The association requires EPA to publish a standardized definition of recycling.

The Consumer Brands Association (CBA) in Arlington, Virginia has released a new report, “Designed for Failure: How Fragmented Recycling Methods Can Fail Consumers and the Environment.” The report clearly states that the standardized definition of recycling is The first step to repair what it calls "the broken system of the United States."

In the report, the CBA once again called for a federal definition of recycling, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that it would adopt this in its upcoming national recycling strategy, and the agency has not tried it since 1997. The EPA has postponed the scheduled release of the spring strategy in 2021, and is expected to share the final copy later this month.

CBA President and CEO Geoff Freeman (Geoff Freeman) said: "We are preparing to solve the recycling problem in the United States, and hope to have a completely different conversation on recycling before the U.S. Recycling Day in 2022." "We hope. At least we can see a process of obtaining standardized definitions in the EPA’s strategy-otherwise it will not be able to solve the fundamental problems that plague our recycling system or bring meaningful changes to consumers."

According to CBA, there are more than 9,800 recycling systems in the United States, each with its own unique set of rules and standards. According to the report, 71% of Americans said that a large number of recycling systems caused chaos. Although 84% of Americans are concerned about the current plastic waste crisis, only 20% said they have read the local recycling rules, which increases the possibility that items will end up in the wrong bin and end up in the wrong place.

When asked about the performance of the recycling system, only 39% of Americans surveyed by the CBA said it was working well, while 36% said it was not working well, and 23% said they didn't know.

"Americans don't know how effective the recycling is, because consumers don't see the actual situation of the system, and they faithfully put their items in the trash can by the roadside every week," Freeman said. "When the process is too complicated, consumer behavior may undermine the common result of increasing the recycling rate. We cannot allow consumers' confidence to be eroded, and their confusion and frustration become indifference-this will be the end of recycling in the United States. " 

The canning industry hopes to increase the recycling rate of aluminum cans to 70% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.

The Cannery Manufacturers Association (CMI) and its members, including canned flake manufacturers and beverage can manufacturers, have announced ambitious U.S. recycling rates, which include a 70% recycling rate by 2030 and 90% by 2050. % Recovery rate. The recovery rate of used beverage cans (UBC) in 2020 is 45%.

The Washington-based CMI has set goals and outlined the four pillars of action to achieve these goals:

CMI stated that its members are committed to increasing UBC recycling, and pointed out that nearly 90,000 UBCs are recycled every minute in the United States, 93% of which return from recycling bins to store shelves as new cans in just 60 days. This results in an average recycled content of 73% in aluminum beverage cans. Increasing the recycled content of the average can can reduce its carbon footprint, because the use of recycled aluminum to make aluminum beverage cans can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90% compared to using the main material to make containers.

CMI added that the high demand for aluminum beverage cans needs to increase UBC's recycling rate, which will also enhance the flexibility of the domestic aluminum supply chain.

In order to increase the recycling rate of UBC, CMI is promoting the intrinsic value of this material. The association stated that UBC is one of the most valuable commodities in the recycling stream. CMI stated that although they account for only 3% of all recyclables generated by single-family homes in the United States, they account for nearly half of the revenue from these recyclables. It pointed out that a recent study concluded that without UBC’s sales revenue, most material recycling facilities would not be able to operate in their current business model.

CMI President Robert Budway spoke at an online press conference announcing the industry’s recycling goals on November 10, saying that if UBC’s recycling rate reaches 70% instead of 45% in 2020, then another 25 billion cans will be recycled, generating more than The $400 million in revenue and energy savings are enough to power more than 1 million homes for a year.

CMI members supporting the goal are aluminum beverage can manufacturers Ardagh Metal Packaging, Canpack, Crown Holdings and Envases, and aluminum can plate suppliers Constellium, Kaiser Aluminium, Novelis and Tri-Arrows Aluminium.

