Pictured above: Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson, and David Katz, CEO of Plastic Bank, open the first of eight recycling centers in Indonesia.

SC Johnson, Racine, Wisconsin, made several commitments to further reduce its plastic footprint by boosting its recycled plastic content in its packaging. According to an SC Johnson news release, the company plans to do this by supporting reuse of plastic bottles through concentrated refills and launching an effort to make Ziploc bags recyclable at curbside. 

“At SC Johnson, being an environmental leader has been a principle we have worked hard at for generations," says Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson, in a company news release. "With the increasing spotlight on the global plastic waste crisis, we wanted to share our efforts externally. We hope they inspire other companies to take similar steps toward a circular plastic economy, because the planet simply cannot sustain the status quo.”

The company plans to make these commitments in accordance with the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an SC Johnson news release reports. Through the commitments, SC Johnson announced plans to do the following: 

• Have 100 percent of its plastic packaging be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Currently about 90 percent of SC Johnson’s packaging is designed to be recyclable, reusable or compostable.
• Triple the amount of postconsumer recycled (PCR) plastic content in SC Johnson packaging by 2025. SC Johnson will increase its use of PCR plastic in its packaging from 10 million kilograms to more than 30 million kilograms by 2025. The company will also increase the percentage of PCR plastic that it uses in its North American and European bottles from 20 percent today to 40 percent by 2025.
• Expand the number of concentrated refill options for SC Johnson products by 2025. Since 2011, the company has been making concentrated liquid refills for its Home Cleaning trigger bottle products in the U.S. Each trigger bottle is designed to deliver 10,000 sprays so it can be refilled and reused an average of 13 times, every time avoiding a single-use alternative. The company will continue to expand its variety of concentrated refill options.
• Continue to remove excess plastics wherever possible. From 2011 to 2017, the company has removed 9.5 million kilograms of materials from its packaging.
• Implement curbside recycling of plastic film. SC Johnson will continue its effort to make curbside recycling of flexible plastic film such as Ziploc brand bags a reality in the U.S. SC Johnson is also promoting reuse of Ziploc brand bags, which are made to be reused many times.
• Work with industry and other organizations to support circular plastic economy models. SC Johnson will work with industry and nongovernmental organizations to further support the circular plastic economy and keep plastic out of landfills and the environment.

Georgia-based asset management and electronic recycling company Premier Surplus Inc. and SSI Shredding Systems, based in Wilsonville, Oregon, have announced the completion of a new e-scrap shredding system design.

According to a recent news release, the system will replace the company's original shredding line with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

“Premier Surplus has very specific goals and a desire to offer their clients tailored solutions,” SSI Director of Sales and Marketing Dave Fleming says in the news release. “This approach allows Premier to consider a wider breadth of materials than a typical processor might at a time when the industry is full of people looking for reliable domestic outlets. SSI is thrilled to be selected as a part of Premier’s growth plans and is excited to supply their next generation e-scrap processing system.” 

Premier Surplus President Phillip Kennedy says the company has been shredding e-scrap for more than five years and is “faced with much more volume and harder to recycle electronics.” The system will help achieve maximum commodity recovery, landfill diversion and proper downstream treatment of materials, he says.

“Working with SSI has been amazing. We spent a great deal of time reviewing multiple system designs and proposals before selecting the equipment that will work for our application,” Kennedy says in the release. “Every item was carefully chosen and sized to streamline the shred system. The new system will have the latest and greatest in sorting technology and we feel our client base will be very happy with the finished product.”

SSI brought guidance and industry knowledge to help Premier Surplus design the new shredding system. The system is set to be installed March 2019.

“We designed the new shred system around our existing system, so we can simultaneously perform data and product destruction projects while at the same time processing the electronic scrap,” Kennedy says.

PepsiCo Inc. has announced a plan to use 25 percent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025.

The Purchase, New York-based beverage and consumer products company says to reach the goal it will be collaborating with suppliers and partners, “helping increase consumer education, fostering cross-industry and public-private partnerships and advocating for improved recycling infrastructure and regulatory reform,” all of which will be needed to allow the company to reach the 25 percent recycled-content level. The goal includes a specific target of achieving a 33 percent recycled-content level for its PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles by 2025.

“PepsiCo’s sustainable plastics vision is to build a PepsiCo where plastics need never become waste,” says Mehmood Khan, Pepsi’s vice chairman and chief scientific officer. “We intend to achieve that vision by reducing, recycling and reusing, and reinventing our plastic packaging – and leading global change through partnerships.”

Adds Khan, “Already, PepsiCo is one of the world's largest users of food-grade recycled PET. To further boost recycled content across all plastic packaging and drive progress towards a circular economy for plastics, it is vital to dramatically increase global waste collection and recycling rates through investment in recycling infrastructure and technology.”

Over the past year, PepsiCo says it has taken several measures to support its sustainable plastics vision and related Performance with Purpose 2025 Agenda goals, including:

• In July, the PepsiCo Foundation and The Recycling Partnership announced the launch of “All in on Recycling,” which they call the largest ever industrywide residential recycling challenge to make it easier for 25 million households in the United States to recycle.
• In September, PepsiCo announced it would collaborate in the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), led by the World Economic Forum. That initiative is designed to work with stakeholders in coastal economies, including in Southeast Asia, to show how businesses, communities and governments can redesign their waste management systems to create a circular model.
• Earlier in October 2018, PepsiCo entered into a multiyear supply agreement with Loop Industries to incorporate Loop PET plastic, which is made from 100 percent recycled material, into its product packaging by mid-2020. Loop’s chemical recycling technology is designed to let low-value plastics be diverted, recovered and recycled continuously into new, virgin-quality plastic.

Buffalo, New York-based private equity firm Summer Street Capital Partners LLC has announced an investment in Coastal Waste and Recycling of Pompano Beach, Florida.

Summer Street says it has partnered with Brendon Pantano, CEO of Coastal Waste, to execute what it calls an aggressive growth strategy to build a regional solid waste and recycling platform. Over the past 12 months, Coastal has completed four acquisitions in Southeast Florida, acquiring Nu-Way Recycling, Aquarius Recycling, Thoroughbred Waste and Mammoth Recycling.

“Summer Street has a wealth of experience and direct industry knowledge that is unique to a financial partner,” says Pantano. “They have been building independent, regional solid waste and recycling platforms for nearly two decades, and understand that to succeed and grow, Coastal must become the buyer of choice in the market, earning the trust and confidence of business owners and customers.”

“Summer Street and Management share a clear vision for Coastal Waste – build a full-service solid waste platform, differentiating ourselves through customized, professional and reliable services to our customers,” says Brian D’Amico, Summer Street’s managing partner. “Coastal has achieved remarkable growth in the last 12 months. Even more remarkable are the employees of Coastal, whose dedication, integrity, and dependability will drive the company’s continued success.”