Canadian association unveils recycled aggregate research

The Toronto and Area Road Builders Association (TARBA) recently released its 2018 Aggregate Recycling by Ontario Municipalities study.

TARBA conducted the study in July and August, examining policies and practices in place in Ontario municipalities. According to the study, Ontario’s largest municipalities have “a long way to go before they can fully realize the benefits of increased use of recycled aggregate materials.”

The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association, the Heavy Construction Association of Toronto, and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario also supported the study, according to TARBA’s report.

Main takeaways from the study include:

• many large municipalities prohibit or severely limit the use of recycled aggregate materials for new roads and infrastructure;
• most large municipalities either do not allow or only allow partial use of recycled aggregate materials in the base and subbase for pavement, engineered fill and trench backfill materials, unpaved shoulders and fill under concrete slab;
• the type of projects where municipalities are most likely to allow full use of recycled aggregate materials are construction access roads and bicycle paths;
• there is a wide range in the policies and practices of large Ontario municipalities with respect to the use of recycled aggregate materials, where some have policies and practices in place which encourage greater use than others; and
• in a ranking of municipalities based on the extent to which their current policies and practices encourage the use of recycled aggregate materials, the cities of Toronto, Cambridge and Markham ranked at the top of the list and the Peel region, city of Oshawa and city of Mississauga appeared at the bottom of the list.

Toronto placed first among 20 of Ontario’s largest cities and regions for its performance in recycling concrete and asphalt. Go to tarba.org to review the full study and list of results.

US reaches new deal to replace NAFTA

The U.S., Canada and Mexico reached an agreement late on Sept. 30 to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA was first enacted in 1994 as a way to govern more than $1.2 trillion worth of trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump’s administration had been working to renegotiate NAFTA with the governments of Canada and Mexico.

As a result of the agreement, the new deal will be known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to a news report in the Washington Post. Most of the key provisions of the deal won’t go into effect until 2020 since leaders from all three countries have to sign it and then Congress and legislatures in Canada and Mexico have to approve it, the Washington Post reports.

A number of industry associations responded to share what this new deal means for the recycling industry.

Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington, offered his statement in reaction to the announcement of USMCA.

“We appreciate the administration’s hard work to reach this trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico—especially regarding measures that ensure North American steel continues to be used in automobile production,” Gibson says. “We are pleased that the agreement is trilateral, as the relationship between our three countries has been extremely beneficial for the steel industry and resulted in robust trade and investment in the region over the past 25 years. This new agreement is significant, as it will keep our manufacturing supply chains strong throughout North America.”

Regarding customs clearances, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, says it is hopeful the USMCA’s more detailed guidelines for the three governments will allow for improved border crossings, including information sharing, law enforcement collaboration and procedures for adjudicating disputes. ISRI notes that the USMCA enhances collaboration between the government to prevent illegal transshipment by outside parties.

ISRI adds that USMCA does not mention specific standards or standards bodies as preferred guidelines, so the association is “hopeful that ISRI Specifications will be acknowledged as the guidelines for scrap.”

In USMCA’s Rules of Origin, ISRI notes that waste and scrap “maintain the same origin classification as in the NAFTA in that scrap materials are considered ‘originating’ in North America if processed in one of three countries … as well as derived from used goods collected in one of the three countries for purposes of extracting raw materials.” The association notes that this aspect of USMCA is beneficial for manufacturing customers that produce goods from scrap commodities processed in North America since they will be able to include scrap as part of the new 60 percent transaction value (or 50 percent of cost) cumulation threshold for duty-free trade within North America.

The USMCA deal did not bring about the removal of 232 U.S. tariffs on steel or aluminum from Canada or Mexico. ISRI says reports indicated that those negotiations “will happen separately but no timeline was given.”

Additionally, the Arlington, Virginia-based Aluminum Association released a statement expressing its disappointment that the latest agreement didn’t include a Section 232 tariff resolution.

“The Aluminum Association is disappointed that the Section 232 aluminum tariffs were not addressed as a part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” says Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the association. “Now is the time for the United States to work with Canada and Mexico to provide a full exemption—without quotas—for aluminum imports from those countries. This should occur as soon as possible, and certainly before the final agreement is signed.”

Brock adds that integrated North American supply chains are a main reason the aluminum industry has been able to meet growing demand every year. However, she says, as the industry is in a deficit market, additional barriers in the supply chain, such as the tariffs, will threaten growth.

“The current Section 232 tariffs are hurting U.S. aluminum companies, making them less competitive on the world stage,” Brock says. “Ninety-seven percent of domestic aluminum industry jobs are in mid- and downstream production and processing. By artificially raising input prices and constraining metal supply, tariffs and quotas risk harming demand, growth and investment in the United States. We will continue to review the specifics of the agreement and work towards tariff- and quota-free trade of aluminum with our North American trading partners.”

OSHA updates National Emphasis Program on trenching and excavation safety

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated the National Emphasis Program (NEP) on preventing trenching and excavation collapses in response to a recent spike in trenching fatalities.

