The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), Boston, has awarded $3.2 million in grant funding to 269 municipalities and regional solid waste districts throughout the state through its Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP). According to a news release from MassDEP, the grants will help communities across the state to grow their recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.

“Some of the most important environmental protection work happens every day in communities throughout Massachusetts through local recycling and solid waste programs,” says Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. “With this assistance, we are ensuring that local officials, residents and small business owners can continue protecting the commonwealth’s neighborhoods and natural resources.”

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito says the SMRP grants have helped to improve recycling programs across the state in past years. As a result, she says, the state is awarding 7 percent more in funding to SMRP this year compared with 2019.

Under SMRP, 227 communities qualified for the Recycling Dividends Program (RDP) and will receive payments ranging from $2,450 to $97,500. The RDP recognizes municipalities that have implemented policies and programs proven to maximize materials reuse and recycling as well as waste reduction. Communities that earn RDP payments must reinvest the funds in their recycling programs for things such as new recycling bins or carts, public education and outreach campaigns, collection of hard-to-recycle items and establishing recycling programs in schools, municipal buildings or public spaces.

As part of this SMRP grant round, 42 municipalities that did not apply for or qualify for an RDP payment will be awarded a total of $45,250 for a Small-Scale Initiatives Grant, MassDEP reports. These population-based grants range from $500 to $2,000 each and help communities purchase recycling materials and outreach tools needed to sustain their existing recycling program or to facilitate new, low-cost initiatives.

With the grants, MassDEP reports that 12 Massachusetts-based municipalities earned a payment of at least $50,000, including Cambridge at $97,500; New Bedford at $91,000; Boston at $80,000; Springfield and Worcester at $71,500; Brockton, Lowell, Newton and Quincy earning between $60,000 and $70,000; and Brookline, Chicopee and Lynn earning between $50,000 and $60,000. A full list of grant recipients is online.

MassDEP launched its RDP in 2014 as part of its SMRP, which was created by the Green Communities Act of 2008. The act requires that a portion of proceeds from the sale of waste energy certificates be directed to recycling programs approved by MassDEP. The SMRP initiative has provided more than $41.6 million in recycling programs since 2010.

Mars Inc., McLean, Virginia, has announced that it will incorporate recycled polypropylene (PP) into the primary packaging for some of its pet food brands. Through its partnership with Huhtamaki, Espoo, Finland, and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Mars will use recycled plastic that has been manufactured using a chemical recycling process for its pet food packs. According to a news release from Mars, the new packs will not feel or be different from those made with traditional virgin plastic.

The company says SABIC’s recycling approach used to make its circular PP is one of the only solutions available to take mixed plastics and transform it into plastic suitable for food-grade packaging. The recycled PP is certified under the Institute of Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) scheme that uses a mass balance approach.

Mars reports that it wants to reduce its virgin plastics use across its packaging portfolio. The company has a Sustainable Packaging Plan to use 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025. Using chemical recycling technology will help the company to use 30 percent recycled plastics and to reduce its virgin plastics use by 25 percent, according to the company. Mars says it is piloting using the recycled PP in Europe this year and will increase volumes used in 2021 with ambitions to expand the use of recycled content to other brands.

“Plastic packaging is littering our land and oceans is not acceptable, and at Mars, we’re committed to helping address this problem. To do this, we need to reduce packaging we don’t need, redesign the remaining packaging to become circular and invest to close the loop to help scale up recycling systems,” says Barry Parkin, chief procurement and sustainability officer at Mars. “Through our partnership with Huhtamaki and SABIC, we will test and learn, progressively scale up recycled plastic content in our packs and ultimately help drive circular packaging systems.”

Rumpke Waste & Recycling, headquartered in Cincinnati, unveiled its newly expanded Medora Recycling Center in Medora, Indiana, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct 30.  

According to the company, the 9,520-square-foot facility features a larger tipping floor to accept recyclables, push walls to better contain material and an overhead enclosure.

The expansion was partially supported by a $175,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM’s) Recycling Market Development Program. Rumpke invested an additional $175,000 in the project.

“Rumpke is committed to providing access to recycling services for residents and businesses in Jackson and surrounding counties, and the Medora Recycling Center is an important part of that mission,” Steve Sargent, director of recycling for Rumpke, says. “With increased recycling volumes and stricter quality standards in place, these upgrades will provide the capacity necessary to effectively process good, clean material for years to come.”

Since opening in 2017, the facility has processed nearly 22,000 tons of old corrugated containers and residential recyclables. Loose cardboard collected from area schools, businesses and institutions is baled at the Medora facility and shipped to Pratt Industries in Valparaiso, Indiana. Residential material is transported to the Medora facility, compacted and sent to Rumpke’s regional recycling facility in Cincinnati for final processing.

