Process will supply postindustrial recycled materials into the manufacturing of its Endura nonwovens product line.
The system was first introduced earlier this year at six of the company’s existing European locations. Through it, Berry supplies customers with nonwoven materials, receives postindustrial materials from the conversion processes of its customers and incorporates recycled content into Berry’s Endura nonwovens line.
According to Berry, Endura Spunbond and Meltblown products contain up to 90-percent-recycled content for use in applications like disinfectant wipes, home and bedding, roofing and carpet tiles.
“Customers look to Berry for help in reaching their sustainability goals,” says Achim Schalk, executive vice president/general manager Health, Hygiene and Specialties Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Through our size and scale, we have the unique ability to invest and commercialize innovative, sustainable solutions to increase recycled content, reduce emissions and promote circularity.”
Through the use of the Endura line and closed-loop recycling, Berry will gain increased access to recycled plastic. The company says the use of postindustrial materials results in a 70 percent reduction of Scope 1 CO2 equivalent emissions during the manufacturing process, per kilogram, versus virgin materials, and will directly impact its target to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25 percent from 2019.
Berry says products under the Endura line are recognized under the SCS Recycled Content Certification, which measures the percentage of recycled content for the purpose of making an accurate claim in the marketplace, allowing customers the ability to include the SCS logo on-pack.
The U.S. is seeing a resurgence of the copper recycling industry.
The U.S. is seeing a resurgence of the copper recycling industry as the global copper market faces a deficit position and mining projects have hit roadblocks, said John Gross, publisher of "The Copper Journal." Gross was among the panelists speaking during the Copper Roundtable, Sept. 15, as part of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Commodity Roundtables in Chicago.
Gross said the meeting was timely, given that the U.S. copper industry is in the midst of the most important fundamental change that has happened during the past 25 years, if not longer, as investments are being made in secondary copper production. “The U.S. copper industry has reached pivotal point, and recyclers in the middle of it.”
Among the companies announcing projects are Ames Copper Group, Aurubis, Igneo and Wieland.
“These investments in copper are just the beginning,” Gross said, adding that other companies will jump on board.
Despite being the world’s largest economy, refined copper production and consumption have been declining in the U.S. “That's a sad situation,” Gross said. The U.S. consumes about 1.95 million metric tons of copper cathode per year, which is down from about 3.2 million metric tons in 2000. “If we look at consumption, inclusive of scrap, the number has changed dramatically,” Gross said. “So, you're up to 2.86 million [metric] tons when we put both sides of the equation together. So, scrap represents in the neighborhood of 30 percent of total copper consumption in the U.S.”
He added that the U.S. cannot have a green energy transition without copper. “We cannot rely on imports of copper” to make this transition; secondary copper production will expand in the U.S., Gross said.
Tim Strelitz, owner and president of California Metal-X, a copper-scrap-based alloy manufacturer based in Los Angeles, said that when he founded his company in 1979, California alone was home to five major brass smelters.
However, environmental compliance issues contributed to the closure of these facilities. Lower grades of copper scrap then ended up being exported to other countries, primarily China, and returned to the U.S. in the form of air conditioners and electrical appliances, Gross said.
In terms of copper production and consumption, Strelitz said, “China might have reached its apex.” He added, “It will be interesting to see what happens with respect to the United States and events here. Our opinion is, finally, we're seeing a resurgence of the copper industry in North America.”
Strelitz congratulated SDI La Farga, which began melting and refining copper scrap in Indiana in 2012, for recognizing the future of copper production and consumption. “We're going to come back to the United States.”
Given the deficit position copper is in, Gross said, “the price should be a heck of a lot higher than it is.” He added, “So why isn't it? That's an open-ended question. And I don't have Logically the answer.”
Strelitz added, “Knowing that copper is very tight, the price ought to be closer to $4.50, while we keep getting down to $3.40 and $3.30. And the lesson learned from that is don't play the game—sell what you buy and keep it moving.”
Edward Meir, president of Commodity Research Group, Darien, Connecticut, said, “I’ve never seen situation where we have no metals inventories, and yet their prices are coming down.” He added that “markets don't seem to care about that” for two reasons: off-exchange stocks and nervousness on the demand side.
Regarding off-exchange inventories, Meir said, he didn’t believe that was the case. “I don't think there is that much metal that's floating around, especially in this day and age.”
The rising dollar also is putting pressure on commodity prices, Meir said. “As the dollar has gone up, commodity prices have been under pressure, and they're falling—especially in the last few weeks, we've seen a very close correlation,” he said. Meir added that the Fed is “playing a very dangerous game, because they keep ratcheting the rates higher just when inflation could be leveling up and leveling off. And I think there is a danger they really could do a lot of damage to the economy as they go on this binge of raising rates because Wall Street is demanding it.”
The ISRI Commodity Roundtables were Sept. 14-16 in Chicago.
European Recycling Industries’ Confederation says “waste” policy will pinch recycling industry investments.
The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) is issuing what it calls “a stark warning” to European policymakers regarding “waste” shipment proposals that EuRIC says “risk significant job losses and hampering investment in Europe’s pioneering circular economy sector.”
European recyclers contribute 95 billion euros ($94.2 billion) to Europe’s “already fragile” economy, says the organization. Yet up 80 percent of metal and paper recyclers anticipate a reduction in revenue under current waste shipment proposals that affect highly recyclable non-waste materials including metal, paper and board.
More than 300,000 EU green jobs are sustained by the recycling sector, says EuRIC, yet up to 50 percent of metal and paper recyclers warn that job losses will be inevitable.
