Buffalo, New York-based private equity firm Summer Street Capital Partners LLC has announced an investment in Coastal Waste and Recycling of Pompano Beach, Florida.

Summer Street says it has partnered with Brendon Pantano, CEO of Coastal Waste, to execute what it calls an aggressive growth strategy to build a regional solid waste and recycling platform. Over the past 12 months, Coastal has completed four acquisitions in Southeast Florida, acquiring Nu-Way Recycling, Aquarius Recycling, Thoroughbred Waste and Mammoth Recycling.

“Summer Street has a wealth of experience and direct industry knowledge that is unique to a financial partner,” says Pantano. “They have been building independent, regional solid waste and recycling platforms for nearly two decades, and understand that to succeed and grow, Coastal must become the buyer of choice in the market, earning the trust and confidence of business owners and customers.”

“Summer Street and Management share a clear vision for Coastal Waste – build a full-service solid waste platform, differentiating ourselves through customized, professional and reliable services to our customers,” says Brian D’Amico, Summer Street’s managing partner. “Coastal has achieved remarkable growth in the last 12 months. Even more remarkable are the employees of Coastal, whose dedication, integrity, and dependability will drive the company’s continued success.”

Danone, Paris, has announced new commitments and actions to ensure its packaging will become 100 percent circular and to accelerate the global transition toward a circular economy of packaging, according to a Danone news release. Danone’s portfolio includes international brands, including Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon and Volvic to name a few brands. 

“We believe the time is now to step up and accelerate, embrace our responsibility and work with others to engage a radical shift that will help free the world from packaging waste,” says Emmanuel Faber, chairman and CEO of Danone in a company news release. “We will be acting both at global and local level to ensure circularity of packaging becomes the new norm. We are announcing a series of investments and commitments that I believe will have a concrete impact. These will be amplified as we collaborate with industry peers, governments, [nongovernmental organizations] NGOs, startups and the finance sector; harness new technologies; and invest in new solutions."

According to a company news release, Danone plans to ensure that all its packaging is designed to be 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. The company will develop alternative delivery models or new reuse models where relevant and take action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging. 

The company news release states that about 86 percent of Danone’s packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable, and about 50 percent of its water volumes are sold in reusable jugs. Also, Danone’s evian brand has 100 percent recyclable bottles, and it is also piloting an innovation to eliminate nonrecyclable shrink film for multipacks by using specially designed adhesive and tape handles. 

In addition, Danone’s AQUA brand in Indonesia will be launching a pilot program in 2019 to assess alternatives to plastic straws. The AQUA brand also pledged to recover more plastic than it uses in Indonesia, including through interception of marine littering. The company news release states that Danone has already invested $5.25 million in the Closed Loop Fund, and it is looking to invest in similar initiatives in the future.

According to a Danone news release, effective collection and recycling systems are needed to ensure packaging is recycled, reused or composted. So, the company announced plans to help meet collection targets set by regulators, such as the minimum 90 percent collection target for beverage bottles expected to be set in the European Union by 2025. Danone will support more effective publicly organized collection and recycling systems, including extended producer responsibility and deposit return scheme systems, when relevant, the company news release reports.

The company news release states that the company is also aiming to preserve natural resources. To help with that initiative, the company says it is using 14 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) on average in its water and beverage bottles. By 2025, the company says it plans to increase that amount to 50 percent. 

Danone also released a company packaging policy in October.

Waste Management, Houston, has released financial results for its third quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenues for the quarter were $3.82 billion compared with $3.72 billion for the same 2017 period. Net income for the quarter was $499 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, compared with $386 million, or 87 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2017. 

In addition, on an as-adjusted basis, net income was $496 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2018 compared with $398 million, or 90 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2017.

Third-quarter revenue growth was driven by strong yield and volume growth in Waste Management’s collection and disposal business, which contributed $200 million of incremental revenue, according to a company news release. This was partially offset by a decline in revenue from the company’s recycling line of business, which fell by $52 million year over year in the third quarter of 2018. 

According to Waste Management’s news release, average recycling commodity prices at the company’s facilities were approximately 47 percent lower in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the prior year period. Results for the company’s recycling line of business declined by about 4 cents per diluted share when compared with the third quarter of 2017. The company says it continues to expect the full-year impact from recycling to be a negative 17 cents to 20 cents per diluted share, according to Waste Management.

Traditional solid waste internal revenue growth from volume was 3.2 percent, or 3.4 percent on a workday adjusted basis, in the third quarter of 2018, the company reports. Total company revenue growth from volume, which includes the recycling and ancillary businesses, was 4.2 percent, or 4.4 percent on a workday adjusted basis, in the third quarter.

As a percentage of revenue, total company operating expenses were 62.1 percent in the third quarter of 2018 compared with 61.9 percent in the third quarter of 2017. According to the company, the increase in operating expense is primarily driven by core solid waste volume growth, acquisitions, inflationary cost pressures and investments made by company employees.

“The recurring theme for the first two quarters of 2018 was one of historically strong solid waste performance more than overcoming a weak recycling market,” says Jim Fish, president and CEO of Waste Management. “In the third quarter, we generated strong operating EBITDA growth, and we expect that growth to accelerate in the fourth quarter and into 2019. Our collection and disposal business generated strong organic revenue growth of 6.4 percent as a result of our strengthening core price and volume. Additionally, we demonstrated disciplined cost control, particularly on the SG&A [selling, general & administrative] line. We executed very well on our plans to refine our recycling pricing model, and we saw tangible benefits from the investments we are making in our employees.

“I’m enthusiastic about the direction of the company,” Fish adds. “We continue to deliver strong financial and operational performance, and we have promoted strong leaders to continue our high standard of operational excellence. With the hard work our employees have demonstrated so far, I am confident that we can achieve our goals for the remainder of this year and set the stage for an even better 2019.”

Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced the committee of creditors overseeing Essar Steel India Ltd. (ESIL) has voted to approve its acquisition of ESIL. The committee has issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) stating ArcelorMittal has been identified as the “successful applicant,” according to an Oct. 26 ArcelorMittal news release.

A plan agreed to by both parties includes an upfront payment of $5.7 billion towards ESIL’s debt, with a further $1.1 billion of capital injection into ESIL “to support operational improvement, increase production levels and deliver enhanced levels of profitability,” according to ArcelorMittal.

ESIL is an integrated flat steel producer capable of about 6.5 million metric tons of output, all in western India. The company also has iron ore pellet facilities in eastern India, with current annual capacity of 14 million metric tons per year.

ArcelorMittal says its intention is to increase ESIL’s finished steel shipments to 8.5 million metric tons per year after completing “ongoing capital expenditure projects and infusing expertise and best practice to deliver efficiency gains, and then through the commissioning of additional assets, while simultaneously improving product quality and grades to realize better margins,” says the steelmaker.

A longer term goal to increase finished steel shipments to between 12 and 15 million metric tons per year would involve the addition of new iron and steelmaking assets.

To complete the acquisition, ArcelorMittal’s resolution plan will have to be formally accepted by India’s National Company Law Tribunal. That approval is expected before the end of 2018, says ArcelorMittal.

After completion, ArcelorMittal will jointly own and operate ESIL in partnership with Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSMC), in-line with a joint venture formation agreement signed with NSSMC in March 2018. ArcelorMittal and NSSMC expect to finance the joint venture through a combination of partnership equity (one-third) and debt (two-thirds).