EPA Confirms Plastic Recycling from Shredder Residue OK

The recycling of plastic separated from shredder residue is generally acceptable, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated in an interpretation of its regulation on the matter.

The Washington-based EPA said that the recycling of plastic from metal recycling and automotive shredder facilities are considered excluded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) products from regulation as long as the PCB concentration in any resulting product is below 50 parts per million, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) approached the EPA about the issue in 2011, asking for confirmation that separating plastics from automotive shredder residue for reuse where there is no unreasonable risk from PCBs is authorized. ISRI has developed a set of voluntary procedures designed to prevent the introduction of PCBs into recycled plastics recovered from shredder residue.