First Star Recycling is installing new sorting equipment to capture used beverage cans (UBCs) that are otherwise missorted at its material recovery facility (MRF). The new equipment is being funded by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) as part of its efforts to capture more beverage cans at MRFs. This is achieved through a finance sharing program funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings.
Capturing the Value of UBCs
MRFs, like First Star Recycling, separate single-stream recyclables. With a typical MRF, up to one in four UBCs are missorted — even though UBCs are consistently one of the most valuable commodities in the recycling stream. As part of its sustainability goals, CMI is working toward its aluminum beverage can recycling rate targets.
“While CMI and its members are proud that the aluminum beverage can is consistently the most recycled beverage container in the United States, we are committed to reaching new heights,” said Scott Breen, president of CMI. “Programs like revenue share agreements for can capture equipment result in millions of additional cans recycled and deliver a high return-on-investment.”
Leveraging the high economic value of UBCs, CMI developed a program to finance can capture equipment, in which the MRF can obtain advanced sorting equipment with no upfront cost and then pay some or all the money back by providing a share of the revenue generated from the cans captured.
The first two revenue share agreements were funded by CMI beverage can manufacturer members Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings. The funding was provided for the installation of robots from EverestLabs on “last chance recovery lines,” which are the sorted material destined to go to landfill, at a Lakeshore Recycling Systems MRF in Chicago, IL and a Caglia Environmental MRF in Fresno, CA. Both MRFs agreed to share 50% of the revenue from the cans captured with the robots.
“Investing in can capture equipment is a key component of our broader commitment to increasing recycling rates and improving the can-to-can loop,” said Sandrine Duquerroy-Delesalle, vice president of Global Sustainability and External Affairs at Crown. “By prioritizing the recovery of infinitely recyclable aluminum, we help reduce unnecessary landfill waste and increase the beverage can’s current average recycled content of 71%, ultimately contributing to a lower carbon footprint for the U.S. beverage can manufacturing industry.”
Jens Irion, CEO of Ardagh Metal Packaging, North America, added, “We are proud of this impact-driven financing. “This is a sustainable investment model whereby our initial investments in can capture technology are now catalyzing millions more beverage cans for recycling as money is returned and reinvested back into sorting equipment.”
New Eddy Current Sorting Equipment
As part of the latest revenue share agreement, a new eddy current sorting system from Green Machine will be installed at First Star Recycling’s MRF in Omaha, Nebraska, which serves all of Nebraska and parts of Iowa and South Dakota. An eddy current system will use magnetic forces to separate out non-magnetic metal — like aluminum beverage cans — from other recycled materials.
The financed eddy current machine will be the second in the facility and will be placed on the fiber line. In some cases, beverage cans are missorted to the fiber line, if they are flattened or make it past the fiber line’s optical sorter. First Star Recycling anticipates the second eddy current capturing 50 tons of UBCs a year. It is expected to be installed before the end of 2025, when it will begin capturing over 3 million UBCs per year.
The new equipment is being paid for with funding from Ardagh and Crown, as well as the revenue received from the first two revenue share agreements. Once the principal is paid back to CMI, no more payments are required, and First Star Recycling will then own the equipment, enabling the MRF to continue capturing UBCs.
“We are very excited to have this equipment, at no up-front cost to us, to capture even more aluminum beverage cans, which are a key material grade for any recycling program,” said Patrick Leahy, CEO of First Star Recycling. “We are comfortable sharing 50% of the revenue from the cans captured with this equipment and guaranteeing full payback of the principal because we are confident the equipment will pay for itself. And it feels like a way to more than pay it back but pay it forward so CMI can help even more communities capture more cans.”
First Star Recycling was formed in 1997 to strengthen Nebraska’s recycling infrastructure. The company is passionate about making it easier and more economical for communities and businesses of all sizes to recycle. Today, First Star Recycling processes nearly 100,000 of material annually, servicing all of Nebraska and parts of Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas.