreseeable future, thus an over supply forcing a rapid decline.

Let’s look at something else. Get green. Carbon footprint. Sustainable. All these great buzzwords that surfaced over the last few years had an admirable effect on developing tonnage that had been going to land fills. Ok, that’s great, but where does it go when their isn’t a demand?

We need a balance of supply and demand. We need to try and work with our domestic partners and not becoming greedy when China and other countries pay the premiums simply because they have such an economic imbalance to us with labor, overhead, etc.

2009 will be interesting with a lot of adjustments well into the second quarter. We have many lean months ahead of us where we need to re-focus our efforts away from just keeping waste that can be recycled out of land fills, but developing new outlets for these materials. Grossman Environmental Recycling saw this trend well in advance of October and have been re-focused. Feel free to bring your waste items that may be building up without markets to us for our thoughts. We certainly don’t win all of the time, but we will not sit back and cry, we will do whatever it takes to work on your behalf.

Welcome to the Recycling Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Grossman) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:19:00 +0000

Welcome to the first comments in our new blog. Grossman Environmental Recycling, Inc. (GER) is our newest company dedicated to all aspects of recycling, minimization of solid waste, consulting for the development of both small and large commercial, industrial and community recycling efforts.

The Grossman family of companies stretches back to 1965, the year we moved forward with the concept of recycling paper and plastic, almost forty years before most of us heard about carbon footprints, sustainability, becoming green or environmentally friendly. Over the years a lot has changed with recycling besides the adoption of the newest buzzwords, especially when we look at the costs of operations, markets for each of these recyclables, and the awareness the public now has. In the next few weeks we will touch on some of these changes and certainly welcome your input and questions.

Let me leave you with something to ponder until we meet again. Over the last few years most of us have heard nothing but recycle for a better world, reduce what goes into our landfills because we only have so much land, save a tree, etc. and so on.

Our markets are in unprecedented times. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc. about recycling now and idfeas for keeping it viable for the stretch? Is “green” for real, or just a catchy market buzzword?