“Policymakers have a choice,” says Emmanuel Katrakis, secretary general of Brussels-based EuRIC. “Are they on the same side as a sector at the forefront of championing a European circular economy? Or do they want to encourage the extraction of raw materials over recycling? Waste shipment rules must change course to encourage free, fair and sustainable trade of recycled materials.”
EuRIC says the industry supports waste shipment restrictions that discourage exports of “problematic” materials outside the EU, citing mixed plastic, unprocessed tires, batteries and vehicles as in that category.
The organization says, however, it is concerned that current proposals incentivize extraction of raw materials, which is a significant source of pollution, over recycling. “Not only will this hinder Europe’s ability to achieve its recycling and net-zero emissions targets, but green job losses will also be unavoidable and investment in Europe’s circular economy will be significantly curtailed,” writes EuRIC.
Earlier this year at a Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) event, Antoine Stilo of EuRIC expressed concern at the lack of distinction made between green-listed (considered nonhazardous) and other materials. Stilo said this means non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries wanting to receive the former would be saddled with “a very burdensome administrative procedure.”
At the same event, BIR Trade & Environment Director Ross Bartley said under the proposed policy, exporting companies would face an audit obligation regarding their receiving facilities in non-OECD countries. (The OECD consists of 38 nations considered meeting criteria to have developed economies and that have ratified the OECD convention document.)
Adding that scrap-importing non-OECD countries “need to know what their interests are in terms of material requirements”, Bartley expressed surprise at their limited input to the revision process. Even at this advanced stage, he said, it was important that interested parties became active in contacting politicians with specific requests.
Exodus Global business unit adds Caleb Summers as a field service technician.
Connect Work Tools, part of Superior, Wisconsin-based Exodus Global, has announce that Caleb Summers has joined the company as a field service technician.
“I’ve worked with Caleb in the past and knew with his breaker experience and work ethic he would be a great fit for our Connect team,” says Brian Hawn, Connect Work Tools vice president of service. “I am excited to see him in the field working with and training our customers.”
Summers most recently was a breaker specialist at St. Louis Bobcat/Doosan and brings with him a breaker knowledge and equipment repair knowledge, and is certified in automotive technology.
“I am honored to be part of Connect Work Tools and Exodus Global companies as a team member,” Summers says. “Everybody has been super nice and welcoming me into the family.”
Summers will support Connect Work Tools’ customers with installation and repair of the company's hydraulic attachments throughout the United States.
Connect Work Tools product support and breaker specialist Johnnie Gibbons says, “Caleb is knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. We’ve worked together in the past on various projects. I believe he will bring a lot to our team.”
Connect Work Tools, based in Cleburne, Texas, was founded in 2015 and offers attachments including hydraulic breakers, compactors, rotating grapples and pulverizers for the construction, demolition, recycling and mining industries. Connect Work Tools also offers rebuild services and reconditioned equipment.
Exodus Global’s other divisions include ShearCore, BladeCore and OilQuick Americas.
New York-based organization conducts plastic sorting, recycling training in two states in India.
New York-based rePurpose Global says it has launched a new “upskilling initiative” this month in two states in India designed to boost plastic diversion and recycling in that nation.
The effort, known as the Plastic Reality Project, is “dedicated to upskilling and arming corporate leaders and environmental practitioners with knowledge and experiences to help shape plastic reduction efforts toward reduced inefficiencies, broader inclusivity and greater impact,” rePurpose says.
The organization cites research by Gartner, saying 90 percent of sustainable packaging commitments set by global enterprises are not on track to be met by 2025. “To help bridge this gap between ambition and action, the Plastic Reality Project aims to upskill 5,000 sustainability leaders in the next five years on tackling plastic pollution through educational expeditions, corporate training programs, peer mentoring networks, and a competency-based certification scheme of individual professionals,” rePurpose says.
Launched with support from Sustainable Ocean Alliance and the GreenBiz Group, the inaugural project is taking part this month in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India. Representatives from the World Economic Forum, Target, Emerson Collective, Riverside Natural Foods and Coca-Cola are expected to take part.
“As an environmental finance provider, we at rePurpose Global have evaluated hundreds of attempts to tackle plastic pollution across the globe in recent years, most of which have achieved limited success and scale,” says Peter Wang Hjemdahl, chief advocacy officer at rePurpose Global.
“Through the Plastic Reality Project, we hope to turn this spotty track record around and empower sustainability decision-makers with the knowledge they need to reduce bias in evaluating solutions, make better impact investments, and ultimately accelerate our fight against the plastic epidemic,” Wang Hjemdahl adds.
To date, rePurpose Global says it has been involved in implementing more than 10,000 “previously missing” waste collection systems and plastic reduction infrastructure in 15 cities in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Colombia and Ghana. As a result, the organization has helped divert more than 7,000 tons of plastic scrap away from oceans, the natural environment and landfills.
Craig Dudenhoeffer, chief innovation officer of Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), says, “Marine plastic pollution is a complex reality that can be difficult to grasp, let alone solve. This new initiative from rePurpose very much aligns with SOA’s mission to create a global workforce dedicated to restoring ocean health, and brings impact leaders to the heart of the issue to instigate meaningful action.”
The Plastic Reality Project also attracted support from GreenBiz. Jon Smieja, vice president of circularity at that organization, says, “GreenBiz’s mission is to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy, primarily through media and events. We’re excited to partner with rePurpose Global on the Plastic Reality Project—a unique and unparalleled initiative.”