Addressing Supply Chain Leakage in Plastics

Many advancements in plastic processing have potential for reducing pollution indirectly by reducing scrap, increasing the value of scrap or increasing energy efficiency. Ultratech makes products that address pollution directly by providing solutions for supply chain leakage in plastics.

Ultratech has been in a spill containment product manufacturer for over 30 years, but for most of that time that meant liquid containment: oils, hazardous chemicals and more. “A couple of years ago, I got a call from a company in Atlanta asking if they could put drains in some of our containment products,” recalls Tim McGrath, v.p. of sales at Ultratech. “And I said, ‘well, you know, putting drains in a pan full of liquid is going to be pretty counterproductive, what are you trying to contain?’” They said: ‘Plastic pellets.’”

Thus began Ultratech’s involvement with Operation Clean Sweep, an industry program with the goal of eliminating plastic resin loss in operations. Ultratech created a new category of products specifically for capturing pellets out of manufacturing, transfer and loading. “The industry was driving a lot of goals and objectives to reduce plastic release into stormwater, but they were ahead of the solutions in line with that, so we reacted very quickly and adapted existing products from other industries,” McGrath says.

According to Ultratech, the response has been warm from companies that want to get to zero pellet loss and need practical products that can help them get there. The company offers a variety of products for different price points and assessments to help customers determine where they may need a containment product. They include drain guards, which municipalities use to keep rubbish out of stormwater. These have been adapted for the plastic industry with the use of a finer mesh that can capture plastic nurdles while allowing water to pass through.

Another important point for spill prevention is the loading and unloading process. Plastic pellets are lost when hoses are disconnected from hopper rail cars, spilling on to the ground nearby. Ultratech’s track pans are designed to sit under the hopper and capture any pellets. Periodically, the top is removed and the pellets can be recaptured.

“Very rarely does a tank or truck rupture. So what we’re actually looking at is areas of transfer or loading of plastic pellets to or from a facility, at a rail car, at a truck, a box container, whatever the apparatus is because that is where spills happen,” McGrath says.