Industry Announcements
Plastics Recycling Update highlights the latest announcements from industry companies and organizations. If your business or group has a development to share, email [email protected].
Plastics Recycling Update highlights the latest announcements from industry companies and organizations. If your business or group has a development to share, email [email protected].
American Express and Parley for the Oceans will release a credit card made primarily from recycled ocean-bound plastic.
Aquafil announced that its Econyl recycled nylon contributes to LEED v4 points, which are used to gauge sustainability in building design.
Dart Container Corporation will sponsor all of Keep America Beautiful’s national “plogging” (picking up litter while jogging) initiatives, including the Keep America Beautiful Trash Dash.
PepsiCo announced its goal of reducing its use of virgin plastic in bottles by 35% by 2025. The company will do so by increasing its use of recycled plastic and by switching to alternative materials such as aluminum.
Bausch Health Companies released its corporate sustainability report, indicating it recycled contact lenses and packaging totaling over 55,000 pounds last year.
PepsiCo Recycling and author Jeff Kinney began a recycling outreach campaign geared towards children and young adults, called “Be Awesome! Recycle!”
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste appointed Jacob Duer as the organization’s first CEO. Duer most recently served as a program director for the U.N. Environment Programme.
Consumer goods manufacturer Henkel hosted U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at the company’s Stamford, Conn. headquarters to discuss sustainability commitments and plastic packaging developments.
PE supplier Nova Chemicals appointed Sarah Marshall as the company’s director of sustainability. Marshall formerly served as chair of the board of directors for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.
A majority interest of Shred-Tech was acquired by Heico, a holding company.
Van Dyk Recycling Solutions and the Association of Plastic Recyclers will hold a training conference on design-for-recyclability at the Van Dyk Technology and Material Test Center in Norwalk, Conn.
Government leaders in Ontario, Canada announced the Blue Box Program will transition to a full producer responsibility system by 2023.
Cleanfarms, which operates agricultural plastics recycling programs in Saskatchewan, reported the grain bag recycling volume is up 25% in 2019 compared with the entirety of 2018.
Novolex, which recycles film into new bags, launched the Novolex Supplier Code of Conduct.
The Container Recycling Institute published a response to the closure of rePlanet, California’s largest operator of container redemption centers.
Magnum, an ice cream brand owned by Unilever, began producing ice cream tubs made from recycled polypropylene.
Poland Spring and The Recycling Partnership launched the #NotTrash Instagram campaign.
Apparel producer Solgaard released a line of bags and backpacks made from recycled ocean-bound plastics.
Alpek Polyester, a major PET producer and recycler, joined The Recycling Partnership.
The Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council (CPRC) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) will hold a joint meeting focused on plastics recycling, to be held Nov. 7-8 in Ft. Mill, S.C.
Investment management firm Circulate Capital opened a Singapore office and announced that CEO Rob Kaplan is relocating to the Southeast Asian country.
Research firm ICIS released its findings that the European recycling industry will miss its 2025 PET bottle recycling rate target of 77% unless stakeholders grow collection volumes.
The Plastics Industry Association selected Tony Radoszewski to be the organization’s next president and CEO. Radoszewski previously served as president of the Plastics Pipe Institute.
Alpek Polyester, a major PET producer and recycling company, joined The Recycling Partnership.
The Dallas Zoo will use the RightCycle Program, managed by Kimberly-Clark Professional, to divert nitrile gloves discarded by zoo employees.
A grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition enabled Otsego County, N.Y. to roll out an expanded polystyrene recycling program.
Delaware Gov. John Carney signed a single-use plastic bag ban that will take place in certain stores beginning in 2021.
The Product Stewardship Institute released a Packaging EPR Toolkit.
Unifi will provide recycling receptacles at the 2019 Wyndham Championship golf event this week. Collected PET bottles will be processed into Unifi’s Repreve recycled fiber.
Chemical recycling company Agilyx appointed Paolo Cuniberti to its board of directors. Cuniberti is founder and CEO of Habacus, an Italian company that connects students with financial resources.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) developed a bulletin to inform recycling stakeholders about recyclable packaging in the marketplace and packaging recyclability changes.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched a learning hub.
Petcore Europe created the PET Monomer Recycling Special Industry Group.
