Madison County experimenting with plastic to diese

Madison County experimenting with plastic to diesel recycling program aimed at helping farmers

http://www.oneidadispatch.com/articles/2012/1...edir=false

Published: Monday, December 03, 2012

WAMPSVILLE — A new program on the Madison County Department of Solid Waste’s drawing board purports to safely and economically recycle Agricultural (AG) and rigid plastic, which will help the environment, save space in the county landfill and also help to solve a long-standing problem for area farmers. The plan is to turn plastic back into usable diesel fuel.

Madison County is striving to find a solution to effectively recycle AG and rigid plastic. These efforts are arousing the interest of neighboring counties that have expressed interested in learning more about this new process and pledging to support Madison County’s efforts.

“Everyone wants more details and wants to know when we plan to start the program,” said Director James A. Zecca.

He has visited a number of counties to discuss the new AG and rigid plastics to oil program and on Oct. 17 Zecca, along with Solid Waste Committee Chairman Jim Goldstein and other Madison County representatives, met with the chief executive officer and the chief operating officer of JBI, Inc. of Niagara Falls, N.Y. to get the ball rolling.



JBI, Inc. has discovered a way to “crack the code” — turn plastic back into diesel fuel. Their plant in Niagara Falls is an innovative North American fuel company that transforms unsorted, unwashed waste plastic into ultra-clean, ultra-low sulfur fuel without the need for refinement. JBI, Inc.’s patent pending Plastic20il (P20) process is a commercially viable, proprietary process designed to provide immediate economic benefit for industry, communities and government organizations with waste plastic recycling challenges.

JBl, Inc. is committed to environmental sustainability by diverting plastic waste from landfills and potential incineration. Diversion of items that don’t biodegrade and take up space in the landfill is a concept that has long been the mantra for the Madison County Department of Solid Waste under Zecca’s leadership.

“We are extremely eager to move forward with this program,” said Zecca. “The first step is to start collecting AG and rigid plastic from in and around Madison County, bale it and ship it to the Niagara Falls facility where it will be turned into clean diesel fuel. We are confident that as this program evolves, JBI, Inc. will realize the untapped potential here in Madison County and the surrounding counties and commit to establishing a presence here in Madison County.”

Zecca was the guest speaker at the Madison County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on Oct. 17 at Centro’s Restaurant in DeRuyter where he gave an update on the plastics to oil program. This event was attended by more than 60 people.

“As soon as a contract is put in place with JBI, Inc. more information on the collection process will be released,” said Zecca.