Sept. 20, U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney dismissed a lawsuit Greenpeace Inc. filed against Walmart in late 2020, saying the organization lacked standing for the case to be considered on the merits. In the suit, Greenpeace USA alleges that Walmart uses unlawful, unfair, and deceptive business practices by incorrectly labeling and advertising its various private-label plastic products and packaging as recyclable.

The lawsuit highlighted nearly a dozen examples of what Greenpeace says are Walmart’s private-label products with unqualified and otherwise problematic recyclable labels, with the organization adding that these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, a product or package cannot be marketed as recyclable unless it can be “collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the waste stream through an established recycling program for reuse or use in manufacturing or assembling another item.” Because the suit was dismissed on a legal technicality, this clear violation of the law is allowed to stand, the organization says.

Greenpeace says labeling Walmart’s packaging as recyclable also violates California Environmental Marketing Claims Act (EMCA), which regulates deceptive environmental marketing claims.

In response to the court’s ruling, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director John Hocevar says, “Walmart sells more products packaged in throwaway plastic than almost any other polluter in the world. Big brands know their customers are growing concerned about plastic pollution, but, instead of addressing real solutions, they have opted for greenwashing. 

“Walmart failed to take action when we pointed out that they were labeling packaging as recyclable when it was headed for landfills and incinerators,” Hocevar continues. “When we finally took them to court, Walmart used a legal technicality to challenge our right to file rather than addressing the substance of the case.” 

He adds that California’s “SB 343 will end this kind of greenwashing in California, and nationwide legislation is soon to follow.”

According to that California bill, which as of Sept. 23 had not been signed into law by Gov. Newsom, a product or packaging type would be considered recyclable in California if, based on information published by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), the product or packaging is of a material type and form collected for recycling for jurisdictions that collectively encompass at least 60 percent of the state.”

This legislation is consistent with the FTC guidelines on recyclability claims.

“The failure of companies like Walmart to move away from single-use plastic and shift to reuse, refill and package-free approaches is prompting a wave for regulations across the U.S. and around the world,” Greenpeace’s Hocevar says. “The more they duck responsibility, the greater the demand for stronger regulations.”

Greenpeace USA says it is reviewing the court’s ruling and evaluating all legal options. 

Creighton Magid, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney in its Washington office, helps clients navigate the federal regulatory system, particularly in connection with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Regarding the decision to dismiss the case, he says, “The dismissal order throws a bucket of cold water on lawsuits brought by environmental organizations under state consumer deception statutes. It’s not enough to argue that claims of recyclability are misleading; to bring a lawsuit under such a statute, the organization has to show that it was misled. Greenpeace and similar organizations have a hard time making that showing because they’re not inclined to believe that plastic is recyclable generally. As Judge Chesney made clear in her order, that’s the Achilles’ heel in this type of lawsuit.”

Paris-based Constellium SE has announced that it will supply aluminum structural components for the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning that is expected to be available in the spring of 2022. Constellium-supplied structural components for the vehicle will include the windshield header, rocker and radiator support, among others.

Constellium says aluminum manages crash energy in certain front, side and rear impacts and provides intrusion resistance in electric vehicles, adding that plug-in hybrid and full battery electric vehicles use more aluminum than the typical internal combustion engine vehicle today.

“Constellium is proud to supply the electric Ford F-150 Lightning with recyclable aluminum and to contribute to Ford’s commitments to sustainability,” says Philippe Hoffmann, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures & Industry business unit. “Aluminum is the metal of choice for electric vehicles and our light, strong, crash- and intrusion-resistant solutions help make electric vehicles safe and more sustainable.”

Constellium supplies rolled and extruded aluminum solutions for the global automotive market. The company says it has delivered more than 50 million components for Ford’s aluminum-intensive trucks and SUVs since 2015. Aluminum components offer the strength and stiffness needed for body structure applications while saving weight and integrating multiple parts into single pieces to reduce complexity and assembly time, the company says.

In addition to the F-150 Lightning, F-150 and Super Duty trucks, Constellium also supplies aluminum components and auto body sheet (ABS) for 10 additional Ford and Lincoln models, including ABS for reinforcements on the hood, doors and tailgate of the Ford Bronco; ABS for the hood and tailgate on the Ford Ranger; and roof bow, radiator support and ABS for the roof, doors, liftgate, hood and fenders of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The company says its body structure components and crash management systems are supplied from its plant in Van Buren, Michigan, with ABS being provided by its Bowling Green, Kentucky, facility.

The Alvance Aluminium business unit of United Kingdom-based GFG Alliance reportedly has been given a regulatory green light to add recycled-content aluminum casting capacity at a site in Scotland.

An online report from the BBC indicates a government body in Scotland has approved plans for the casting plant to be situated next to the primary aluminum Lochaber smelter near Fort William, Scotland. “Alvance Aluminium will use recycled materials, along with metal from the smelter, in a new casting factory,” writes the BBC.

Alvance plans to produce up to 100,000 metric tons of cast aluminum billets at the new plant that will find eventual homes in the construction industry, according to the media organization.

The casting plant was proposed in late 2020 for the site. Previously, GFG indicated it planned to build an aluminum wheel factory there instead, but the company backed away from that plan after ripple effects (possibly tied to Brexit) reduced auto assembly prospects in the U.K.

The Turkish owner of a former UPM newsprint mill in the United Kingdom reportedly has submitted a proposal to a local council to initiate a project to convert the mill’s capacity to containerboard and tissue production.

An online report on the Liverpool, U.K.-based Business Live website says Turkey-based Eren Paper Ltd., which this May bought the facility in Shotton, Wales, plans to convert the mill’s newsprint capacity to the production of containerboard and tissue products.

Operating paper machines to make those products may well allow Eren Paper to use several grades of recovered fiber. The Business Live website indicates the “scoping request” submitted to the Flintshire Council in Wales acknowledges that an analysis of the U.K. paper industry “shows that the U.K. is currently a net importer of both containerboard products and tissue products, while at the same time being a net exporter of recycled [scrap] paper.”

The request goes on to state, according to Business Live, “The proposed development is intended to close both these gaps by increasing production at the site, thereby allowing the use of more recycled paper, with the proposed new cardboard paper production facility using 100 percent recycled paper. At the same time, switching production from the declining newsprint market to the new production facility will allow the U.K. as a whole to be more self-supporting in these materials, reducing reliance on external supply.”

The documents were submitted in part to receive permission to engage in some demolition work at the site. In addition to adding or converting one or more new paper machines, Eren Paper also mentions installing a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Shotton.

The Place North West website, based in Manchester U.K., says the mill sits on some 148 acres of land, and that Eren Paper plans to construct 900,000 square feet of manufacturing space for the tissue operations. That report also indicates an existing materials recovery facility (MRF), operated by UPM, will remain on-site.