The ground glass pozzolan, made by Urban Mining Industries, can be found in projects across New York and Connecticut.
For more than a decade, New Rochelle, New York-based Urban Mining Industries has been advancing a new use for recycled glass in the form of Pozzotive, a ground glass pozzolan used in concrete production. Like other artificial pozzolanic materials such as coal fly ash, ground glass can assume cement-like qualities when it reacts with a combination of water and cement. Patrick Grasso of the Grasso family, owners of Urban Mining Industries, says Pozzotive strengthens concrete and lowers CO2 emissions. In using locally sourced glass, Pozzotive also has ushered in a circular economy for the glass industry in Connecticut, where it is now being made.
Grasso, a partner with Urban Mining Industries, says his family has long been involved in the construction industry. The Grassos’ story starts more than 15 years ago with the family first obtaining a block manufacturing plant in upstate New York. After rebuilding the plant, they used it to make grey construction block. Louis Grasso Jr., Patrick’s nephew, wanted to find a way to distinguish their gray block from every other gray block made in America. After Louis was advised to include recycled content in the block, a series of trial-and-error tests were done to find a material that could meet this goal. It was decided that glass was the best choice. After realizing the use of bigger chunks of glass wasn’t the best approach, they eventually created a fine powder of ground glass that became Pozzotive.
“So, as a result of that block manufacturing plant, we were able to see the market way back then when no one else was willing to experiment with this kind of stuff,” Patrick Grasso says.
The magic of Pozzotive’s effect in concrete, Patrick Grasso says, starts with a chemical reaction when it is paired with water and cement. Before Pozzotive becomes involved, the hydration of cement introduces two key compounds. One is calcium silicate hydrate (CSH), which Grasso says is the “glue” that develops the concrete’s strength. The other product is calcium hydroxide (CH), which conversely weakens the concrete and causes porosity. When a ground glass pozzolan is introduced, it gives up a silica atom and joins the CH to become CSH. This pozzolanic reaction allows ground glass to gain cementing properties and act as a partial replacement to cement. In most mixes, Pozzotive replaces 20 or 30 percent of cement.
Initially, Pozzotive was produced in small quantities at a product validation plant in New York. Before 2022, the company was mostly focused on getting a solid footing in the pozzolan market. It took four years, Grasso says, to obtain an ASTM 1866 standard that specifically confirmed the viability of ground glass pozzolans in concrete. This process involved a committee of industry professionals that vetted and signed off on 3rd party testing done with Pozzotive.
Since its inception, Pozzotive has been used in projects at various locations, most of which are in New York and Connecticut. Some of these include the ESPN Digital Center 2, the New York Police Academy and the Second Avenue subway station in Manhattan. During the UN General Assembly Building’s renovation, 60 tons of window glass were harvested from the building and used to create pavers with Pozzotive for the UN Plaza. Grasso says smaller projects in Connecticut that have used Pozzotive, including Ox Ridge Elementary School in Darien and New Canaan Library in Canaan, particularly demonstrate the significance of Pozzotive in building a local circular economy.
In addition to supporting a circular economy, Patrick Grasso says Pozzotive addresses other challenges in the glass recycling industry: the cleaning and separating of glass and costs associated with transporting and logistics if a processor is not nearby. A common route for recycled glass is turning it back into bottles, but complications can arise in this process as the glass needs to be separated by color and any ceramics need must be removed because of their different melting temperature. The color of the glass does not affect Pozzotive, and pieces of ceramics are welcome since they are pozzolanic as well. Pozzotive also can use glass from electronics that don’t contain lead, plate glass and demolition glass. The glass is taken through a cleaning and separating process and is milled into a pozzolan that is 95 percent smaller than 325 mesh, Grasso says.
A primary issue within the cement industry, Grasso says, is CO2 emissions. Cement production accounts for about 7 percent of all global carbon emissions, and the U.S. alone uses more than 100 million tons of cement per year, he says. Twice as much concrete is used in construction than wood, plastics and aluminum combined. Even though common postindustrial cement replacements such as fly ash and slag, which is residue from steel manufacturing, can create a lower carbon concrete, Grasso says he considers postconsumer ground glass an even better replacement.
“A glass bottle is a glass bottle pretty much anywhere in the world in terms of its chemical composition … you can make a very consistent finished product because of the feedstock you’re starting with,” he says.
Grasso says that every ton of cement generates almost a ton of CO2. Urban Mining Industries has done testing to replace up to 50 percent of cement in concrete with Pozzotive, reducing the carbon footprint by almost a ton–for–ton basis of the cement it replaces, he says.
