Canada’s New Brunswick province plans to develop an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging and printed paper in collaboration with Recycle NB, Fredericton, New Brunswick, and other stakeholders. 

“New Brunswick will benefit from the implementation of this program because it increases recycling opportunities, diverts material from landfills and puts the onus on large producers to reduce their packaging,” says Environment and Local Government Minister Jeff Carr. “Having vibrant and sustainable communities is one of our government’s six key priority areas. Our environment and our communities will benefit from this program because it will lead to more recycling of a wider range of items.”

According to a news release from the provincial government, similar programs are in place in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, representing 80 percent of the Canadian population. 

“Extended producer responsibility is an environmental policy that gives industry the opportunity to accept its obligation to provide for the end-of-life management of the products it produces,” says Recycle NB CEO Frank LeBlanc. “We applaud the provincial government for moving towards a made-in-New Brunswick program that will see a 21st-century waste management solution.”

LeBlanc recently joined Recycle NB as its CEO in September. Recycle NB reports that he has a background in EPR and stewardship program development. 

New Brunswick residents already divert about 30 percent of packaging and printed paper through existing voluntary curbside recycling programs, the provincial government reports in a news release on the new EPR program. An EPR program is expected to divert more than 60 percent of this material.

“An extended producer responsibility program for packaging and printed paper will help reduce waste and reduce strain on our landfills,” says Wayne Sturgeon, president of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick. “It will save local governments money without costing our residents more in taxes. And since many products are priced nationally, New Brunswickers are already paying without getting the benefits.”

Currently, there are EPR programs in New Brunswick for tires, paint, oil and glycol products and electronics. 

Guest speaker Chris Slijkhuis of Austria-based Müller-Guttenbrunn Group (MGG) said one of the primary challenges affecting waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling is the recent Basel Convention amendment to control movements of “hazardous” material. He pointed to “unacceptable” delays in the notification process for moving material across borders, calling it “the big waiting” and giving the example of one of his company’s notification requests, which has been ongoing for more than three years.

“How can you build a circular economy on a basis like this?” he said.

Slijkhuis addressed the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) E-Scrap Committee during the 2019 World Recycling Convention Round-Table Session, which took place in Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 14-15.

He suggested that the authorities’ current “hazard” approach could “kill recycling” and called for a move in the direction of a “risk” approach.

“We know very well where the risks are,” he said. Such a change would release more potential for recycling to reduce both the extraction of virgin resources and carbon dioxide emissions, he argued.

Slijkhuis also highlighted material losses through illegal scavenging, collections and exports. Among other challenges, he recognized that WEEE plastics recycling technology is “complex” and requires “major investment.” At the same time, he underlined the scope for innovation, incluing MGG’s patented Smasher depollution equipment and MGG Polymers’ achievement of a separating PC-ABS from WEEE. MGG is a recycling company that specializes in end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and WEEE, as well as mixed metals and mixed plastics.

With plastics, the “key to success” is “to produce something that can go immediately into new products,” Slijkhuis said. This approach demanded substantial knowledge of plastic formulations to suit specific requirements as these commanded better prices.

Surendra Patawari Borad, chairman and founder of the brokerage firm Gemini Corp. NV, Antwerp, Belgium, reported that India is now allowing exports of printed circuit boards after a gap of several years. He added that the country is likely to generate 5.2 million metric tons of electronic scrap per year by 2020 compared with 2 million metric tons in 2016.

The report from China Scrap Plastics Association’s Executive President Steve Wong of Hong Kong-based plastics recycling company Fukutomi Co. Ltd. explained that several countries in Southeast Asia have been cracking down on illegal operators and imposing tighter controls, with some not allowing imports of postconsumer material.

On the issue of responsible recycling, BIR E-Scrap Committee Chairman Thomas Papageorgiou of Greece-based Anamet SA acknowledged the importance of controls to maintain safety, but also called for a balance to be struck.

After hearing Slijkhuis underline the need to create confidence through openness, transparency and development of industry standards, Robin Wiener, president of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, said the recycling industry must develop its own standards rather than leaving it to governments.

“We have to come together to define what is responsible recycling,” Wiener said.

The EPS Industry Alliance, Crofton, Maryland, has released a new study that proves the viability of expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling. The 2018 EPS Recycling Report shows overall growth in EPS recycling, even as recycling landscapes are changing, the EPS Industry Alliance reports in a news release.

Following a drop in 2017, the report indicates that there was a resurgence in EPS recycling in 2018, with more than 113 million pounds recycled. Numbers had previously dropped to 63 million in 2017, mainly due to U.S. facility closures and ongoing international market fluctuation, EPS Industry Alliance reports in a news release on its new study. The figures in the report show how postuse recycling increased, while postindustrial recycling nearly doubled from 2017.

In addition to U.S. EPS recycling numbers, the EPS Industry Alliance also collected EPS recycling data for the Canadian market. Topped at about 6.7 million kilograms (or 14.8 million pounds), the 2018 Canadian EPS Recycling Report highlights the highest amount of EPS recycled in Canada to date, EPS Industry Alliance reports. The report, which is now managed by the EPS Industry Alliance, breaks down the amount recycled into post-use and post-industrial recycling, at 2.8 million kilograms (6.2 million pounds) and 3.9 million kilograms (8.6 million pounds), respectively. When compared to the U.S., EPS is recycled at the same rate by population in Canada.

Additionally, the EPS Industry Alliance recently released a video, “We Want It Back,” to illustrate the industry’s focus on diverting EPS from the landfill in order to provide recycled feedstock to manufacturers. 

Click here to read the 2018 EPS Recycling Report. 

Total containerboard production in September decreased 4 percent compared with September 2018, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, reports in its September 2019 Containerboard Monthly report.

According to a news release from AF&PA, September production of containerboard for export decreased 20 percent compared with the same month last year, and it is down 18 percent year to date. The containerboard operating rate was 93.0 percent, down 4 percentage points from this month last year and down 6.1 points year to date.

In addition, mill inventories of containerboard at the end of September decreased 22,000 short tons from the previous month and were up 27,000 short tons compared with September 2018, AF&PA reports. 

September boxboard production

In addition, AF&PA reports in its September 2019 Boxboard Monthly report that total boxboard production in September decreased 3 percent compared with September 2018. It was down 1 percent when compared with the same nine months in 2018. The boxboard operating rate was 91.1 percent, down 2.2 points from September 2018 and down 1.3 points year to date.

AF&PA reports that recycled boxboard production in September decreased 1 percent compared with September 2018. It was also down 1 percent when compared with the same nine months of 2018. Additionally, solid bleached boxboard production in September decreased 7 percent compared with September 2018, and it was down 1 percent when compared with the same nine months of 2018. Unbleahced Kraft and gypsum production in September remained flat compared with September 2018. 

The complete September 2019 Containerboard Monthly report and the complete September 2019 Boxboard Monthly report with detailed tables, charts and historical data can be purchased by contacting Kory Bockman at statistics_publications@afandpa.org or 202-463-4716.