Novelis Inc., a large aluminum rolling and recycling company based in Atlanta, has announced that it has partnered with Nespresso, Switzerland, to launch a coffee capsule made of 80 percent recycled aluminum. According to a news release from Nespresso, Novelis’ alloy has “deep-drawing properties” to meet the coffee capsule market’s need for demanding product specifications, and the alloy supports Nespresso’s continued circularity journey by minimizing waste and maximizing the reuse of product materials.

“This achievement is an important step in helping Nespresso reach its sustainability goals,” says Stephen Boney, vice president of Specialties at Novelis Europe. “We have a long-standing partnership with Nespresso that is focused on implementing more sustainable manufacturing processes throughout the supply chain. As such, we have increased the amount of recycled aluminum content in coffee capsules and developing additional end-of-life recycling solutions for greater circularity.”

Comprised of a thinner aluminum foil, the new capsules contain 9.2 percent less aluminum and are 8 percent lighter. The foil protects freshness and aromas of high-quality coffee and provides a strong barrier against oxygen, light and humidity. Nespresso reports that the foil is infinitely recyclable and requires less energy to produce than virgin aluminum. 

Jérôme Pérez, Nespresso’s head of sustainability, says, “We are constantly challenging ourselves to improve the sustainability and circularity of our operations, including the way we source, use and recycle material. Reaching 80 percent recycled aluminum in our capsules is a significant milestone and something we have worked hard to achieve with Novelis and other partners along the value chain.”

In recent years, Novelis says it has developed many new alloys that are easily recyclable and invested in technologically advanced recycling facilities that have increased recycled product content from 33 percent to 60 percent across its global operations.

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has introduced a paperboard (nonplastic) CanCollar for multiple beverage can applications in Spain. The CanCollar has been designed for CCEP, in partnership with Coca-Cola, “to remove all unnecessary or hard to recycle plastic” from its portfolio, avoiding the use of more than 11,000 metric tons of virgin plastic in Western Europe, the bottling firm says.

CCEP says it collaborated with United States-based WestRock on the CanCollar paperboard can ring and has introduced it in the Balearic Islands region of Spain.

The bottler says it has invested 2.6 million euros ($3.1 million) at its Barcelona bottling plant to install the equipment that will enable multipack cans to use the WestRock paperboard collar, in a process CCEP says does not require the use of glue or adhesives.

“The agreement with WestRock exemplifies our clear commitment to reduce plastic in our secondary packaging,” says Joe Franses, vice president of sustainability at CCEP. “By the end of 2020, we will have removed more than 4,000 metric tons of hard to recycle plastic from our secondary packaging in Western Europe. It’s through collaborating on innovative packaging solutions like CanCollar that we are able to do this.”

Comments Dwayne Irvin, vice president of enterprise solutions at WestRock, “We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Coca-Cola. For 70 years we have supported Coca-Cola in bringing innovation to global beverage markets.” Adds Irvin, in reference to a Coca-Cola sustainability program, “CanCollar is the latest initiative supporting Coca-Cola’s vision to create a World Without Waste.”

The Reducing Embodied-Energy And Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, West Henrietta, New York, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to invest up to $35 million for research and development of transformational technologies to increase the recovery, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of metals, polymers, fibers and e-scrap. The $35 million investment will be matched by project participants for a total investment of up to $70 million, REMADE states in a news release on the RFP. 

REMADE provides up to $5 million per project for transformational research and development (R&D) projects and $2 million per project for traditional R&D projects. According to REMADE’s website, transformational R&D projects develop technology solutions and demonstrate the potential to transform the recycling and remanufacturing industries, while traditional R&D projects develop tools and technologies consistent with research priorities listed here. 

According to REMADE’s website, letters of intent and project abstracts are due Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. EDT, and all proposals are due Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. EDT. The institute will notify proposal teams of a final decision by December. Anticipated start dates for proposed projects is May 2021. 

In particular, REMADE is making it a priority to focus on the plastic value chain by seeking proposals that will increase the domestic recycling of plastics since using recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic can reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

“With the challenges facing industry today, it is increasingly important to improve U.S. manufacturing competitiveness,” says Nabil Nasr, REMADE CEO. “Our partnership of 100 industry, national laboratory and academic innovators are working together to reduce the energy and environmental burden of domestic manufacturing while delivering value to industry, the economy and the environment.”

REMADE has invested $20 million in 39 public-private partnership projects to date. These projects have focused on driving down the cost of technologies needed to reuse, recycle and remanufacture materials. 

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has updated its position on minimum recycled plastic content. The association says its new position encourages efforts that will help spur demand for recycled plastics. ISRI says its position also aims to increase the commitment by stakeholders throughout the supply chain to ensure plastics are responsibly manufactured, collected and recycled into new products.

The association’s position on minimum recycled plastic content supports: 

• legislation that expands the use of recycled plastic in applications that are appropriate, noting these levels will vary by application and type of plastic;
• efforts by manufacturers and brand owners to increase the use of recycled plastic resin beyond legislated levels and applications when possible; 
• manufacturers incorporating the principles of Design for Recycling to ensure their products are easily recycled;
• stakeholder efforts that seek to increase plastic recycling through public education, outreach and advocacy to meet growing demand for recycled plastic; and
• efforts that look at the life cycle assessment of a plastic product to help manufacturers make informed choices on the inclusion of recycled plastic resin.

According to a news release from ISRI, the association’s updated position on recycled content in plastic content aligns with its Design for Recycling principles, which encourage manufacturers to consider the ultimate destiny of their products during the design stage of development. 

“Plastics are a diverse, versatile group of materials that are used in nearly all aspects of daily life, from life-saving medical supplies to light-weight food packaging,” ISRI says. “However, despite the benefits plastics offer, many remained concerned about high levels of plastic waste entering the natural environment. To avoid further environmental harm, it is imperative that all plastics be handled responsibly at end of life.”