Nova Chemicals Corp., a Calgary, Alberta-based manufacturer of chemicals and plastic resins, has collaborated with Charter Next Generation (CNG), a Milton, Wisconsin-based independent producer of high-performance specialty films used in flexible packaging, to increase CNG’s use of postconsumer resin for flexible film applications. Nova Chemicals says railcar quantities of PCR arrived at CNG’s manufacturing facilities in October.

“We’re incredibly proud to introduce railcar quantities of PCR to our portfolio of product offerings. This is a significant milestone in how we’re delivering value to our customers and there’s much more to come as we look to achieve our bold ambition of creating a circular economy for plastic materials,” says Luis Sierra, president and chief executive officer of Nova Chemicals. “Incorporating PCR into products and packaging is an essential component to eliminating plastic waste. We are delighted to work with film producers like Charter Next Generation to help shape a world where plastic products are even better tomorrow than they are today.”

According to a news release from Nova Chemicals, the company’s polyethylene (PE) PCR business is expanding to support customer demand for recyclable film structures with recycled content to meet converter, brand owner and retailer sustainability goals. CNG’s purchase of recycled, linear low-density polyethylene (rLLDPE) can be used in a range of nonfood film applications, including e-commerce packaging, heavy-duty sacks, collation shrink and industrial films.

“Charter Next Generation is proud to be a leader in sustainable film solutions and is committed to proving that circularity at scale is possible,” says Kathy Bolhous, chief executive officer of Charter Next Generation, adding that the company’s work with Nova Chemicals is helping to advance its circularity goals.

The PCR that CNG is purchasing from Nova Chemicals will be used in films that are sold as part of the GreenArrow platform. The platform enables firms to reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, use postconsumer recycled resins and convert multimaterial, unrecyclable packaging into recyclable formats approved for store drop-off.

“CNG is a leader in the plastics circularity journey,” says Greg DeKunder, vice president of polyethylene marketing at Nova Chemicals. “The GreenArrow platform demonstrates a deep commitment to sustainability and how CNG is taking action. We look forward to continuing our long-standing collaborative relationship and meeting CNG’s PE-PCR supply needs.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has promoted three executives within the association, including Elizabeth VanDersarl to vice president for strategy and operations, Lindsay Murphy to vice president of strategic communications and Terry Webber to vice president of industry affairs.

VanDersarl formerly served as AF&PA’s interim vice president of government and industry affairs. In her new role, she will be responsible for providing strategic guidance for the goals of the association and overseeing human resources, facilities, meetings, information technology and some finance functions at AF&PA. VanDersarl joined AF&PA in 2005 and has held numerous positions, including vice president of government affairs. Prior to joining the association, she helped lead the development of regulatory policy and White House review of regulations at the Office of Management & Budget. Her areas of focus included homeland security, transportation, labor, housing and health. VanDersarl also served as counsel to Ranking Sen. Fred Thompson on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Her first job in Washington was with political pollster and pundit Frank Luntz. Before arriving to the nation’s capital, she was an assistant state’s attorney in Illinois.

AF&PA
Murphy

Prior to the promotion, Murphy served as AF&PA’s executive director of strategic communications. In the new position, she will be responsible for crafting and executing complex strategic communications plans on notable public policy issues. Murphy joined AF&PA in January 2019. She has led the modernization of digital assets to advance legislative and policy goals and addressed a wide variety of communications challenges—advancing issues, garnering publicity and negotiating crowded message environments. Having begun her career on Capitol Hill, Murphy previously held positions at various nonprofit, health trade associations and public affairs firms directing strategy and outreach.

Before stepping up as AF&PA’s vice president of industry affairs, Webber served as AF&PA’s executive director of packaging. In his new role, he will be responsible for maintaining synergy with government affairs, ensuring robust and integrated marketplace strategies across the sectors, and identifying new engagement opportunities for AF&PA Industry Statistics. He joined AF&PA in 2011 and has worked in various roles in government and industry affairs. Prior to joining AF&PA, Webber was a postgraduate legal fellow for the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a legal extern for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. He also has an extensive background in Oregon politics, as campaign staff for former NBA Player Chris Dudley’s 2010 run for Oregon governor and as senior staff for the state House Republican Caucus.

“I am excited to announce the staff promotions of Elizabeth VanDersarl, Lindsay Murphy and Terry Webber,” says AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “These staff members are passionate in their pursuit of our member companies’ remarkable sustainability goals, Better Practices, Better Planet 2030: Sustainable Products for a Sustainable Future. Today, we recognize their significant contributions made to AF&PA and the paper and wood products industry. I look forward to their continued leadership and congratulate them on their success.”

