Hamburg, Germany-based Aurubis AG has reported that it increased operating earnings before taxes by 15 percent to 221 million euros ($268 million) in the past fiscal year. Operating consolidated net income also increased, rising by 21 percent to 167 million euros ($203 million).

The company says significantly higher refining charges for copper scrap and other recyclable materials contributed to its higher earnings. Its throughput of material with low metallic content also increased substantially in part because the Metallo sites in Beerse, Belgium, and Berango, Spain, were included in its results starting in June. With the purchase of Metallo, Aurubis says it has expanded its product portfolio and its capacities for processing lower metal-content grades of scrap.

“The integration of Metallo is going completely according to plan,” Aurubis AG Executive Board Chairman Roland Harings says. “We are confident that we will even exceed the targeted synergy potential of 10 to 15 million euros ($12 million to $18 million) in the next three years.”

Earnings also were positively affected by a significantly higher metal gain accompanied by increased precious metal prices and a substantially higher concentrate throughput, counterbalanced by lower treatment and refining charges for copper concentrates owing to market factors, Aurubis says.

Cathode sales to Asia, particularly to China, which had a quota system in place for much of 2020 for copper scrap imports that led it to purchase more cathode, compensated for the drop in demand from Europe related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Harings says, “Our broad position in a number of regions, and particularly our expertise in copper and nonferrous metal recycling, provide us with stability. In spite of the ongoing pandemic, we therefore look to the new fiscal year with a sense of cautious optimism and expect the result to be in a slightly higher target range.”

Aurubis says it expects global copper demand to increase in 2021 following the temporary decline in 2020 related to the pandemic. Therefore, the company says its copper premium will stay at the prior-year level of $96 per metric ton above the London Metal Exchange three-month benchmark.

The company adds that it expects copper concentrates and recyclables to be well supplied.

While Aurubis acquired Metallo earlier this year and formed a joint venture for cable recycling with TSR Recycling GmbH & Co. KG, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, it plans to sell its flat-rolled products (FRP) segment.

“It is still our clear intention to sell FRP, and we are in an advanced stage of negotiations,” Harings says. “However, the process has been delayed by the coronavirus crisis.”

Aurubis says sustainability is another key part of its strategy. To that end, the company plans to certify its production sites, starting with its plant in Pirdop, Bulgaria, to the Copper Mark, which it refers to as a quality seal for the sustainable production of copper. It also will embark on other projects intended to reduce its CO₂ footprint.

The company’s complete “Annual Report 2019/20” is at www.aurubis.com/en/investor-relations/news-and-reports/annual-reports.

JS Capital Management, the private investment firm led by Jonathan Soros, and Schusterman Family Investments, both based in New York, have acquired a minority stake in Closed Loop Partners, according to a news release issued by the New York-based circular economy investment firm. JS Capital’s most recent investment expands its existing partnership with Closed Loop Partners, having become a limited partner across that organization’s funds and an active co-investor in 2018.

Closed Loop Partners’ asset management division is comprised of venture capital, project finance, growth equity and private equity. To date, the firm says it has invested in more than 40 companies across sectors, including consumer products and packaging, fashion, food and agriculture and technology. Investors in Closed Loop Partners’ funds include the world’s largest retailers, consumer goods and technology companies, financial institutions, family offices and foundations.

Additionally, Closed Loop Partners’ innovation center, the Center for the Circular Economy, works across brands, countries and industries to create the systems change necessary for the advancement of the circular economy through research, analysis and collaboration, according to the organization.

 Jonathan Soros says, "Ron Gonen and Closed Loop Partners have been pioneers as investors and thought leaders in the circular economy. Their networks and expertise are unparalleled in the field.”

Gonen, who founded Closed Loop Partners and serves as its CEO, says, “With an exceptional investment track record and deep commitment to a sustainable future, JS Capital and Schusterman Family Investments make ideal partners for the next chapter of our growth.”  

A circular economy offers a viable business framework to reduce costs, increase efficiency and protect the environment we share, benefiting people, the planet and business. At a time when climate change and sustainability are no longer top of mind for only waste-conscious consumers, but for investors, brands and governments across the globe, business as usual must change to avoid the economic, social and environmental risks of climate inaction.

