At Disposal and Recycling Technologies Inc. (DART), zero waste isnґt just a buzzword, and turning waste into energy doesnґt involve burning trash.
DARTґs unassuming plant in Detroit transforms old or recalled beer, wine, soda, juice and liquor into fuel-grade ethanol. It also recycles the plastic, cardboard, glass and aluminum containers those beverages arrive in.
“In a world where a lot of people are trying to go green, thinking of ways to go green and really kind of have a brain trust on how to go green, weґre actually doing it,” said Erik Bomireto, president of DART. “We took an idea, and it is working.”
In DARTґs giant distilling tanks, the company has the capacity to produce 1.5 million gallons of ethanol per year. It has the potential to create 100% ethanol in addition to meeting fuel ethanol E85 (85% ethanol) standards. The company then sells the ethanol and those containers and packaging back into the market.
For example, when Joose, an alcoholic energy drink, needed to dispose of 50,000 cases after its product was banned in some states, DART handled it. For DART, it was like Christmas, said Jeff Marvin, the companyґs vice president.
At 9.9% alcohol per volume and packaged in extra-tall aluminum cans, Marvin said Joose produced a high concentration of ethanol and the cans made great recyclables. The cardboard packaging Joose came in was compacted, baled and sold, too.
DARTґs ethanol goes to companies like Omaha, Neb.-based Green Plains Renewable Energy LLC, an ethanol manufacturer, producer and broker. Green Plains then sells that ethanol to companies like Marathon Petroleum Corp. to be used at the gas pump.
Source: Waste & Recycling News
By Shawn Wright