"CMI's aluminum beverage can recycling goals are inspired by our members' commitment to sustainable and responsible world-class recycling manufacturing processes," said Robert Budway, President of CMI. "The industry is collaborating to increase the recycling rate, which is not only conducive to the growth of the industry, but also conducive to strengthening the U.S. economy and playing our role in the management of the planet."

Based on its first pillar of action, CMI issued a joint statement with the polyethylene terephthalate or PET and glass bottle industries in September to support a well-designed deposit system. In addition, CMI advocated the establishment of a national deposit system in a dialogue with legislators, but Scott Breen, CMI’s vice president of sustainable development, stated at a press conference that although the industry “wants to see an efficient and effective national deposit system” because It will have the fastest and greatest impact. CMI is not “putting all eggs in one basket.” Therefore, the association’s goal is for states that may soon pass such legislation.

Under the third pillar of proper classification, CMI issued a fourth Can Capture Program grant to factories in the Milwaukee area, which was funded by Ardagh and Crown in collaboration with recycling partners. CMI stated that the four grants will be used to install equipment to ensure the correct classification and recycling of 67 million additional used beverage cans each year.

At the press conference, Keefe Harrison, CEO of Recycling Partners in Falls Church, Virginia, said: “The aluminum can industry has been committed to recycling for decades. They helped launch a recycling partnership, and today they have these Goals, they go further. We know that recycling is good for the economy and the environment, especially by ensuring that these cans replace the original materials to save carbon. That's why we will work with the industry to make these goals a reality."

CMI said it will release a roadmap in early 2022, which will include more details on how to achieve its goals through its four pillars.

This week, CMI and the Aluminum Association of Arlington, Virginia also released an updated "Aluminum Can Advantage: Key Performance Indicators for Sustainability in 2021", which shows how aluminum beverage cans compare to competing packaging types Sustainable advantage. The report updated several key performance indicators (KPIs) for 2020 and found that consumers are recycling aluminum cans more than twice as fast as PET bottles. The recycled content of aluminum beverage cans is also 3 to 20 times higher than glass or PET bottles, and is often more valuable as scrap, making aluminum a key driver of the financial viability of the U.S. recycling system. This year's report also introduced a brand new KPI, the closed loop rate, which measures the percentage of recycled material used to return to the same product-in this case a new beverage container. A two-page summary of the report is provided here.

The Aluminum Association also supports CMI's efforts to increase UBC recycling rates. 

The new plant will produce HPDE plastics with recycled content.

Austria-based packaging manufacturer ALPLA Group said it has opened a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic recycling plant in Toluca, Mexico. The project was announced in September last year.

In Toluca, ALPLA invited guests including Austrian Ambassador to Mexico Elisabeth Kehrer and the Governor of Mexico State Alfredo del Mazo Maza. The company stated that the construction of the plant took more than a year and the investment was 20 million euros (22.9 million US dollars).

The facility is designed to produce up to 15,000 metric tons of pelletized recyclable HDPE (rHDPE) per year, but planned expansion projects may increase this capacity to 30,000 metric tons per year starting in the second half of 2022.

This recycled content of particles will be used to produce non-food packaging, such as personal care and household cleaning products. ALPLA stated: “The demand for recycled materials in Mexico and Central America is so high that most of the products will be used in the region.”

“We are very pleased to play an important role in the implementation of the circular economy in Mexico through this new base,” said Georg Lässer, head of corporate recycling at ALPLA. "In taking this action, we give value to waste plastic bottles, while also promoting the development of plastic collection and necessary regional infrastructure."

Carlos Torres, Regional Manager of ALPLA Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, commented: “We see the recycling market gaining momentum, and we have taken a step forward in our commitment to sustainable development. Demand for recycled materials is increasing. This allows us to start increasing rHDPE production in Toluca."

ALPLA has produced recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Mexico. Its first bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Latin America, Industria Mexicana de Reciclaje (IMER), went into operation in 2005. IMER is a joint venture of ALPLA México, Coca-Cola México and Coca-Cola Femsa.

“By joining forces, the partners have established an infrastructure to collect and recycle used PET beverage bottles in the past 15 years, [producing] nearly 15,000 metric tons of food-grade flakes from post-consumer PET each year,” ALPLA said.

