Hurlburt to recycle spent ammo, collect $70K

[unhappycamper]

Tom Fujan recycles expended small arms brass shells on Mov. 5. The machine irenders the shells unusable and ready for sale.


Hurlburt to recycle spent ammo, collect $70K
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 10, 2007 7:55:17 EST

The 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., has found an innovative way to turn spent brass into cash for the wing’s quality of life programs.

The wing just set up an “ordnance deformer machine” that will recycle about 240,000 pounds of spent ammunition casings each year. Then the base can sell the scrap for about $70,000.

The funds will be used for base programs such as the fall festival, holiday tree-lighting, Easter egg hunt, July 4th celebration and Airmen Against Drunk Driving.

“The effort put into this program is something to be proud of,” base spokesman Aaron Schoenfeld said in an e-mail. “It’s a great thing when a project like this can make such a positive impact in so little time, especially when it’s designed to benefit so many people.”

The $68,000 machine can flatten brass as large as .50 caliber and soon will be modified so it can process 105mm shells from the base’s AC-130 gunships. The base produces about 72,000 pounds of the smaller-caliber brass and about 168,000 pounds of 105mm brass shells each year, Schoenfeld said.

The machine, housed in its own 60-foot by 30-foot building, is capable of processing up to 11,000 pounds of shells per hour.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/airforce_recycle_hurlburt_071109/