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Charlotte, North Carolina, has released its “2020 PET Recycling Report,” which marks its 26^th edition of the annual report.

According to the report, the amount of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) used by end markets in the U.S. and Canada increased by 10 percent, signaling strong support of postconsumer content in brand packaging.

RPET use by the Food/Beverage and Non-Food/Beverage Bottle categories grew by 32 percent in total, surpassing fiber for the first time as the primary user of postconsumer PET bottles.

Additionally, from 2010 through 2020, rPET consumption in U.S. and Canadian markets has grown from 1 billion pounds to 1.8 billion pounds.

“This continued increase of postconsumer rPET usage in bottles and jars is encouraging and points to a commitment toward a circular economy by brand owners,” says Tom Busard, NAPCOR chairman and chief procurement officer for Plastipak Packaging Inc. of Plymouth, Michigan, and president of Clean Tech, Plastipak’s recycling affiliate.

NAPCOR says its analysis shows the higher market demand outpaced collection, which drove PET reclaimers to rely more heavily on imports after depleting their existing inventories.

In 2020, the collection of PET bottles decreased by approximately 2.3  percent in the United States, which resulted in a 26.6 percent recycling rate for PET bottles. This is a 1.3 percentage point decrease from the 2019 rate of 27.9 percent. NAPCOR says this is not surprising given the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including the closure of redemption centers and disruption in curbside recycling.

When figures from Mexico and Canada are included, the 2020 North American PET recycling rate for 2020 totaled 33.9 percent, which is a slight decline from the 35 percent rate reported in 2019.

The “2020 PET Recycling Report” also includes a PET thermoform market analysis, revealing that postconsumer collection volumes for the year surpassed 2019 numbers.

Darrel Collier, NAPCOR executive director, says, “PET thermoforms have been a significant and growing end market over the years. By expanding our discussion and analysis of PET thermoforms, we have additional data points illustrating that thermoform-to-thermoform recycling is occurring.”

He adds that while NAPCOR is encouraged by the effort to develop thermoform-to-thermoform recycling, challenges remain.

NAPCOR says it continues to work to address these and other ongoing challenges for the industry, with a particular focus on methods to increase the amount of PET that gets recycled.

To purchase the full 2020 PET Recycling Report, visit www.napcor.com/reports-resources.

Honeywell, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, says it has commercialized a process that expands the types of plastics that can be recycled, producing feedstock that enables manufacturing recycled plastics with a lower carbon footprint.

The company’s UpCycle Process Technology uses molecular conversion, pyrolysis and contaminants management technology to convert end-of-life plastics into feedstock for the production of recycled plastics. It is suitable for colored, flexible, multilayered packaging and polystyrene. When used in conjunction with other chemical and mechanical recycling processes—along with improvements to collection and sorting—Honeywell says its UpCycle Process Technology has the potential to increase the amount global plastic recycling rate to 90 percent.

The company says recycled plastics produced via UpCycle Process Technology can result in a 57 percent reduction of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂e) emissions compared with the production of the same amount of virgin plastic from fossil feeds, according to a Honeywell Life Cycle Analysis published in October. The process also reduces CO₂e emissions by 77 percent compared with conventional modes of handling postuse plastic, such as incineration and landfilling.

"Plastics play an important role in our society, including expanding the shelf life of food and making vehicles lighter, which reduces their emissions. Unfortunately, only a fraction of plastics today can be successfully recycled," says Vimal Kapur, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies. "Honeywell's UpCycle process helps fix this problem. By broadening the types of plastic that can be recycled, UpCycle will revolutionize the plastics economy and play a critical role in improving the sustainability of many of the products we use on a daily basis."

Sacyr, a global engineering and services company headquartered in Madrid with operations in more than 20 countries worldwide, will be the first to deploy Honeywell's proprietary UpCycle Process Technology. Honeywell and Sacyr are partnering to form a joint venture where the two companies will co-own and operate a facility in Andalucía, in southern Spain, with the capacity to handle 30,000 metric tons annually of mixed plastics into Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock. Production is expected to begin in 2023, Honeywell says.

Partnering with companies that have waste management experience will allow Honeywell to help close the loop within the plastics supply chain by bringing the recycling technology on-site to the collection source. The recycling plants feature a modular design, facilitating deployment and installation, according to the company.

"Our partnership with Honeywell will enable Sacyr to bring sustainable, circular solutions to market," says Domingo Jiménez, manager of Sacyr Circular. "The speed with which we can start up plants and the global viability of this solution has the potential to greatly accelerate the impact we can have on the communities we serve, the environment and society as a whole."

Honeywell's UpCycle Process Technology was created within Honeywell's Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) group, which is part of Honeywell UOP.