Sustainability & Social Responsibility

Glass Packaging

Starbucks and Turn Systems launch reusable cup pilot project in California that runs through Oct. 22; customers can bring their own cup or borrow a reusable PP cup, and in-store customers can request a ceramic or glass reusable cup
Waste Dive (08/28)

Paper Packaging

Paper cups are just as toxic as plastic cups when left in nature, according to University of Gothenburg researchers, based on study of how leached chemicals from both affect larvae of butterfly mosquitos; all cups negatively affected growth of larvae
University of Gothenburg (08/25)

Plastic Packaging

Ecoplas and INTI, Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology, develop Certification of Recycled Plastic Content in Products; three companies have been certified, including one for its ecommerce bags
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (08/28)

Hartman Group: As some consumer packaged goods companies pledge to cut virgin plastic in packaging, beverage companies have been slower to act; those investing in innovation, technology in packaging to have greater relevance with consumers in coming years
FoodNavigator.com (08/28)

Philippine Retailers Assn. seeks clarity regarding implementation of a proposed single-use plastic tax; PRA president suggests promoting use of reusable bags and charging customers for single-use plastic bags
Philippine Star News (08/28)

British Plastics Federation launches latest online course, ‘A Guide to Incorporating Recycled Plastic into Packaging’; the first 200 to purchase the course are entitled to a 50% discount
British Plastics Federation (BPF) (08/25)

Rocky Mountain Institute presents analysis of emissions goals that can be achieved through reducing demand for plastic packaging; report provides detailed technical analyses on where emissions can be cut or reduced from specific supply chains
States News Service (08/25)

Sustainable / Responsible Sourcing

Tire waste continues to increase globally, is contributing to environmental harm, including deforestation, microplastics; circular solutions present limitations, requiring tire redesign, deforestation-free rubber sources, regenerative agriculture
Mongabay News (08/25)

Reuse / Next Use / Upcycling

China's Nanshan Aluminum creates circular economic model through recycling and reuse of waste aluminum, with goal to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 900,000 tonnes per year
China Business News (08/25)

Burnham RNG selects Iowa's Gross-Wen Technologies for wastewater treatment at new Resource Recovery Center in Pasco, Washington, enabling reuse of 1.5 billion gallons/year of wastewater, production of renewable natural gas, support of agribusiness growth
Waste360 (08/25)

Japanese company upcycles discarded nonwoven PPE materials to make durable sewing patterns for hand-crafted clothing, bags; sewing patterns are often made from copier paper, which can crease or tear the first time it is used
Gov Japan Live (08/25)

Recyclable / Recycled Materials

SK Chemical announces APR Critical Guidance Recognition for five of its products when used as packaging materials; company's Claro100, Claro100-CR50, ECOTRIA R102, ECOTRIA R200 and SKYPET CR BL possess properties that enable recycling into PET
Associated Press (08/28)

FEMSA's OXXO convenience store chain collaborates with Cemex to build a store in Toluca, Mexico, with recycled concrete, low carbon emissions and alternative water usage
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (08/28)

Kia partner, The Ocean Cleanup, delivers record 55-ton ocean plastic haul
Kia Motors Corp. (08/28)

British Glass urges local authorities to keep glass recycling in UK, citing 31% increase in glass cullet export to mainland Europe as detrimental to environment, economy; local recycling local would support reduce carbon emissions, create more UK jobs
British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation (08/25)

Waste Collection / Disposal / Pickup

New Zealand exports half of its plastics, paper recycling, says Waste & Recycling Forum data; businesses recycled 8% of the 6 million tonnes of trash collected in 2022, with 86% sent to landfill, and the rest sent for composting, recovered for other uses
Hawkes Bay Today (08/28)

Zimbabwe sees recycling boom as waste picking becomes lucrative business amid rising inflation; recycling organizations, which pick up litter, have increased fourfold, collecting 15% of nation's plastic waste
Mongabay News (08/25)

Recycling Centers / Materials Recovery (MRF)

New developments could help California jurisdictions get back on track with organic waste disposal law; Agromin to expand composting facility to 100,000 tons/year capacity from 25,000 tons, True North Renewable Energy's new Kern County anaerobic facility
Waste Dive (08/28)

Recycling

National Waste & Recycling Assn. and Oregon Refuse & Recycling Assn. sign MoU to formalize partnership, enhance private sector waste, recycling efforts in Oregon
National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) (08/28)

Borealis submits environmental permit request for new plastics recycling refinery in Stenungsund, Sweden; site will have initial capacity to process 50,000 tonnes/year of plastic waste with startup slated for 2026
M-Brain Nordic News (08/28)

Ireland EPA says new measures are urgently needed to tackle waste packaging, as Ireland lags in EU commitments; 2021 recycling rate for packaging waste was 58%, down four points from 2020, and under EU recycling targets, number should be at 65% by 2025
Daily Mail (London, England) (08/25)

Ireland increased total waste packaging production to 1.2 million tonnes in 2021, but amount of waste that was recycled dropped by 4%; Ireland’s recycling capabilities 'cannot keep up' with total increase in packaging waste being generated: EPA report
Irish Times (Ireland) (08/25)

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

EPA finalizes stricter emissions limits for electric arc furnaces and Argon-Oxygen decarburization vessels in steel production; critics argue new rule constitutes retroactive change in regulations and exceeds agency authority under Clean Air Act
InsideEPA.com's Daily Briefing (08/28)

