Recycling in the United States goes beyond placing plastic beverage bottles in a curbside collection bin. Post-consumer recycling is crucial in providing sorted waste streams for reclaim, but that’s not where the process ends.

Companies that seek to manufacture new products from recycled contents can source reusable materials from collection centers where these materials are sorted by type, if there is enough recycled material available.

Manufacturing scrap – waste created during manufacturing – can supplement post-consumer material streams. In-plant size reduction machinery makes it possible for companies to reclaim manufacturing scrap by sorting it, shredding it, and reintegrating it into new products. This is the circular economy in action.

Fiberon, based out of New London, North Carolina, manufactures high quality composite decking. “Fiberon uses recycled materials to make its products. We mix together recycled wood and recycled polymers and create a product that will last a lifetime,” introduced Mike Huskey, VP of Operations for Fiberon Decking.

Fiberon does this by sourcing secondary polypropylene scrap, which is strong and easy to use and reuse, from various companies and combining it with a proprietary (recycled or post-industrial) wood fiber blend. The decking created can be used for decades.

The composite decking that Fiberon produces from recycled materials provides a substantial environmental benefit to the company while creating a new income stream. The company is a tangible example of what it means to recycle production scrap on the spot.

The company has partnered with WEIMA to provide size reduction equipment within its New London plant. WEIMA's machinery breaks down the reclaimed material streams that Fiberon has sourced to be used in various ways.

WEIMA shredders are at the beginning of Fiberon’s process where the shredder takes the material and prepares it for conversion into something useful.

Fiberon and WEIMA believe that having the tools to create that second life for that scrap makes it easier to create a product that gives and gives, rather than taking from the environment. It’s about thinking creatively and putting the infrastructure in place to reclaim this scrap.