The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, D.C., has recognized three companies for new packaging products that it says meet or exceed voluntary guidelines under its Critical Guidance Recognition Program.

To receive the recognition, the three companies had to demonstrate that their packaging innovations were compatible with recycling processes and will not be a source of contamination that would negatively affect the quality of the plastic scrap.

DAK America LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina, was recognized for its Array EBM 5862 resin, which has been designed to have the melt strength and slow crystallization rate required to produce large handleware containers by extrusion blow molding, 

The APR also recognized Plastipak Packaging, Plymouth, Michigan, for its two-color direct object printing technology on a pigmented copolymer high density polyethylene bottle, which eliminates the need for label substrates. 

Sleever International, based in France, was recognized for its LDPET (low-density polyethylene terephthalate) shrink sleeve labels. The company launched the product in 2014 after five years of research and development. The company says the LDPET product permits the 100 percent recycling of sleeved bottles while producing a completely pure recycled resin, which is a prerequisite for manufacturing new bottles.

The APR also awarded its inaugural APR Responsible Innovation Acknowledgment award to Berry Plastics, Evansville, Indiana, for its Versalite cellular polypropylene (PP) cups.

APR says its program directs innovators to conduct production scale evaluations, collect testimonials that address specific questions and to publicly describe the innovation to APR members.

“We are pleased and excited that consumer brand companies and their suppliers continue to recognize the importance of utilizing APR Guidance Documents when creating new innovations for plastic packaging,” says Steve Alexander, APR executive director. “These guidance documents are the industry-tested models to ensure new innovations do not contaminate or interfere with a container’s or package’s ability to be recycled. They are a critical component to our ultimate goal to increase supply and reduce contamination of material available for recycling.”

John Standish, APR technical director, says, “These companies have developed exciting innovations in packaging materials and capability. By employing APR Critical Guidance Tests, Plastipak, DAK and Sleever have each demonstrated that their innovations will be compatible with today’s recycling processes.”

He continues, “Berry Plastics invested in production scale evaluations and shared the results of these evaluations to illustrate how their product is expected to perform when recycled. We applaud the leadership of these companies in both innovation and their support of plastics recycling.”
 

Resolute Forest Products Inc., Montreal, has announced that it will permanently close a paper machine at its mill in Alma, Quebec. The shutdown, slated to occur by early April 2015, represents a reduction of 75,000 metric tons of annual specialty papers production capacity. The mill, which has three paper machines, has a total annual capacity of 350,000 metric tons.

In deciding to permanently close one of its machines, Resolute points to market weakness for the specialty paper grades, along with high fiber costs as the key reason for the closure.

The company also cited what it calls a “misinformation” campaign by Greenpeace and other environmental groups for the closing. "Greenpeace's ill-founded attacks misrepresent the company's forest management practices and cast unwarranted doubt on Resolute's compliance with Quebec's Loi sur l'aménagement durable du territoire forestier (Quebec’s Sustainable Forest Act) and our sustainability leadership. Quebec's forest management regime is among the best in the world, and the government ensures strict compliance. The regime deserves to be respected and upheld, and we are calling upon the Quebec government to continue to defend its standards and to refute these unjustified and unfounded attacks," says Richard Garneau, Resolute's president and chief executive officer.

Garneau adds, “These misinformation campaigns impact Resolute and people's lives, as they further destabilize the industry, triggering socioeconomic consequences for the communities that depend on the boreal forest for their livelihood.”

The European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) will be holding its 22nd European Tyre Recycling Conference March 25-27 in Brussels. The goal of the conference is to address ways in which different countries handle the scrapping of end-of-life tires (ELT).

Brussels-based ETRA says each country has its own model for dealing with ELT, which can range from a free market solution to tightly controlled ELT management through a single overarching waste body.

ETRA says in Europe the United Kingdom and Germany follow a free market model and agencies in both countries claim their method of approach works – yet in both markets there continue to be instances of tire dumping and shortages of tires for developing tire recycling projects.

In other European countries a managed system in is used to deal with ELTs. However, with this method, there can be a restriction on the development of new, more efficient routes to recycling, according to ETRA.

Dr. Valerie Shulman of the ETRA asks, “Has producer responsibility proven successful with tires in the EU? Have other models performed better? The answer is complicated.”

The 22nd ETRA Conference will include discussion of the subject with speakers from the U.K., South Africa, Australia and other markets.

ETRA says processors facing feedstock supply issues will have the opportunity to question the status quo and, through discussion and debate, move toward more effective and more environmentally sound solutions to the ELT problem in Europe.

Those seeking more information on the conference can contact the ETRA at ETRA@wanadoo.fr or via telephone at +32 2 734 37 27.