Industry Announcements

September 2019

The NextGen Consortium, which is advancing recyclable and compostable cup designs, selected Jain Chem’s Ulterion coatings to participate in the project.

PepsiCo Recycling and author Jeff Kinney began a recycling outreach campaign geared towards children and young adults, called “Be Awesome! Recycle!”

Wilson Sporting Goods introduced the Triniti tennis ball, which comes in packaging that is made from recycled materials and is fully recyclable.

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.

America Recycles Day, which will be observed with nationwide events on and in the weeks surrounding Nov. 15, opened its events registration.

Tool manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker joined the How2Recycle label program.

The U.S. EPA announced the recipients of the Federal Green Challenge Awards, including federal agencies recognized for electronics.

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.

Vecoplan broke ground on a plant that will manufacture shredding trucks for the information destruction industry.

Manufacturer Ball Corporation rolled out a pilot project bringing aluminum cups to major entertainment and sports venues around the U.S. this fall.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill encouraging communities to shift toward dual-stream recycling in an effort to clean up the state’s recycling stream.

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.

TerraCycle and Walmart will hold a car seat recycling event.

The Recycling Partnership began offering DIYSigns, free online signage templates that can be customized to fit local recycling program needs. The organization also extended the deadline to participate in its 2019 State of Curbside Recycling Survey. Responses can be submitted through Sept. 6.

August 2019

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste appointed Jacob Duer, who helped lead the United Nations Environment Programme, as its first president and CEO. 

Hasbro will phase out plastic from its toy and game packaging. 

Leadpoint Business Services, which provides work teams and operations support services to the recycling industry, restructured its recycling operations group and announced new roles for four of its leadership team members. 

A services provider for recovered paper traders, merQbiz, became the exclusive North American distributor of BaleVision, a tool that provides detailed information on paper bale composition. 

Aluminum recycling and rolling company Novelis pledged $2.5 million to launch the Novelis Innovation Hub at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

A majority interest of Shred-Tech was acquired by Heico, a holding company.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) Plastics Division praised the passage of legislation in Illinois and Ohio that will “pave the way for greater adoption” of chemical recycling technologies.

Government leaders in Ontario, Canada announced the Blue Box Program will transition to a full producer responsibility system by 2023.

The Carton Council published its findings that Americans are still recycling at the same level, despite having less confidence that the materials actually get recycled.

ERI and the New York City Department of Sanitation announced that their curbside electronics recycling program has collected 1,700 tons and now serves more than 2.5 million residents.

Keurig Dr Pepper aims to have 30% post-consumer content across its packaging portfolio by 2025.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) released its tally of at least 30 solid waste worker deaths in the U.S. and Canada so far in 2019.

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.

Coca-Cola announced that its Dasani bottled water brand will be sold in aluminum cans in the Northeast beginning this fall. The cans will be used in additional markets next year.

The Container Recycling Institute published a response to the closure of rePlanet, California’s largest operator of container redemption centers.

The North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS) announced the Recycle Right NC campaign, an outreach effort to reduce contamination this fall.

Sonoco, a hauler, MRF operator and packaging producer, published its 2018-19 corporate sustainability report. Sonoco also appointed Palace Stepps as vice president of the company’s recycling division to replace Mike Pope, who will oversee perimeter-of-the-store plastics. 

The End of Waste Foundation, a glass recycling support organization using blockchain technology, announced that a winery is using its platform. The End of Waste Foundation also partnered with recycling company Ripple Glass.

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) published a rebuttal to a recent NPR Planet Money report questioning the value of recycling.

The Recycling Partnership launched its 2019 State of Curbside Recycling Survey.

ZenRobotics installed four robots at Zanker Recycling, a C&D sorting facility in San Jose, Calif.

July 2019

Alpek Polyester, a major PET producer and recycler, joined The Recycling Partnership.

Compology upgraded its container content and contamination identification technology, giving its artificial intelligence cameras the ability to identify an expanded list of recyclable items.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched a learning hub.

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) appointed Scott DeFife as its president. DeFife most recently served as vice president of government affairs at the Plastics Industry Association.

The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) released its annual report noting U.S. fiberglass insulation manufacturers used 2.2 billion pounds of glass cullet in 2018, similar to the weight used in 2017.

The city of Portland, Ore. published recycling outreach tools, including bilingual websites listing recyclable items.

The Product Stewardship Institute released a Packaging EPR Toolkit.

Californians for Recycling and the Environment, a coalition of product manufacturers, has launched to educate and advocate around controversial legislation in the state legislature: Senate Bill 54 and Assembly Bill 1080. 

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched a learning hub. 

The Paper Stock Industries (PSI) chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) announced academic scholarships for eight college-bound students. Additionally, ISRI gave its inaugural Recycling Impact Award to Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney. 

