The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Oct. 27. Currently, OSHA does not have a specific standard for hazardous heat conditions, and this action begins the process to consider a heat-specific workplace rule.

“As we continue to see temperatures rise and records broken, our changing climate affects millions of America’s workers who are exposed to tough and potentially dangerous heat,” says U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. “We know a disproportionate number of people of color perform this critical work and they, like all workers, deserve protections. We must act now to address the impacts of extreme heat and to prevent workers from suffering the agony of heat illness or death.”

The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will initiate a comment period to gather diverse perspectives and expertise on topics, such as heat-stress thresholds, heat-acclimatization planning and exposure monitoring.

“While heat illness is largely preventable and commonly underreported, thousands of workers are sickened each year by workplace heat exposure, and in some cases, heat exposure can be fatal,” says Jim Frederick, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. “The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings is an important part of our multipronged initiative to protect indoor and outdoor workers from hazardous heat.”

Heat is the leading cause of death among all weather-related workplace hazards. To help address this threat, OSHA implemented a nationwide enforcement initiative on heat-related hazards, is developing a National Emphasis Program on heat inspections and is forming a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group to provide a better understanding of challenges and identify and share best practices to protect workers.

Read the Federal Register notice for submission instructions. Beginning Oct. 27, submit comments at www.regulations.gov, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal and refer to Docket No. OSHA-2021-0009. All comments must be submitted by Dec. 27.

Wendy’s has announced a partnership with packaging company Berry Global of Evansville, Indiana, and plastics, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell of Houston to launch a single-substrate, clear plastic drink cup that consumers can recycle.

The cups will launch in U.S. and Canadian restaurants in early 2022, with the initial set of large cups using recycled plastic. All drink cups in U.S. and Canada will use recycled plastic in 2023. 

Wendy’s says this is estimated to divert 10 million pounds of waste from landfills over the first two years. The company says that estimate is projected to increase as Wendy's works with Berry to expand recycled plastic use throughout its entire cup set. 

According to a joint news release, the cups will use 20 percent ICSS-Plus certified chemically recycled polypropylene across all North American restaurants. The amount of recycled plastic used in the future could increase. 

"Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of single-use plastics, and we want to do our part as a leader in the quick-service restaurant industry to provide more sustainable options," says Liliana Esposito, Wendy's chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer. "Today's announcement marks Wendy's next step toward creating packaging solutions that reduce our environmental impact."

In 2019, Wendy’s became a supporting partner of the NextGen Consortium, an industrywide collaboration formed by New York City-based Closed Loop Partners, to accelerate and scale commercially viable, circular foodservice packaging solutions.

Cascades Inc., Kingsey Falls, Quebec, has completed the sale of its 57.6 percent equity stake in Milan-based Reno De Medici S.p.A. The company is a large European producer of coated recycled cartonboard.

Cascades sold its stake to a subsidiary of funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management Inc. for an all-cash price of 1.45 euros per share corresponding to a total cash consideration of about 315.3 million euros (approximately CAN$461 million before transaction-related fees).

“This transaction will create long-term value for the company and our shareholders,” says Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Cascades. “Strategically, exiting our Boxboard Europe segment is aligned with our plan to focus on strengthening the competitive positioning of our core North American packaging and tissue papers business operations. To this end, proceeds from the divestiture will not only support ongoing strategic modernization initiatives and key projects but will also allow Cascades to strategically return capital to shareholders and proactively manage our debt profile.”

Rothschild & Co. served as a financial advisor to Cascades in this transaction and Jones Day served as a legal advisor. Allen & Overy and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison acted as legal advisors for Apollo.

Sonoco, a global provider of packaging products based in Hartsville, South Carolina, has received a 2021 Innovator Award from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition for its all-paper EnviroSense PaperBlister package in the category of Innovation in Design Optimization.

According to a news release from Sonoco, the PaperBlister package is a fully recyclable, plastic-free alternative to traditional blister packaging.

“Designed with tomorrow in mind, EnviroSense packaging is purposefully engineered to deliver a host of earth-conscious attributes, including recyclability, recycled content, reusability, compostability, packaging optimization, bio-based content and responsible fiber sourcing,” says Eric Clamp, commercial development manager at Sonoco.

Made from renewable resources, the monomaterial PaperBlister package uses water-based printing and sealing technology to ensure there are no harmful volatile organic compounds used to make the package.

According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the awards recognize advancements in packaging sustainability. Awards were presented virtually at SPC Advance 2021 Oct. 5-6. A full list of winners and finalists can be found online.