Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) grants manager Cindy Sterling and school program special project manager Sarah McGraw traveled to Fair Haven, Vermont Sept. 19 to present the Healthy Home, Clean Water workshop, as part of the Town and Gown program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The grant allows NRRA to provide training programs that help schools and communities reduce their overall solid waste stream and recognize and reduce the amount of toxic materials in waste streams often found in school storage areas.

According to a NRAA press release, students and community members gathered at the Fair Haven town green for the presentation and demonstration of household hazardous waste and personal care products.

The workshop demonstrated why certain household chemicals and personal care products are hazardous to humans and the environment, as well as offered local solutions for proper disposal and use of alternative products. 

Throughout the event, passerby in the park stopped to listen to the Healthy Home, Clean Waters program, which is available to communities and schools as educational webinar offered by NRAA.

Solid Waste Alliance Communities (SWAC) helped arranged the event and the Rural Development Office of the USDA awarded the grant.

Image: Dreamstime

The APR Recycling Demand Champions Campaign, created in 2017 by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, to develop new markets for recycled plastics, has generated almost 7 million pounds of new demand in its first year.

The APR announced the program’s results at the association’s annual meeting Oct. 9-11 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The APR also announced several new participants that have committed to increase their use of  postconsumer resin (PCR) in the upcoming year.

“The need for expanded demand for recycled plastics has reached a critical point, and the APR Recycling Demand Champions Campaign is all about new demand,” says Liz Bedard, director of the APR Rigid Plastic Recycling Program. “APR applauds and appreciates the efforts of the inaugural Demand Champion companies and encourages others to commit to this important campaign.”

The initial group of companies that increased their use of PCR in the past year are Berry Global, Champion Polymer Recycling, Clean Tech Inc., Coca-Cola North America, Envision Plastics, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Merlin Plastics, Plastipak, Procter & Gamble and Target. Collectively, the APR says, these companies increased their PCR purchasing by 6.8 million pounds. This is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 1,747 passenger vehicles driven for one year, 92 jobs in plastics recycling and all of the plastic recyclables from a city the size of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with its population of 113,333, the association adds.

The APR Recycling Demand Champions Campaign is designed to play a prominent role in expanding the market for recycled plastics, driving investment, increasing supply and producing more high quality PCR, the APR says.  Champion companies commit to purchase new volume PCR in three possible ways:

• purchasing work in process (WIP) durable goods for use in manufacturing facilities;
• developing a new application for PCR; or
• increasing PCR usage in a current application.

Berry Global, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Procter & Gamble and Target have committed to the campaign for a second year. New Demand Champion companies PAC Worldwide and QRS Recycling join those that committed earlier this year: Avangard Innovative, Denton Plastics, Eco-Products, Nestle, Unilever and UPM Raflatac. 

“We are pleased with the impact and growth of The APR Recycling Demand Champion Campaign,” says Steve Alexander, president and CEO of APR. “It has become a seminal program of APR, which we expect to continue for many years to come. We commend the companies that have committed to the program and look forward to their continued efforts to expand the market for recycled plastics and enhance the plastics recycling industry.”

 

Novelis, which is headquartered in Atlanta, has broken ground on the expansion of its automotive aluminum manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China, in early October. The $180 million investment will double the facility's production capacity for heat-treated aluminum sheet by 100,000 metric tons to better meet the growing demand for automotive aluminum in Asia, according to the company. The facility also will be equipped with a high-speed slitter, and a fully automated packaging line, Novelis says, adding that the expansion is expected to create 160 jobs.

The company says the project is scheduled to be completed in 2020 to align with key customer's vehicle-launch plans.

Novelis' Changzhou plant is the company's first aluminum automotive sheet manufacturing facility in China. The wholly owned $100 million plant first began commissioning in 2014 with an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons. Located in the heart of the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District, the plant provides customers in China and abroad with automotive sheet for use in lightweight vehicle structures and body panels with heat treatment and finishing capabilities.

The Changzhou facility will continue to partner with customers to launch their high-performance aluminum-intensive vehicles in Asia. Previous partner launches included the Cadillac CT6; CJLR's Jaguar XFL, XEL and the premium new-energy vehicle (NEV) NIO's ES8 SUV; FAW-Volkswagen Audi A6L; and HMC's IONIQ and Kona electric vehicle models. Novelis received the distinction of "Excellent Supplier" by FAW-Volkswagen in 2014 and 2015 and was awarded the "Strategy Cooperation" award in 2016 and 2017 by Chery Jaguar Land Rover.

"As market demand for lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles continues to grow, Novelis will play a critical role in supporting the next generation of automotive innovation and design," says Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco Industries, the parent company of Novelis Inc. "This expansion reinforces our steadfast commitment to our customers and communities and reaffirms our continued confidence in this ever-growing market."

"This investment in Changzhou will allow us to better serve our automotive customers by providing world-class manufacturing capabilities, products that meet global quality standards and innovative solutions to make vehicles lighter, safer and stronger," says James Liu, managing director of Novelis China and vice president of Novelis' Automotive Business in Asia. "We will continue to work alongside our customers from program development to launch, to create 

Ernst

Walton, Kentucky-based Steinert US, which provides sorting and separation technology for the mining, industrial/municipal scrap metals, plastics and recycling markets, has named Andreas W. Ernst as its president and CEO.

Ernst has more than 20 years of experience in the global capital equipment and machinery industry, having spent much of his career with Sennebogen LLC. His expertise focuses on developing and leveraging strategic relationships across markets and regions to drive sales, marketing and servicing strategies, Steinert US says in a news release announcing Ernst’s appointment.

“I am excited to join Steinert, a company that embodies my core values—putting the customer first, always keeping your word and supporting passion, diversity and real innovation,” Ernst says.

He has been an active member of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) for many years and currently serves as chair of the Equipment and Service Providers Council and vice chair of the Convention Committee.