On May 26, SERDC hosted an on-line discussion on the conditions facing recovered paper markets as the industry, the country, and the world emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Susan Robinson, Waste Management moderated the discussion. The speakers included Chaz Miller, Miller Recycling Associates; Brian Hawkinson, American Forest & Paper Association; and Dave Cawein, Green Bay Packaging.

The discussion covered industry trends, design for recycling, and new demand investment.

Chaz Miller expressed optimism for paper markets and expects prices to remain strong throughout the year. Early in the pandemic fiber supply was limited while the increase in on-line sales drove demand. As the economy recovers from the pandemic slowdown, paper demand will remain strong. Miller pointed to thirty proposed mill projects what will drive demand. While it’s unlikely that all projects will be come to fruition, together they represent over five million tons of added capacity.

The American Forest & Paper Association published Design Guidance for Recyclability of Paper-based Packaging earlier this year. Brian Hawkinson presented how the tool covers the way paper is recycled, what impacts the ability of products to be recovered, and design recommendations how multiple packaging types can facility fiber recovery. As many corporate brands have set internal goals for packing recovery, AF&PA’s tool provides a clear connection between the product design teams and the recovery industry.

Green Bay Packaging recently constructed a new mill in Wisconsin that will rely wholly on recycled paper for feedstock. In sharing this expansion of fiber demand, Dave Cawein spoke to the need for consistent quality in the material they purchase. Variations in bale quality are difficult to manage in a large-scale operations.

While the speakers were all optimistic about strong demand for recycled paper now and in the future, we were cautioned that markets for paper, like other recycled materials, remain unstable and price swings will continue.

The webinar series will continue thru the early fall.. The next session will explore plastics on July 20. The series is made possible by funding from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries and Machinex Technologies.

Register for the rest of the series

A leader at Coca-Cola estimates the beverage giant will approach 20% RPET use by the end of 2021.

Nicole Ray, sustainable packaging program director for Coca-Cola and former SERDC Board Chairperson, discussed the brand owner’s recycling work during an interview at the Plastics Recycling Conference, held virtually in April.

Ray said recycling is a “critical component” in the company’s sustainability work, and she noted materials recovery is central to Coca-Cola’s World Without Waste goal that was set in 2018. That program has several components.

“Number one, we want to help collect back every bottle and can so they don’t end up in a place they shouldn’t be,” Ray said. “Number two, we want to make sure everything we put out into the market is recyclable, because the third piece of this is we actually want to leverage 50% recycled content in our packaging portfolio.”

PepsiCo recently rolled out a collection system providing bins, regular collection and data analysis for bottle recycling at businesses and other non-residential spaces.

PepsiCo Recycling on April 29 announced the BottleLoop program, billed as a “technology-powered program to streamline recycling for customers.”

The program is being offered to schools, universities, stores, restaurants and other away-from-home settings. BottleLoop provides customers with bins, provides pickup services for those bins, and offers various data points tracking material generation and collection.

O-I has announced the launch of Glass for Good—a community-centered glass recycling program that directly benefits these communities by generating charitable donations for recycled glass. Glass for Good is designed to be a collaborative program between O-I and the communities where O-I operates.

WEIMA America, a leading size reduction machinery manufacturer, opened the doors of its Fort Mill headquarters to welcome Congressman Ralph Norman, who represents South Carolina’s 5th District. The WEIMA team was thrilled to show the Congressman and his team around the ever-expanding campus while discussing the benefits of green manufacturing for South Carolinians and beyond.

Legislation surrounding environmental manufacturing practices and green energy are frequently brought before Congress. Because of this, WEIMA America’s Vice President of Sales, Madison Burt, welcomed the opportunity to open a dialogue about some of the challenges manufacturers are facing in light of current events. These topics included supply chain issues, delays at port, import tariffs, and recycling infrastructure, just to name a few.

The company plans to add roughly five more team members by the end of 2021 to keep up with the demand for green technology in the United States and Canada.

The next grant proposal request is due June 30, 2021. MRFs interested in sorting and recycling polypropylene are encouraged to apply.