OSHA’s NEP will increase education and enforcement efforts while its inspectors record trenching and excavation inspections in a national reporting system. Additionally, each area OSHA office will develop outreach programs as part of the initiatives.

“Removing workers from, and helping workers identify, trenching hazards is critical,” says OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. “OSHA will concentrate the full force of enforcement and compliance assistance resources to help ensure that employers are addressing these serious hazards.”

The emphasis program began Oct. 1 and will kick off a three-month period of education and prevention outreach. During this period, OSHA will continue to respond to complaints, referrals, hospitalizations and fatalities. Enforcement activities will begin after the outreach period and remain in effect until cancellation. OSHA-approved state plans are expected to have enforcement procedures that are at least as effective as those in this instruction.

OSHA has also developed a series of compliance assistance resources to help workers avoid trenching and excavation hazards. The trenching and excavation webpage on OSHA’s website provides information on trenching hazards and solutions that workers can use to stay safe on the job.

Audrey Copeland named NAPA president and CEO

Audrey Copeland has been named the next president and CEO of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), Lanham, Maryland. She will assume the new role at the NAPA 2019 Annual Meeting in January.

Copeland succeeds Mike Acott, who has served as NAPA’s president since 1992. Over the coming months, Acott and Copeland will work together to transition the leadership of NAPA. During the transition period, Copeland will serve as NAPA’s chief operating officer.

The selection of Copeland comes after an intensive search process conducted by a succession task group comprised of NAPA members and led by Kevin Kelly, president and CEO of Walsh & Kelly Inc., Griffith, Indiana.

“We engaged in a long and very thorough search, and Audrey clearly stood out as the best person for the job,” Kelly says. “She brings a high level of expertise, passion and perspective to NAPA.”

Copeland’s selection was confirmed unanimously by NAPA’s executive committee.

“Audrey’s technical background, combined with her experience with federal agencies and her relationships with NAPA members and industry partners around the world, position her well to take on the challenges the industry faces from day one,” says Craig Parker, 2018 NAPA chairman and executive vice president of Silver Star Construction, Moore, Oklahoma. Parker also served on the succession task group.

Copeland joined NAPA in 2012 as vice president for engineering, research and technology. In that role, she has grown NAPA’s engineering team and forged strong relationships with the state Asphalt Pavement Associations; Asphalt Pavement Alliance, Orange Park, Florida; National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University in Alabama; the Asphalt Institute, Lexington, Kentucky; the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); and other industry professionals and partners. She served as technical lead for more than $2 million in industry-funded research projects. She also secured a cooperative agreement with the FHWA that has invested more than $2 million in government funding to advance asphalt technologies.

“I am honored to serve the asphalt industry as NAPA’s next president,” Copeland says. “NAPA has played an important role over the years leading the asphalt industry through challenges, guarding the industry’s interests and forging partnerships for success, all while working to foster and encourage innovation and excellence. I will continue that tradition as we address today’s needs and prepare to take full advantage of tomorrow’s opportunities.”

The transition in leadership will happen at the NAPA 2019 Annual Meeting on Jan. 21–23 in Marco Island, Florida, marking the end of Acott’s 27-year term at the helm of NAPA.

“It’s difficult to step away from something that has been such a big part of your life, but I know that NAPA, its members and the asphalt pavement industry as a whole are in good hands with Audrey. I look forward to seeing where she takes the industry,” Acott says.

Prior to NAPA, Copeland served as a highway and materials research engineer with FHWA. She earned her doctorate in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and holds degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Tennessee Technological University. She is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland and Virginia.

CalRecycle hits milestone in cleaning wildfire debris

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) plans to join the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to announce the completion of wildfire debris removal in Siskiyou County, California.

According to a CalRecycle news release, final inspections on cleared lots are underway and should be complete by mid-October. Since Aug. 27, crews removed more than 13,670 tons of wildfire debris from 49 private properties, including:

• 9,835 tons of ash/debris
• 2,371 tons of contaminated soil
• 1,009 tons of concrete (recycled)
• 391 tons of metal (recycled)

“The completion of wildfire debris removal in Siskiyou County is a significant milestone in California’s wildfire recovery efforts,” says Scott Smithline, CalRecycle director, in a company news release. “CalRecycle is incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made together with our state and local partners to help these communities heal and put homeowners in a position to rebuild.”

In addition, CalRecycle-managed crews continue to make progress on three additional wildfire debris removal operations on properties impacted by the Carr Fire in Shasta County, California, as well as Lake County properties affected by the Pawnee and Mendocino Complex fires, CalRecycle reports.

CalRecycle implements phase two of California’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program under the leadership of CalOES and local governments, according to a CalRecycle report. Following the removal of household hazardous waste in phase one, CalOES and local officials will coordinate with CalRecycle to execute contracts and fire-related debris removal on private properties at no out-of-pocket costs to homeowners.