“We’ve developed long-term marketing contracts with end-users in the Midwest—many of which are right here in Indiana—who accept recyclable material to create new products,” Sargent says. “The effects of a circular economy are on full display in Indiana, and we’re proud to play a role in helping fuel that process through the Medora Recycling Center.”

Rumpke sends some of its glass to Ardagh Glass in Dunkirk, Indiana, and Johns Manville in Richmond, Indiana. Other end-users within the state include Perpetual Recycling in Richmond, Indiana, and Brightmark in Ashley, Indiana.

Rumpke owns and operates 11 recycling facilities and processes 1 billion pounds of recyclables each year, the company says. In the past 10 years, it has invested more than $60 million in recycling infrastructure throughout the Midwest.

Waste Management Inc., Houston, announced financial results for the third quarter on Nov. 2.

Revenue

In the third quarter, revenue declined $99 million in the company’s collection and disposal business compared to the third quarter of 2019, driven by $192 million in volume declines partially offset by $93 million of growth from yield.

Core price for the third quarter was 3.2 percent compared to 4 percent in the third quarter of 2019 and 1.3 percent in the second quarter.

Collection and disposal yield was 2.6 percent in both the third quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2019 compared to 1.6 percent in the second quarter.

Total company volumes declined 5 percent in the third quarter, or 5.1 percent on a workday adjusted basis, compared to growth of 1.9 percent on a workday adjusted basis in the third quarter of 2019 and a decline of 10.3 percent in the second quarter.

Cost management

Company operating expenses as a percentage of revenue improved 110 basis points to 60.4 percent when compared to the third quarter of 2019. According to Waste Management, the improvement was primarily driven by the company’s proactive management of costs, which reduced overtime hours and maintenance expenses. In addition, the company’s strategic focus on increasing the compressed natural gas composition of its fleet, combined with lower market prices for diesel fuel, resulted in lower operating costs and improved margins.

SG&A expenses were 10.8 percent of revenue in the third quarter compared to 9.7 percent in the third quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, SG&A expenses were 10.1 percent of revenue in the third quarter compared to 9.7 percent in the third quarter of 2019. The increase in SG&A expenses as a percent of revenue is primarily related to the decline in revenue as well as additional incentive compensation costs and the company’s intentional accelerated spending on technology, the company says.

Profitability

Total company operating EBITDA was $1.1 billion, or 28.5 percent of revenue, for the third quarter. On an adjusted basis, total company operating EBITDA was $1.14 billion, or 29.5 percent of revenue, for the third quarter compared to adjusted operating EBITDA of $1.14 billion and 28.8 percent of revenue for the same period in 2019.

Operating EBITDA in the company’s collection and disposal business, adjusted on the same basis as total company operating EBITDA, was $1.27 billion, or 31.2 percent of revenue, for the third quarter, compared to $1.3 billion, or 30.9 percent of revenue, for the third quarter of 2019.

Free cash flow and capital allocation

In the third quarter, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.03 billion, compared to $952 million in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of $77 million, or 8.1 percent.

In the third quarter, capital expenditures were $343 million compared to $483 million in the third quarter of 2019.

In the third quarter, free cash flow was $691 million compared to $478 million in the third quarter of 2019.

The company also paid $230 million of dividends to shareholders, Waste Management reports.

“We’ve consistently pointed to operating EBITDA as the best measure of the health of our business, and despite the challenging backdrop, we delivered third quarter adjusted operating EBITDA results in line with last year’s record performance and expanded adjusted operating EBITDA margin by 70 basis points,” Waste Management President and CEO Jim Fish says. “This is a testament both to our team’s ability to optimize our business in the new environment as well as the progress of economic recovery in North America.

“In addition to our strong quarterly results, we are also proud to have published our 2020 Sustainability Report last month. Titled ‘Building Value Together,’ the report describes how we are addressing challenges and opportunities related to the environment, social issues and governance, and doing so in close partnership with our customers, suppliers and communities. Amidst the crises of 2020, we remained steadfast to our commitments of putting people first, advocating for inclusion and diversity, protecting the environment, and contributing to a circular economy.”

Waste Management announces that it expects to exceed its 2020 adjusted operating EBITDA margin guidance of 28 percent to 28.5 percent and generate free cash flow in excess of $2 billion.

“We have taken to heart lessons learned during this pandemic such that we will emerge a stronger, more differentiated company,” Fish concludes. “We’ve learned that we can operate our business with a lower cost structure, and we are holding on to operating efficiencies and cost savings as our volumes recover. Our customer service digitalization investments are unquestionably the right approach, and we have accelerated these efforts to reap the benefits sooner. With further contributions from the acquisition of Advanced Disposal that closed last week and our progress in transforming the recycling business, we are well-positioned for a strong finish to the year with positive momentum heading into 2021.”