TERRA

The Electronics Reuse & Recycling Alliance (TERRA), Nashville, Tennessee, has appointed Bob Akers to serve as its chief industry advisor. In the new position, Akers will help to promote and educate about the importance of certification.

Steven Napoli, president and CEO of TERRA, describes Akers as “an industry veteran” who is “well respected in the industry. He says Akers will be “an integral part of helping TERRA achieve its goals.”

Akers formerly served for four years as the e-Stewards enterprise director. While with e-Stewards, Akers worked with corporations, organizations and the government to create opportunities for certified recyclers. Prior to joining e-Stewards, Akers worked in the electronics recycling industry for 16 years. During that time, he served part of it as the executive director for the nonprofit Surplus Exchange, Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked with the city to develop its ConnectHomeKC program, which provided refurbished  computers and internet access to underserved residents in public housing.

“Bob’s enthusiasm for promoting the importance and value of certified electronics reuse and recycling is well-known throughout the industry,” Napoli says. “He’s the ideal person for this role, and it’s impossible to estimate the positive impact his involvement will have on the long-term fortunes of our members and the entire industry.”

“What is appealing about joining TERRA is the organization's focus on marketing and creating opportunities for their certified recycler members,” Akers says. “I know firsthand that this industry is tough, and the organizations that commit to being certified deserve support. Margins can be thin, and the cost of doing business is high. Certified recyclers deserve and should expect a return for every dime they spend.”

Akers is officially part of TERRA’s team and will join TERRA at its virtual trade show booth at the 2020 E-Scrap Conference Oct. 28-29.

TERRA is a network of certified recyclers in North America that allows only e-Stewards or Responsible Recycling- (R2-) certified electronics recyclers and IT asset disposition service providers in good standing to join. Napoli says the network has grown to 70 recyclers since it started about 18 months ago.

The 13th 2020 batch of imported scrap quotas issued by the Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China will let in additional scrap paper, copper, steel and aluminum.

The 13th batch, announced Oct. 20, allows for more than allows 94,750 metric tons of paper scrap, according to a news release on the latest import quotas from the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). Industry analysts and recyclers have told Recycling Today this month that exports of paper scrap to China have been winding down this fall. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has stated that it will no longer accept and approve import applications for “solid waste,” including recovered paper, starting Jan. 1, 2021.

BIR reports that the latest batch of import quotas also allows for 5,980 metric tons of copper scrap, 1,340 metric tons of steel scrap and 340 metric tons of aluminum scrap to enter China.

Recently, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment also updated guidelines for the implementation of brass, copper and aluminum “recycled raw materials” standards, which China had previously planned to introduce in July. The new standards will be implemented Nov. 1.

The full list of scrap import quotas in the 13th batch has been posted, in Chinese, to BIR’s website here.

The Paperboard Packaging Alliance, Washington, has announced winners of its 2020 Student Design Challenge, a competition designed to foster awareness and appreciation of paperboard packaging with university educators and the next generation of packaging design decision-makers.

Students were asked to design an innovative packaging toolkit for educators to use as part of the Trees into Cartons, Cartons into Trees (TICCIT) program, which engages third through fifth graders in an environmental and educational activity, highlighting the renewability and sustainability of paper and paperboard packaging. The Student Design Challenge is an annual competition for university students in leading packaging design programs to show off their talent, design skills and innovative approaches to meet customer needs and marketing scenarios.

According to a news release from the Paperboard Packaging Alliance, the following student teams won this year’s challenge:

• Ryerson University received first place;
• Rochester Institute of Technology received second place;
• Fashion Institute of Technology received third place; and
• a second team from the Rochester Institute of Technology received an honorable mention.

The work from winning teams can be viewed online.

“The Student Design Challenge is proof there is a vibrant and bright future ahead for an essential and sustainable industry, the paperboard packaging industry,” says Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association. “Teams of students not only solved a challenge, but they also overcame obstacles presented by COVID-19 this year. They used virtual collaboration and technology tools to develop impressive designs, demonstrating the ability to be more adaptable and resilient.”

“The positive impact of this year’s Student Design Challenge on the future of our industry is twofold,” adds Ben Markens, president of the Paperboard Packaging Council. “First, it has engaged some of the brightest minds in the next generation of packaging designers, offering them hands-on experience with paperboard. Second, by designing for TICCIT, they’re helping to educate an even younger generation—school children who will one day have the opportunity to choose renewable, recyclable paperboard packaging.”

The Paperboard Packaging Alliance reports that the first-place design will be put into production and adapted for use in the TICCIT program. Winning student teams and their academic programs received monetary awards as well. First place received $5,500 for the team and $5,000 for the school; second place received $3,300 for the team and $3,000 for the school; and third place received $1,650 for the team and $1,500 for the school.

The alliance says its 2021 student design challenge is to design packaging for a hunger relief organization that enhances the recipients’ experience and can be used for storage. The deadline for submissions is June 4, 2021.

The Plastics Industry Association (Plastics), Washington, has released a report, "Plastics Market Watch: Bottling," to explain why plastics, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), have become leading materials for bottles and packaging.

According to a news release from Plastics, plastic bottles tend to be associated with water and carbonated drinks, but they also are being used by brands that manufacture medicine, personal care and cleaning supplies, food and beverages. Competition among packaging materials, including paper, steel, aluminum and glass, has been intense as innovations are adopted and brands look for the best packaging material to protect and market their products, Plastics states.

“When nearly 40 percent of food products in the U.S. are not consumed, it is evident why plastics packaging is so essential to the food chain that delivers products from the farm to kitchen tables,” says Plastics President and CEO Tony Radoszewski. “Spoiled foods represent wasted water, land and fuel; and they are the single largest material sent to landfills and emit methane gas.”

Plastics says estimates vary on the market size for plastic bottles. In 2019, the trade volume in plastic bottles totaled $18.5 billion based on data from the International Trade Center, a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

“The bottling landscape is expected to remain competitive as manufacturers innovate, redesign packaging, evaluate packaging materials and costs to stay competitive, and introduce or develop new products in response to changing consumer tastes and preference or adapt to industry trends,” says Plastics Chief Economist Perc Pineda. “Thinking back, the choices of fruit juices and drinks were somewhat limited decades ago. Over time, due to demographic changes, different variations of fruit juices including drinks from exotic fruits can now be found in most U.S. grocery stores.”

The unique qualities of plastics make them ideal for a wide range of bottling applications, Plastics says in its news release on its new report. The association states that plastic is a “low-cost” material that can be flexible or rigid with multiple design options. Plastic is also shatterproof and can be clear or colored and offers an array of closures. The material is also safe for food and medical applications and can be recyclable and feature a lower carbon footprint in manufacturing and transportation.

The "Plastics Market Watch: Bottling" report is available for Plastics members and nonmembers to download or purchase here.