The ALPLA Group stated that the annual production capacity of its recycling company subsidiaries, joint ventures and partners is approximately 130,000 metric tons of PET and 60,000 metric tons of other polyethylene (PE) globally.

The Procter & Gamble brand will launch five series of packaging this month, and launch another two series in early 2022.

Herbal Essences will be the first Procter & Gamble (P&G) brand to use Eastman Renew molecularly recycled plastics in its packaging. Starting in November, the brand will launch five primary packaging shampoo and conditioner series made of Eastman Renew resin, 50% of which are certified recycled plastics, which are through the use of ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), Cologne, Germany.

In August, Procter & Gamble, headquartered in Cincinnati, and Eastman Chemical Company, headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, announced that they would collaborate to advance recycling initiatives. According to the joint press release, the introduction of Herbal Essences in packaging made of Eastman Renew materials is the first step that the two companies have taken to use Eastman's molecular recycling technology to advance their shared commitment to the circular economy.

Five Herbal Essences Bio: renew sulfate-free series will start using Eastman Renew materials this month, and two new series will be launched in January 2022. These new packaging will include a standardized How2Recycle label to clarify recycling instructions and encourage recycling, the two companies said. Herbal Essences will also continue to provide nationwide recycling programs throughout the United States through TerraCycle.

Rachel Zipperian, Chief Scientist of Herbal Essences, said: “We all have a responsibility to make changes and create a more sustainable future where plastics are truly recycled, reused and separated from nature.” “Change this packaging to Eastman Renew material. It reduces the brand’s reliance on virgin plastic and helps us bring the world closer to making plastic a recycling resource. By including the standard How2Recycle label, Herbal Essences encourages people to recycle their empty bottles."

"We are delighted to see our partnership with Procter & Gamble reach consumers through the launch of these Herbal Essences packaging," said Chris Layton, Eastman Plastics and Recycling Solutions Sustainability Director. "We are now providing solutions to the plastic waste problem and look forward to continuing cooperation with Procter & Gamble as a leading partner."

Earlier this year, Eastman announced plans to build a "molecular" recycling facility for end-of-life polyester products and packaging at its existing plant in Kingsport to take advantage of the plant's scale and integration. Through methanol decomposition, the company can convert scrap polyester products and polyethylene terephthalate packaging that are difficult to recycle mechanically into recyclable raw materials for the production of its specialty plastics.

Atlis said the partnership will improve its supply chain and bottom line.

Atlis Motor Vehicles, a start-up mobile technology company based in Mesa, Arizona, has reached an agreement with Canada-based Li-Cycle Corp. to recycle lithium-ion batteries.

Mark Hanchett, CEO and founder of Atlis Motor Vehicles, said: "Although we have just begun our development journey, as a responsible battery and electric vehicle manufacturer, battery recycling must be a key step in our supply chain." "We are very happy to cooperate with local recyclers such as Li-Cycle, not only to be responsible for the environment, but also to affect our bottom line. Reusing battery materials is cheaper than my new supply of materials."

Atlis said it is developing an all-electric vehicle platform, proprietary batteries, battery packs, and the necessary charging infrastructure to charge a 500-mile range battery in less than 15 minutes.

According to Atlis' press release, Li-Cycle recovers key materials from lithium-ion batteries and reintroduce them into the supply chain. Li-Cycle uses its commercial lithium-ion battery recycling Spoke & Hub Technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries, regardless of their chemistry or form factor, recycling up to 95% of all key materials, and using the output for battery production.

Kunal Phalpher, Chief Commercial Officer of Li-Cycle, said: “According to Benchmark Intelligence data, by 2025, the total number of lithium-ion batteries available for recycling worldwide will exceed 2 million tons.” A huge opportunity. Li-Cycle works with traditional car manufacturers and innovative startups such as Atlis dedicated to safe and effective recycling to help them meet their recycling needs with our breakthrough lithium-ion recycling technology."