Pozzotive has other benefits that exhibit how it enhances performance of concrete along with its sustainable qualities. Concrete with greater percentages of Pozzotive feature a brighter white color, meaning it can reduce the heat island effect in urban areas, where temperatures are higher in light of a greater abundance of manufactured surfaces that absorb heat. Grasso says Pozzotive does a greater job of preventing efflorescence—when a white powdery substance bleeds out of concrete—and shrinkage, which means less cracking. He says concrete with Pozzotive is five-times more powerful in reducing moisture and chloride penetration than a straight cement mix.
“I think it’s a holistic solution, a climate solution, a health solution—avoiding heavy metals and some of these other alternatives … and the circular economy issue about really just taking regenerative waste streams regionally and putting them back into those regions,” he says.
Pozzotive has been used by different companies and organizations, including Torrington, Connecticut-based ready mix company O&G Industries. T.J. Oneglia, vice president at O&G, says he believes the use of pozzolans in general is likely on the rise in the concrete industry. Oneglia points to recent trends of using more recycled material and lowering buildings’ carbon footprint.
“I am seeing support in our local market from the designers, the architects, the engineers and also the owners and the end users of the concrete. [There is] a desire to build green, and so Pozzotive, just by its very nature, in my opinion, is greener than the other sources of materials,” Oneglia says.
Ground glass pozzolans in particular could experience higher demand due to potential supply issues with other pozzolans, Oneglia says.
He says O&G plans to continue using Pozzotive mixes, which are starting to be specified on school projects and municipal projects.
“We intend to supply it as an ingredient in our concrete wherever and whenever it’s specified,” Oneglia says. “And then, in addition to that, we intend to use it just as a part of our daily concrete when we’re able to.”
Patrick Grasso says Urban Mining Industries’ focus is now on further commercializing Pozzotive and using it for bigger projects. The first large scale Pozzotive plant was established in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, in 2021. Grasso says this is a good central location from a glass feedstock perspective and allows Urban Mining Industries to serve the greater metropolitan New York market while also expanding into the Boston market. The new facility will allow the company to produce an estimated 50,000 tons of Pozzotive, Grasso says.
“We had to go through this four-year process of getting an ASTM standard. And we’ve had to have this product in use now for over 10 years to make sure it wasn’t some fly-by-night thing, it was real. We had to have the first plant up that can produce it commercially, large scale, and so all of those steps are now in place. So, any market where there is a need of a glass solution of some reasonable size, we can be there,” he says.
VLS provides customized waste and specialty cleaning and repair services to a variety of highly regulated industries in North America.
I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investment manager, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement, through its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III, to acquire VLS Environmental Solutions (VLS) from Aurora Capital Partners.
VLS provides mission-critical, customized waste and specialty cleaning and repair services to a variety of highly regulated industries in North America. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
VLS operates two principal segments: non-hazardous industrial waste handling, treatment and sustainable disposal, as well as rail and marine specialty cleaning and repair. As one of the only nationwide providers of ESG-friendly industrial waste solutions, the company’s sustainable disposal solutions are especially attractive for customers with zero-waste-to-landfill initiatives.
The company offers a comprehensive set of waste management solutions that process industrial non-hazardous waste to create alternative engineered fuels for industrial processes, fuel for waste-to-energy generation, treated wastewater and landfill solidification.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Houlihan Lokey served as lead financial advisor, Robert W. Baird served as co-financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to Aurora Capital Partners. Jefferies LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to I Squared Capital.
Research firm says global market will reach $7.5 billion by 2030.
The New York office of India-based Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. says a predicted rise the global recycled textile market is driven by an increase in recycling operations and an increase in demand from various industries, such as the retail sector, the automotive industry and the building and construction industry.
The company’s newly released report predicts more recyclable textiles will be harvested from the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, plus more carpet, furniture fabric, footwear and “nondurable items such as sheets and towels” will be collected.
Straits Research’s study predicts the global recycled textile market size will reach $7.56 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6 percent. The research house says the global recycled textile market size was valued at $5.5 billion in 2021. “North America is anticipated to grow with the highest CAGR of 4.5 percent during the forecast period,” the firm adds.
“Environmental and economic benefits of recycled textiles include a reduction in the demand for virgin materials such as wool and cotton, pollution, and water and energy use,” Straits Research says. “Through recycling, businesses can increase their profits by avoiding the costs of dumping in landfills while simultaneously contributing to the value and quality of the environment, jobs for marginally employable laborers, charitable donations and disaster relief, and the transport of used clothing to regions of the world in need."
