Industry Announcements

May 2019

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which publishes standards that organizations use to report various benchmarks, released a draft update to its standard covering waste.

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.

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) joined 64 other trade associations in calling on Congress to support the Equality Act, which would strengthen protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky’s book, “The Future of Packaging: From Linear to Circular,” was named “Most Likely to Save the Planet” and “Outstanding Book of the Year” by the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Waste Management joined the “We Are Still In” coalition, pledging to combat climate change in support of the Paris Agreement, despite the U.S. withdrawing from the accord in 2017.

Weima wrote about the importance of training the next generation of manufacturing employees through apprenticeships and mentoring.

Zero Waste Solutions opened a Rochester, Mass. mixed-waste processing facility with equipment supplied by CP Group.

The 2019 RecycleMania college recycling competition announced its results, noting that campuses recycled and composted 69.5 million pounds of material during the contest.

Fleet management software provider Coretex released its upgraded Smart Waste software application at WasteExpo this month.

Machinex held a grand opening for a single-stream MRF in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta.

Strategic Materials announced the appointment of Edward May as executive vice president and chief operations officer.

Tomra announced that its reverse vending machines collected more than 40 billion bottles and cans globally in 2018.

Recycling equipment supplier BACE formed a partnership to provide electrical services to its equipment customers.

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is being observed this week, with celebrations taking place in North America, Europe and Australia.

The Recycling Partnership launched Webinar Wednesdays, a monthly webinar series that will cover a variety of topics, including contamination reduction tips and outreach advice.

The U.S. Composting Council responded to Oregon composting stakeholders who stated last month they don’t want to receive compostable foodservice packaging and serviceware.

The Washington legislature passed extended producer responsibility legislation for paint.

April 2019

The Coalition of Innovation in Recycling towards a Closed Loop Economy (CIRCLE), a group of government, nonprofit and private-sector plastics stakeholders, signed a circular economy pledge with the United Arab Emirates.

The National Association of Convenience Stores and the Can Manufacturers Institute published “The Value of Can and Bottle Recycling” toolkit.

SynTech Bioenergy announced that its BioMax waste-to-energy system will be deployed at various agricultural operations on Oahu, Hawaii.

Washington, D.C. increased its recycling collection weight by 9.5% between October 2017 and June 2018.

Battery stewardship group Call2Recycle commissioned a survey exploring consumer wish-cycling habits and awareness about battery recyclability.

Ensign Group, a Holland, Mich.-based recycling equipment manufacturer, has been acquired by Excalibur Group.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) passed its first transportation policy.

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador introduced legislation to ban single-use plastic bags.

Aluminum recycling company Novelis hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a $4.5 million investment at the company’s Warren, Ohio facility.

Recycling and Waste Solutions acquired Sustainable Solutions Group. Both companies are commercial recycling service providers.

Unilever announced several recycling-related initiatives, including that it will reach 50 percent recycled content in plastic packaging by the end of 2019 and will add the How2Recycle label to all its packaging by 2021. Separately, Unilever’s Hellmann’s brand of mayonnaise products released recycled-content goals.

Closed Loop Partners hired Caroline Brown as a managing director to lead the investment firm’s work in the fashion sustainability sector.

FCC Environmental has been recommended by Omaha, Neb. officials to handle the city’s solid waste and recyclables collection.

The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (MSWAB) published two free guides to help multi-family buildings increase recycling and organics recovery.

Miller Paint, a Portland, Ore.-based paint supplier, released Miller Renew, an interior paint containing a minimum of 50 percent post-consumer content.

The New Mexico Recycling Coalition will host its annual meeting in partnership with the National Recycling Coalition, to hold the first Southwest regional recycling market development workshop.

Republic Services opened its “Next-Gen” recycling facility, a 77,000-square-foot MRF featuring state-of-the-art equipment, in Plano, Texas.

Unilever announced several recycling-related initiatives, including that it will reach 50 percent recycled content in plastic packaging by the end of 2019 and will add the How2Recycle label to all its packaging by 2021.

Budweiser created a soccer field made from 50,000 recycled plastic cups. The facility, called the Budweiser ReCup Arena, is located in Sochi, Russia.

Dow and Keep America Beautiful are accepting applications for a total of $125,000 in Hefty EnergyBag program grants.

