NEWS ITEMS:

A PLASTIC RECYCLING COMPANY (EPPR, Inc.) produced 6" x 8" x 8' railroad ties and installed them in the Dominican Republic. Each tie cost $32 and weighed 138 pounds. After two years in place they show no sign of wear and the spikes have remained in place. Wooden ties used previously had to be changed annually and cost $16-$21 plus maintenance. Tests also done in India were successful. India's annual demand is projected at 70 million units since it has the largest railway system in the world. The Company has also installed 30 test railway ties in Arroyo, P.R. where the old sugar cane railway is being revitalized as a tourism attraction. Eventually, this train will run 54 miles from Patillas to Ponce and use about 350,000 such ties.

THE ONLY PAPER MILL IN PUERTO RICO(Global Fibers, Inc.) shut down operations in December of 1995 and doesn't expect to resume given the depressed market for OCC and paper. The plant was capable of processing 1200 tons per day but needed to produce its own energy on site and sell off excess energy when not operating. The government saw this as a threat to its energy monopoly and denied Global Fibers permission. With the escalating cost of energy and decreasing revenues from paper products, Global had no alternative but to close. A group of entrepreneurs tried to create a recycling park on the site..

100,000 TONS OF NEWSPRINT ARE IMPORTED ANNUALLY BY ONE DAILY NEWSPAPER (El Nuevo Dia) from Canada. The company was exploring ways to recycle the paper and had put plans on hold given the depressed world market for recycled newspaper. However, in October it announced plans to set up a collection and processing center at a cost of $1.5 million in Bayamon for newsprint. The plant was to open in January 1997 and ship all the collected newsprint to an Abbatibi-Price Paper Mill in Georgia for processing into recycled newsprint paper to be returned to Puerto Rico for use by the Company in producing its daily publication, the El Nuevo Dia with a daily circulation of about 250,000 copies. Nine months later the Project was still in process, opening finally in 2001.

THE ONLY GLASS MANUFACTURING PLANT(Owens Illinois Corp.) reports that it is receiving only 25% of the recycled glass that it could use in its manufacturing process. 1996 - 2002 receipts remained static instead of growing as expected.

CAGES MADE FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC WERE DEVELOPED BY A LOCAL PLASTIC RECYCLER (Environmental Plastics of P.R. Inc.) together with Skills of Pennsylvania under a Grant from the Ben Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania. The modules were designed to meet NIH standards and were introduced at a recent show of Primatologists held in Strasbourg,France. The Company has already made 50 large cages made from recycled plastic which have been in continuous use at the University of Puerto Rico Primate Research Facility in Sabana Seca, P.R. They are lighter, more durable and friendly to the animals than those made of stainless steel. The small modules cost around $600 while the larger ones cost $2,500.

ENVIRONMENTAL PLASTICS of P.R., Inc looked into opening a second facility in Villalba, P.R. to process post-industrial plastics exclusively. It planned to add a municipal mixed waste processing system which would reduce the volume of the garbage by 65% initially and then separate out all plastics and metals. Only 10% of the original waste would wind up in the landfill saving the Municipality lots of money in cartage costs to the nearest landfill some 25 miles away. The organic leftovers would be put in a boiler to use as fuel in generating steam for subsequent use in generating electricity for use by the plant. The steam classification system was developed by WRT, Inc. of Covington, Ky in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Alabama.. On-going site studies are being made elsewhere in P.R. as well as several sites in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

The Canadian Government participated in a trade show held in Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente Coliseum from the 16th to the 18th of May 1996. The show was sponsored by the P.R. Manufacturers Association and was directed at the environment and related products and services. The Canadian Export Trade Office in Atlanta was so pleased with the results that it intends to return in January 1997. One exhibitor was Royal Eco Products, Inc.(formerly Ecopal Products Inc.), part of the Royal Plastics Group of Toronto and its P.R. associated partner, Environmental Plastics of P.R. Inc. which have developed a line of plastic cargo pallets for the industrial market. These pallets range in price from $12 to $70 each depending on size and strength. The products are made from recycled plastics such as baby diapers, plastic bags and plastic bottles and are guaranteed for 5 years. Ecopal has successfully marketed the products to such industry giants as Campbell Soups, Crown, Cork & Seal Corp., Coca-Cola, General Motors and Heineken Beer among others.

In March of 1996, Commercial Incineration, Inc. of Carolina, Puerto Rico announced that it would discontinue its tire recycling operations citing poor government support and favoritism for other operators. The owner took out a full page advertisement in the largest local newspaper denouncing government action to promote recycling locally. Many other environmental groups have been decrying the local Solid Waste Management Authority's heavy handed approach to recycling and the appearance that more emphasis is being placed on promotion and image for political gain than on practical problem resolution. The used tire problem is growing and only two companies remain licensed to recycle tires: ATSI of Aguirre and Environmental Rubber of P.R. in Cidra. The only other company to be processing used tires closed after its facilities burned to the ground in July 1998. Environmental Rubber of P.R. left the Island in 2002. ATSI closed in 2001 but was absorbed by former employees only to be shut down in 2002 as well. This left two new contenders - one in Caguas and one in Penuelas.

Stahlermatic del Caribe, Inc., a Puerto Rico based Company headed by Peter Grell has been awarded the Engineering Prize for Excellence by the P.R. College of Engineers for its Sewage Treatment Plant that has been operating in Palmas del Mar, the 2,900 acre resort near Humacao, P.R. This plant design originated in Germany and is super efficient operating at 30% the cost of traditional designs. The Palmas del Mar plant can process 1,400,000 gallons daily consuming only 31 horsepower in energy cost. There are some 300 such plants worldwide with designs for individual residences up to municipal sizes. The patented system can be built from scratch or installed as an upgrade. Payback is typically within 3 years. The Company, through its Puerto Rico partner, Environmental Water Treatment Systems, Inc. of Cidra, P.R. is currently working with a major pharmaceutical plant for the next installation and is discussing possibilities with several hotels on other Caribbean Islands. Sewage Treatment is very important in the Caribbean since more than 100 million tourists visit the area annually in which 170 million people reside, but only 10% of the sewage is treated at all before being discharged into the sea. For more information contact Mr. Grell at (787) 285-7101 or Villa Palmira Calle 1 A-9, Punta Santiago, P.R. USA 00741.