Straits Research lists several textile recycling firms poised to grow in the next 10 years, including India-based Khaloom Textiles Pvt. Ltd.; South Korea-based Kisco Group; India-based Anandi Enterprises; India-based Usha Yarns Ltd.; Sweden-based Renewcell AB; South Korea-based Hyosung TNC Co. Ltd.; South Carolina-based Martex Fiber Southern Corp.; Germany-based Otto Garn; South Carolina-based Leigh Fibers Inc.; and Germany-based Gebrueder Otto GmbH & Co. KG.
Based on type, the global recycled textile market is segmented by Straits Research into Recycled Cotton, Recycled Wool, Recycled Polyester, Recycled Nylon, and Others. Recycled Polyester is expected to command the largest market share during the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 3.7 percent.
Straits Research separates end markets for the global recycled textile sector into Automotive, Retail, Mining, Building & Construction and Others categories. Retail is expected to own the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 3.7 percent during the forecast period.
The facility is expected to produce about 250,000 metric million British units of carbon-negative RNG annually and process 200,000 tons of food waste annually.
Synthica Energy LLC, San Antonio, has announced the development of a new anaerobic digestion facility in northeast San Antonio. The facility will focus on converting organic byproducts from food and beverage producers into renewable natural gas (RNG).
According to a news release, Synthica’s facility is being developed at an industrial site located along IH 35 to ensure easy access to manufacturers in the region along with rail access. The project is expected to be completed in late 2024 and will produce about 250,000 metric million British units of carbon-negative RNG annually and process 200,000 tons of food waste annually.
“San Antonio, as a major food production hub in Texas, makes perfect sense as a location for our food waste-focused renewable natural gas facilities,” says Sam Schutte, Synthica Energy CEO. “An upward of 30 percent of the materials currently going into local landfills have an energy potential that is currently wasted. Using our Urban Friendly Digestion model, we can process that material safely and cleanly into an untapped energy source. We are pleased to join the San Antonio manufacturing community in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in the coming years.”
The company says the facility, along with a recently announced facility in Houston, will be the largest anaerobic digestion facility of its kind in the state. They are part of Synthica’s expansion plan to scale its model to target markets in the next five years. Engineering and design for the facility are being performed by RETTEW, an anaerobic digestion engineering consultant based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“We’re proud to welcome Synthica and the 50 new jobs they plan to add to support their new facility in San Antonio,” says Tom Long, managing director at greater: SATX Regional Economic Partnership. “Synthica is making a smart investment here in our region where they can work in partnership with our robust food and beverage manufacturing cluster to turn waste into energy.”
Tim Flanagan has been a member of SWANA since 2005.
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has selected Timothy S. Flanagan as the new president of the SWANA board of directors. As of July, Flanagan has been at the helm of SWANA’s 21-member board after Brenda A. Haney transitioned into the role of past president.
“Tim Flanagan brings a strong variety of both public and private sector solid waste experience to the board, and he will be an excellent president,” says David Biderman, SWANA executive director and CEO. “He is very passionate about solid waste, recycling, and SWANA and I look forward to working closely with him.”
President Flanagan has been a member of SWANA and the SWANA Gold Rush Chapter since 2005. He is a SWANA-certified manager of Landfill Operations and served as director of SWANA’s Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Technical Division, which he also represented on the International Board. In 2016, he was elected to SWANA’s executive board and the SMM Technical Division recognized him with its Distinguished Individual Achievement Award. Before joining SCS in February 2022, Flanagan served as general manager of Monterey Regional Waste Management District from 2015 through 2021, after 10 years as assistant general manager. He is currently serving as project director for SCS Engineers.
"It is truly an honor to be voted the president of SWANA,” Flanagan says. "I stand on the shoulders of many current and former SCS managers and directors, including past President Michelle Leonard, who helped lead SWANA to be the preeminent solid waste and recycling association in the world.”
This transition was delayed in FY 2022 in response to the pandemic. Additionally, Art Mercer has taken on the role of vice president, Tammy L. Hayes has become treasurer and Elizabeth Roe was elected to the board as secretary.
SWANA’s board of directors is responsible for setting strategic direction and overseeing the association’s operations and policy positions. The board receives input from an advisory board made up of delegates from all SWANA chapters, technical divisions, private sector groups and from Young Professional members.