RecyClass, a recyclability testing initiative of Plastics Recyclers Europe, released a Recyclability Evaluation Protocol for HDPE containers.
Agilyx, INEOS Styrolution and Trinseo will collaborate to launch a PS chemical recycling operation in Europe.
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has a dozen new members: EQUATE Petrochemical, Gemini Corporation, Grupo Phoenix, Mondi, Novolex, PepsiCo, Sealed Air Corporation, Sinopec, SKC, Storopack, TOMRA and Westlake Chemical.
Coca-Cola Japan announced a goal to increase its use of RPET in beverage containers to 50% by 2022 and 90% by 2030, up from the company’s current 17%.
Canadian plastics reclaimer Enviroplast will develop a processing facility in Vaughan, Ontario, with an estimated capacity of 24 million pounds per year.
The Foundation for Plastic Recycling, an initiative of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), launched as an industry improvement organization focusing on research and investment.
Plastics producer NOVA Chemicals released its 2018 sustainability report, which touched on a number of recycling-related efforts.
Anchor Packaging, which uses RPET in some of its products, was acquired by the Jordan Co., a private equity firm.
Barco Uniforms, which produces healthcare apparel, announced it has used the equivalent of 16.8 million recycled plastic bottles as feedstock for two of its scrubs lines.
Berry Global signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
Bottled water producer Evian introduced 100% recycled plastic water bottles at the Wimbledon tennis championships this year.
GreenMantra Technologies elected Donald Wiseman and Adam Shepherd to its board of directors.
Niagara Bottling, a private-label bottled water company, joined the How2Recycle recyclability labeling program.
The NYC Curb-To-Market Challenge (CTMC), which launched in March, named recovered plastics end user Arqlite and consultancy Anthropocene.Design as the winners of the contest.
PepsiCo will package its LIFEWTR water product in 100% recycled PET bottles, and the company will end plastic bottle packaging for its Bubly sparkling water, sticking to aluminum cans. The company will also test aluminum can packaging for Aquafina, which currently comes in plastic bottles.
Recycling and packaging firm Plastipak invested in a chemical recycling project with Italian company Garbo.
The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) announced Paul Booth, a longtime chemical industry executive, as its next president.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) hired Christopher Jahn as the organization’s next president and CEO. Jahn is currently head of the Fertilizer Institute. The ACC has also voiced its support for the federal Save Our Seas Act 2.0, which has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) announced its 2019-2020 board of directors.
Carbios, a French company involved in chemical recycling technologies, is looking to finance an additional 13 million euros, most of which will be used for an industrial PET “biorecycling demonstration plant.”
Nestlé Waters North America joined a National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) program that provides grants, recycling bins and thousands of bottles of water to PTAs across the country.
Unifi will upgrade its texturing machines, which are used to manufacture the company’s Repreve brand of textiles made from recycled plastic.
Foodservice packaging manufacturer Eco-Products increased its use of post-consumer recycled plastic and joined the Association of Plastic Recyclers’ (APR) Recycling Demand Champion program.
P&G and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee announced that the podiums used to present medals during the Olympics will be made from post-consumer recycled materials, including plastic packaging.
Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), an industry initiative involved in polystyrene depolymerization, welcomed energy company Repsol as a new member.
Tomra Sorting Recycling held its third-annual global conference in Sofia, Bulgaria this month, with a theme of “Recycling in a Plastic World.”
Plastics producer Braskem received the American Chemistry Council’s 2019 Sustainability Leadership Award for Environmental Protection and Circularity.
ByFusion, which manufactures building materials from recycled plastic, observed World Oceans Day by constructing a lifeguard tower using blocks made from recycled mixed plastics.
Corona recognized World Oceans Day, observed June 8, by accepting scrap plastic from cities and coastal environments as payment for beer.
A dozen environmental organizations called on the Canadian government to take regulatory action addressing plastic waste and pollution.
Food packaging event MeetingPack 2019 featured several products with high recycled content and sustainable barrier options.
Bag and packaging producer Novolex, which has film recycling operations, expanded its public affairs and sustainability teams.
Ocean plastics advocacy group Parley for the Oceans and the New York City Department of Sanitation’s nonprofit foundation arm are collaborating on a project to recycle marine debris into reusable bags.