Scheuch USA appointed John Rothermel as president at industrial ventilation systems company Schust, and it appointed Tony Thill as president of CAMCORP, which makes air pollution control and pneumatic conveying equipment. Scheuch is the parent company of both firms.

The South Bayside Waste Management Authority (RethinkWaste) of San Mateo County, Calif. issued nearly $49 million in bonds for upgrades to the Shoreway Environmental Center, which includes a MRF. 

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has a dozen new members: EQUATE Petrochemical, Gemini Corporation, Grupo Phoenix, Mondi, Novolex, PepsiCo, Sealed Air Corporation, Sinopec, SKC, Storopack, TOMRA and Westlake Chemical.

Circulate Capital announced that Susan Ruffo will serve as executive director of the new nonprofit group The Circulate Initiative. 

Tissue products company Kimberly-Clark announced that 25.2% of the fiber it consumed came from recycled sources, the highest in three years. 

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) will expand its government affairs team on the state and federal levels. 

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.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. EPA are holding free workshops around the country on safely handling lithium-ion batteries.

Casella Waste Systems will purchase certain solid waste assets from fellow hauler Republic Services, totaling about $30 million in annual revenue.

The Corrugated Packaging Alliance released a life cycle analysis study that found neither corrugated containers nor reusable plastic containers are superior in all environmental impact categories.

Toronto-based GFL Environmental will acquire MRF operator Canada Fibers.

Paper and recycling industry veteran Jerry Rose died June 22 at age 84. Consultancy Moore & Associates published an obituary and tribute to Rose.

The National Recycling Coalition announced a call for nominations for the group’s series of 2019 industry awards, which will be presented at the Resource Recycling Conference Aug. 26-28 in New Orleans. Nominations are due Aug. 1.

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.

The Recycling Partnership released a contamination outreach kit for use at drop-off recycling sites.

Waste Management opened the company’s second Driver and Technician Training Center in Glendale, Ariz., where new employees in those positions undertake a two-week training course.

June 2019

DS Smith, a London-based packaging provider that uses recycled fiber in its products, opened a North American headquarters in Atlanta.

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) published a fact sheet focusing on actions consumers can take to combat climate change.

The Recycling Partnership (TRP) announced that MillerCoors joined the organization as a funding partner. TRP will also work with the city of Denver on a public education campaign, which was made possible through a $250,000 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation.

Aluminum Association president and CEO Heidi Brock will resign and take a position as president and CEO of the American Forest and Paper Association, replacing outgoing leader Donna Harman.

The American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) added new board members and appointed a new executive board during its annual meeting this year.

Applying Systems Thinking to Recycling (ASTRX), a project of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and The Recycling Partnership, released the ASTRX Review of Material Flow at MRFs and Reprocessors, an analysis examining how materials move through the recycling process.

New York City’s Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board will host a panel this month titled “Is NYC Ready for the Green New Deal? A Zero Waste Perspective.”

Pratt Industries and several New York City government agencies launched the Manhattan Paper Challenge, a year-long contest that aims to increase paper recycling.

Recycle Colorado announced that associate executive director Amy Randell will serve as interim executive director as the organization looks for a permanent candidate to fill the position. Laurie Johnson left the executive director role this month for a position in the private sector.

The Washington State Recycling Association announced its Recycler of the Year award winners.

The 2020 World Circular Economy Forum will be hosted in Canada, marking the first instance of the event being held in North America.

AMP Robotics hired Brent Hildebrand as the company’s managing director of enterprise sales. Hildebrand previously served as vice president at Alpine Waste and Recycling.

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) announced that its Demand Champions program welcomed three more companies as members: Chick-fil-A, EcoEnclose and Scott’s Miracle-Gro.

Baby food brand Happy Family Organics pledged to make 100% of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Keurig Dr. Pepper committed to using 100% recyclable or compostable packaging and to having its packaging portfolio average 30% post-consumer recycled content by 2025.

Recycle Colorado launched ReCircle, an online platform for buying and selling recyclables in Colorado. In separate Colorado news, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill that will raise landfill taxes to award additional waste diversion grants.

Food waste think tank ReFED launched an accelerator program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, for nonprofit food recovery organizations.

Glass recycling company Strategic Materials received a 2019 Green Business award from the city of Fairfield, Calif.

Carton manufacturer TetraPak published its 2019 sustainability report.

Key stakeholders from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have formed a coalition to accelerate the circular economy in the Nordic countries.

EcoMaine announced a pilot program through which summer interns will inspect carts and provide outreach in the cities and towns of Falmouth, Scarborough, South Portland, and Windham

Maryland’s bill banning foam polystyrene foodservice items will become law without Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature.

Orange County, Fla. and the Orange County Utilities Solid Waste Division released a request for information for a project to design, build and operate a materials recovery facility.

PepsiCo Recycling announced that nearly 10 million pounds were diverted during the 2018-19 academic year through its K-12 Recycle Rally program.

The Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data (ReFED) project released its 2018 report.