EPA Confirms Plastic Recycling from Shredder Residue OK

Allan Gerlat, News Editor

April 9, 2013

1 Min Read
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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.

 

About the Author

Allan Gerlat

News Editor, Waste360

Allan Gerlat joined the Waste360 staff in September 2011 as news editor. He was the editor of Waste & Recycling News for the first 16 years of its history, and under his guidance the publication won 27 national and regional awards.

Before Waste & Recycling News, Allan worked at another Crain Communications publication, Rubber & Plastics News, which covers rubber product manufacturing. He began with the publication as associate editor and eventually became managing editor, a position he held for nine years.

Allan is a graduate of Ohio University, where he earned a BS in journalism. He is based in Sagamore Hills, in northeast Ohio.

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