Reusable bag supplier ReusethisBag.com published a report charting the state of single-use plastic bag bans in the U.S. and around the globe.
America Packaging Corporation expanded its line of recyclable laminated film packaging, making it available for use in additional products.
Manufacturing firm ByFusion demonstrated a building material made from a variety of hard-to-recycle plastics, including Nos. 3-7 and end-of-life surfboard foam.
Coca-Cola Australia plans to use recycled plastic in 70% of its bottles by the end of 2019, a target the company says will reduce virgin resin use by 10,000 metric tons per year.
Maryland’s bill banning foam polystyrene foodservice items will become law without Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature.
The Foam Recycling Coalition gave a $9,700 grant to purchase a densifier, allowing for foam polystyrene recycling in the Ontario municipalities of Brockton and Hanover.
The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Break Free From Plastic urged Southeast Asian governments to strictly enforce waste import bans.
The Maryland legislature passed a bill, HB0109, banning foam polystyrene food service products.
Mexican PET reclaimer PetStar’s Reborn food-grade post-consumer PET achieved Cradle to Cradle certification, Plastics News reported.
R&M International was presented the President’s “E” Award for Exports by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The company trades in textiles, plastics and recovered materials.
Worn Again Technologies, a U.K. company commercializing a chemical recycling process for recovering polyester and cellulose from textiles, announced that the following companies have joined its Pioneer Members’ program: ASICS Europe, Dhana, Dibella, Directex, H&M, Himes, Kering and Sympatex.
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, a composite decking business that uses recovered PE film as feedstock, changed its name to MoistureShield.
Plastics-to-fuel operation Brightmark Energy broke ground on its first commercial-scale facility in Ashley, Ind., after receiving financing for the $260 million plant last month.
Herbal Essences, a Procter & Gamble brand, partnered with TerraCycle to start a recycling program for its hair care product packaging.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) opened its Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA) Reasonable Care Compliance Program to nonmembers. The program helps recycling companies navigate Superfund law.
Recycled composite railway products maker IntegriCo hired Brian Gaughan as executive vice president of business development. Gaughan was formerly general manager of the Georgia-Pacific Plastics Division.
MBA Polymers UK acquired post-industrial automotive plastics recycling company PPR Wipag, based in Dover, U.K.
The Chemical Recycling Alliance, an initiative of the American Chemistry Council, welcomed Golden Renewable Energy, New Hope Energy and Sealed Air Corporation as members.
Indorama Ventures launched a 100% recycled PET brand called DEJA, available in flake, pellet, fiber and filament form.
Tomra announced that its reverse vending machines collected more than 40 billion bottles and cans globally in 2018.
The American Chemistry Council praised the Texas Legislature for passing a bill that will promote chemical recycling.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) announced a “Five for Focus” campaign that brings attention to five elements of PET container design that can be problematic for recycling. The work encourages stakeholders to leverage the PET section of the APR Design Guide.
Avangard Innovative CEO Rick Perez was recognized by Real Leaders Media, which featured Perez on a list of “Immigrants That Helped Change The World.” Perez was born in Mexico.
Reclaimer GreenMantra and virgin plastics producer INEOS Styrolution signed a joint development agreement.
Mumford Industries expanded its post-industrial scrap plastic processing capacity and upgraded its equipment.
The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) relocated its headquarters to Charlotte, N.C.
Plastics Recyclers Europe reported that Europe has a total rigid HDPE and PP recycling capacity of more than 1.8 million short tons per year.
AmSty and Agilyx formed a joint venture that will use Agilyx technology to convert scrap PS into styrene monomer, which will be used by AmSty to make new PS.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) announced an expansion to the APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability to include several new PET screening tests and an updated inventory of PET test protocols.
Azek Building Products opened a $25 million recycling plant in Wilmington, Ohio, with a capacity of 100 million pounds of PE per year.
Digimarc, a company aiming to put barcodes on packaging so it can be more accurately sorted for recycling, joined the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
Monitoring Recyclates for Europe (MORE) launched as a digital platform to help European converters track recycled plastic use.
Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe joined a consortium formed by Carbios and L’Oréal to support Carbios’ enzymatic PET depolymerization technology.