The Foam Recycling Coalition awarded a $41,000 grant for Live Thrive Atlanta to expand its Center for Hard to Recycle Materials, which will purchase a foam densifier to increase its expanded polystyrene recycling efforts.

H&M released its annual sustainability report, indicating the company used the equivalent of more than 325 million PET bottles in its recycled polyester.

The International Paint Recycling Association (IPRA) launched this month.

Rubicon Global announced that its RUBICONSmartCity data collection service will be rolled out in Irvine, Texas as a pilot program to improve residential waste and recycling collection.

The Recycling Partnership (TRP) launched Keep Recycling Paper, an outreach initiative highlighting key benefits of paper recycling. The organization also hired Sarah Dearman, formerly of The Coca-Cola Co., to work on TRP’s policy efforts. Additionally, TRP partnered with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and consumer products company Love Beauty and Planet to expand curbside recycling in Nashville, Tenn.

Busch Systems launched the second year of Project Rise, a charitable initiative benefiting nonprofit organizations.

Plastics recycling equipment company EREMA Group reported its most successful year of business in the company’s history, describing a 16 percent revenue increase.

PAC Next published its Packaging Sustainability Checklist, a tool for packaging designers to reference.

President Donald Trump declared April “Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month,” an initiative that encourages Americans to help reduce food waste.

Recycle Across America received a $250,000 grant from Bank of America. The funds will go toward implementing standardized labels on recycling bins in 1,000 schools.

Sustana Fiber and Clearwater Paper released a cup stock paperboard made with 32 percent post-consumer recycled fiber.

Equipment company Universal Dynamics acquired CMG America, which manufactures size-reduction equipment, including granulators, shredders and more.

March 2019

Consultancy Circular Matters will be formed April 1 by RSE USA consultants Susan Bush, Tim Buwalda and Betsy Dorn.

Eldan Recycling reported a strong increase in recycling equipment demand in 2018. The company cited global changes in waste management regulations as influencing the trend.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation published a report detailing pledges by some of the world’s largest companies to reduce plastic waste, boost recycling and prevent pollution.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) hired Holly Arthur as senior vice president. Arthur, who comes to ISRI from Portland Cement Association, will oversee communications, marketing, publications and other areas of the organization.

Nestlé and Veolia will collaborate in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America on projects advancing plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling, with an emphasis on flexible plastic packaging.

PepsiCo Latin America launched Recycling with Purpose, a program to promote recycling through outreach and incentive efforts.

AMP Robotics partnered with Japanese waste management technology company Ryohshin to develop and sell artificial intelligence robotic sortation systems for the Japanese C&D market.

Closed Loop Partners published its 2018 impact report, detailing the organization’s work and results.

CM Shredders opened a test lab and R&D facility in Sarasota, Fla.

The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded $5.4 million in grants to The Recycling Partnership, the GreenBlue Institute, Keep Houston Beautiful and the Fund for Boston Parks and Recreation.

A handful of composters serving Oregon communities released a statement laying out their opposition to “compostable” packaging and foodservice items being delivered to their facilities.

Equipment supplier CPM Holdings acquired D&G Electrical Engineering, a niche controls and commissioning services supplier for the metal packaging, food and nuclear industries.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) announced its 2019 advocacy agenda, which is based largely on the organization’s legislative accomplishments in 2018.

The Kent County Department of Public Works in Michigan and local nonprofit group The Right Place will develop a local Sustainable Business Park to attract materials recovery businesses.

Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) hired Elisa Seltzer, former public works director for Emmet County, Mich., and Shaun Spalding, a certified engineering technologist and environmental professional in waste management.

The American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) wrote about the results of research into applying sustainable materials management (SMM) to state-based waste characterization studies.

Closed Loop Partners announced the 12 winners of the NextGen Cup Challenge, which was focused on developing a more-readily recoverable fiber cup for foodservice applications. The Wendy’s Company also released sustainable packaging commitments tied to its partnership with the NextGen Consortium.

Global Recycling Day, to be held March 18, released a list of events around the world that will be held to observe the occasion.

McCloskey International highlighted new products it will display at Bauma 2019, a construction machinery convention.

Wastequip, a manufacturer of waste handling equipment, will acquire equipment manufacturer Amrep.