Trelleborg Wheel Systems, Italy, has announced the expansion of its Brawler HPS (High Performance Solid) Telehandler Tire range to include the Comfort line, which the company says offers tires engineered to reduce vibration and improve the driving experience of telehandlers and compact wheel loaders in waste and recycling applications.

According to Trelleborg, the new line of solid tires maximizes ride comfort, while delivering the best possible performance in demanding environments.

“Waste and recycling applications are extremely demanding on tires, which are at risk of being damaged or punctured during operations. Standard solid tires give increased safety and require zero maintenance, but this often comes at the expense of operator comfort,” says Alessio Bucci, product marketing senior manager at Trelleborg. “Now, with the introduction of Trelleborg’s COMFORT line for telehandlers and compact wheel loaders, drivers will experience a softer ride thanks to increased shock absorption and reduced vibration.”

Featuring a wide footprint, Trelleborg’s Comfort line tires are designed to provide better traction compared to standard solid tires. The company says the wide, flat tread design affords excellent stability and extended operating hours, while a deep lug tread design gives three times more wear than a pneumatic tire.

“At Trelleborg, we believe that driver comfort is essential to productivity. After receiving a very positive market response to our Brawler 25-inch HPS Soft Ride line, we decided to extend the concept to our smaller 24-inch range of HPS tires for telehandlers and compact wheel loaders,” Bucci says.

The Comfort line includes tire sizes 43x15-24; 47x17-24; 13.00-24; and 14.00-24.

For more information about the Trelleborg Comfort line, visit here.

Keurig Dr Pepper, Plano, Texas, announced Dec. 8 that it has achieved one of its longstanding sustainability commitments in making all the K-Cup pods the company produces recyclable.  

The effort involved converting more than 100 manufacturing lines to produce the pods, now made from polypropylene (PP), or No. 5, plastic. In addition, new packaging for the recyclable K-Cup pods features a green recyclable flag as well as a How2Recycle label that clearly communicates recycling instructions to consumers.

Keurig Dr Pepper produces approximately 80 percent of the coffee pods sold at retail for use in Keurig brewers and, earlier this year, began shipping the new recyclable pods to retailers. The now are largely distributed on retail shelves.   

"It's an exciting day for Keurig Dr Pepper and our partners as we complete this multiyear journey that required intensive product development, significant capital investment and expansive industry engagement," Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer at Keurig Dr Pepper, says.

To ensure pods could be successfully recovered at material recovery facilities (MRFs), Keurig Dr Pepper pioneered testing using RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology in 2016 to track tens of thousands of K-Cup pods in various MRFs across North America. Those tests demonstrated that K-Cup pods were able to successfully pass through the stream with other recyclables to be further sorted with containers, a finding which was further validated by the Association of Plastic Recyclers, Washington.

In addition to converting 100 percent of K-Cup pods to the new recyclable format, Keurig Dr Pepper says it has intensified its efforts to ensure that MRFs across the U.S. have the capability to recycle PP. Earlier this year, with a $10 million commitment, the company became a founding member and the largest funder of The Recycling Partnership's Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, a collaborative of 18 organizations dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality of polypropylene recycling in the U.S. 

"Designing recyclable coffee pods is just one important step in our journey to make the Keurig brewing system more sustainable. Our work continues to minimize our overall plastic footprint while we play a leadership role in cross-industry collaborations for critical recycling infrastructure improvements across the United States and Canada in support of a circular economy," Oxender says.

Keurig Dr Pepper is also a principal member of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF’s) ReSource: Plastic activation hub, which seeks to quantify corporate impact and track company actions to reduce plastic waste.

"We developed ReSource: Plastic to help companies turn their plastic waste commitments into action, and that's exactly what Keurig Dr Pepper has done with today's announcement," Erin Simon, head of Plastic Waste and Business at the World Wildlife Fund, says. "Access to recyclable content is essential if we're going to build a larger plastic waste management system. Investing in polypropylene is a positive step toward building a system where materials can be successfully recovered."

Keurig Dr Pepper’s research and development teams are working on new sustainability innovations for Keurig brewers and pods. In  Canada and the U.S., the Keurig K-Mini and K-Mini Plus coffee makers are made with at least 20 percent and 30 percent postconsumer resin (PCR), respectively, and the new K-Supreme Plus brewer also contains at least 30 percent PCR content. The company plans to increase those percentages in those brewers in 2021 while expanding the use of PCR to more brewer models.