News Briefs 279

WASTE AGE STAFF

ACQUISITIONS * Environmental Technologies Corp. (EVTC), Hurst, Texas, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Mercury Technologies Inc. (MTI), Allentown, Pa. MTI will merge with EVTC's Full Circle Inc. Ballast Recycling Division, New York.

* Barre Banks, former executive vice president of Midland Machinery Co. Inc., Tonawanda, N.Y., has acquired 100 percent of the company's stock shares and now is the sole owner.

AGREEMENTS * Cummins Engine Co. Inc., Columbus. Ind., has announced that Gordon Trucking, Seattle, has agreed to purchase 240 Cummins ISX engines.

* Chemical.net, Philadelphia, a new e-business resource site, has announced a partnership with Environ.com, Mesa, Ariz., an Internet environmental compliance portal.

ANNOUNCEMENT * J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers, Somerset, Pa., has added New York distributors: Truck Body Associates, Farmingdale; Amthor's Inc., Walden.; and T&T Body King, Latham.

AWARDS * Trex Co., Winchester, Va., has received the eighth annual Connecticut College Inherit the Earth Award gold medal for business for manufacturing Trex Easy Care Decking. Agro Management Group, Colorado Springs, Colo., has won the silver medal, and GreenDisc, Redmond, Wash., electronic media recyclers, has won the bronze medal.

CORRECTIONS * The specifications for International Truck and Engine Corp., Chicago, appeared incorrectly in Waste Age Product News' June issue, page 16. Following is the correct information.

International 5000i 6 X 4 : Configuration: Transfer Tractor; Wheel Base: 164" to 248" in 2" increments; BBC: 114" or 120"; GVWR: 52,350 lbs to 82,960 lbs; GCWR: 60,000 lbs to 140,000 lbs; Standard Front Axle Rating: 12,000 lbs to 20,000 lbs; Standard Rear Axle Rating: 40,000 lbs to 70,000 lbs; Standard Engine: International, Caterpillar or Cummins, from 275 hp to 600hp; Standard Transmission: Eaton-Fuller 10 speed to 18 speed, and Allison 5 speed or 6 speed

International 2000 series: Configuration: Heavy Duty, Route Truck, Roll-Off; Wheel Base: 148" to 292" in 2" increments; BBC: 112"; GVWR: 29,000 lbs to 72,000 lbs; Standard Front Axle Rating: 10,000 lbs to 20,000 lbs; Standard Rear Axle Rating: 19,000 lbs to 65,000 lbs; Standard Engine: International 530 E; Standard Transmission: Manual 7 speed to 10 speed, and Allison 5 speed or 6 speed

International 4900 6 X 4: Configuration: Rear Loader Route Truck; Wheel Base: 152" to 254" in 2" increments; BBC: 100.8"; GVWR: 44,000 lbs to 56,000 lbs; Standard Front Axle Rating: 10,000 lbs to 16,000 lbs; Standard Rear Axle Rating: 34,000 lbs to 40,000 lbs; Standard Engine: International DT 466E; Standard Transmission: Manual 7 speed to 10 speed, and Allison 4 speed to 6 speed

International 4700 4 X 2: Configuration: Recycling Truck; Wheel Base: 128" to 254"; BBC: 100.8"; GVWR: 21,500 lbs to 35,000 lbs; Standard Front Axle Rating: 6,000 lbs to 12,000 lbs; Standard Rear Axle Rating: 13,500 lbs to 23,000 lbs; Standard Engine: International T 444 E; Standard Transmission: Allison MT 643, Automatic, 4 speed

* In "Lining Up at Landfills," Waste Age May 2000, page 114, Serrot International Inc. was listed incorrectly as National Seal Co.

DENVER - Forget about wishing for one of those RVs on the road. The next RV that could catch your eye might be sitting in a shopping center parking lot.

This RV is a Reverse Vending Machine, designed to accept empty aluminum cans for recycling. The GoldCan-manufactured machine, in the shape of a giant can, weighs 5,500 pounds and is 14 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter. Made of reinforced steel, it can hold about 1,000 pounds of aluminum, the equivalent of 30,000 cans, according to Shirley Rauch Kirby, director of sales and marketing.

Users dump cans into a tray and press the button to activate the vacuum sorting system. The cans are sucked into a chute and then sorted, crushed and stored. The machine's computer system also detects glass and other metal mistakenly fed into the chute and feeds it into another cart. All recyclables are taken to the company's redemption center.

The idea for the RV came from GoldCan president, Ron Pearce, who was vice president of engineering at Coors Brewery Co., Milwaukee, for 23 years, Kirby says. He designed a similar machine there and later invested in a manufacturing operation. That operation started to fail, so Pearce bought it.

So far, seven RVs are in the Denver area, with three more to appear in the region within two months, according to Kirby. GoldCan is negotiating with potential buyers, including some state solid waste and recycling departments interested in large quantities of RVs, she says.

Aside from the quick cash users can redeem recycling cans, RVs add a donation component. Users can request that the money they would receive from the aluminum be given to one of a list of charities on each machine. For example, the RV located within half a mile of Columbine High School - the scene of last spring's deadly shooting - lists the school as a donation spot, Kirby says.

Kirby says a few similar machines are on the market, but none that sort material or donate funds to charities. "People are motivated to recycle because of the feel good [aspect of it]," she says. "If they can donate to charity at the same time, that helps people want to take that extra step and recycle."

Several municipal recycling drop-off centers also have expressed interest in the RVs because they easily sort material, according to Kirby. "At drop-off sites, when people bring in glass and aluminum and plastic, you end up with a mess," she says. "This machine will give you a clean source of aluminum, and you can therefore get the best [monetary] rate."

For information, visit GoldCan's website: www.goldcan.com