Unicharm Indonesia installs new solar power generation system at two plants--Surabaya Third Plant and Nonwoven Plant--that will generate approximately 860 MWh of electricity and reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 7,000 tons
Unicharm Corp. (08/28)

Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection seeks grant proposals for study on surplus food, food waste management to reduce GHG emissions; study to also be used as basis for additional study to determine infrastructure improvements for food recovery
Maine Department of Environmental Protection (08/28)

Supplier emissions reductions can ripple from procurement actions
Supply Chain Dive (08/28)

ExxonMobil predicts oil, gas to meet 54% of global energy needsby 2050; ExxonMobil forecast exceeds UN's sub-2°C target for CO2 emissions at 25 billion tonnes of energy-related emissions by 2050, more than double UN's 11-billion-tonnes target
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (08/28)

Climate Change

Proposed legislation in US Senate would streamline Natural Resource Conservation Service’s process for updating and adopting conservation practice standards that proponents say will help farmers improve soil health, build resilience to climate impacts
The Center Square (08/28)

Secondary forests in Sweden more sensitive to drought than primary forests; rare in Sweden and Europe, primary forests provide insights on how nature looks and functions without major direct human impact: Lund University
Targeted News Service (Press Releases) (08/28)

Braskem partners with University of São Paulo for research on converting CO2 into chemical products for GHG mitigation and carbon neutrality; project includes development of catalytic and electrocatalytic processes
Braskem SA (08/28)

Redwoods Rising project, led by Redwoods National and State Parks and Save the Redwoods League, aims to create old-growth redwood forests resilient to climate change; selective thinning, prescribed burns mimic traits of young, healthy forests
International New York Times (08/28)

Huhtamaki scores 67 out of 100 on S&P Global 2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment, landing in top 10%; company’s performance is driven by increased focus on biodiversity, climate action, waste management, human rights and anti-corruption
Huhtamäki Oyj (Huhtamaki) (08/28)

Environmental / Ecological / Carbon Footprint

Hyundai Steel unveils HyECOsteel low-carbon brand to align with global carbon-neutral trends in automotive and shipbuilding industries; firm also commits to reducing emissions by 12% by 2030, targeting net-zero goals in 2050
Korea Times (08/28)

PrintReleaf launches reforestation initiatives in Malaysia, Tanzania, California to help customers offset paper, fiber-based materials consumption with certified, automated reforestation, carbon offsets
WhatTheyThink (08/28)

Metsa Group plans to boost biodiversity on land around mill locations across Europe--more than 20 sites in all--starting with Kemi paperboard, bioproduct mill area covering more than 650 hectares; goal is to modify land use to improve nature, biodiversity
Metsa Group (08/28)

Electrolux Professional Group's near-term targets to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and reduce Scope 3 indirect use phase emissions by 2030 have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative
Nordic Regulated Equity Markets (Web Disclosure) via PUBT (08/25)

Shanghai Metals Market records rise in China's A00 aluminum ingot average price to RMB 18,830/tonne, while low-carbon aluminum price drops by RMB 26 per tonne
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/25)

Carbon Capture, Storage & Utilization (CCSU)

Exxon CEO outlines potential for new carbon reduction industry; major oil companies like Exxon, Chevron, Occidental investing billions in carbon management systems, viewing large-scale carbon storage as lucrative business opportunity, pathway to net zero
Houston Chronicle (TX) (08/25)

Carbon Sequestration

Only about 6% of UN-backed REDD+ carbon offset projects across central Africa, South America and Southeast Asia have resulted in carbon reduction through forest preservation: scientists
AFP World News (08/25)

LandVest extends bid date to Sept. 29 for Five Mile Forestlands, comprising some 18,360 acres in New York's Adirondacks; timberland has hardwood, softwood, mixed wood stand types, offers timber, recreation, conservation values, carbon project potential
LandVest Inc. (08/25)

New Hampshire wants Bluesource, new owner of 146,500-acre Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Tract, to 'keep in mind' aim of conservation easement is to maintain a working forest alongside other values; parties will meet in October to discuss company's plans
Telegraph (08/25)

Air Pollution / Air Quality

Ball Aerospace's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution--or TEMPO--instrument has released its first images of Earth; TEMPO uses geostationary UV-vis spectrometer to track major air pollutants, improve air quality monitoring
ENP Newswire (08/28)

Owens-Brockway Glass Container recycling plant fined by Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality for violating emissions standards, failing to comply with interim agreement to limit pollution; the O-I Glass subsidiary had been fined nine times since 2004
Oregonian (Portland, OR) (08/28)

EPA, Virginia environmental regulators hold public meeting regarding ethylene oxide emissions from Sterilization Services of Virginia in Henrico County; facility reportedly emitted about nine times acceptable limits earlier in 2023
Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) (08/28)

Water Pollution / Water Quality

Tech vs. Trees: Filter made of wood dust could remove up to 99.9% of microplastics from water, seeded toilet paper designed for outdoor use promotes plant growth, book vending machines popping up across US
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/25)

Waste Management

J.F. Lehman & Co.'s acquisition of Heritage-Crystal Clean on track for Q4 after unsuccessful 'go-shop' period with no competing offers emerging; post-acquisition, Crystal Clean will become a privately-held company, delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange
Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc. (08/25)

Biodegradable / Compostable Materials

Scientists create biodegradable active packaging film made with corn starch, rice husk fiber waste, benzalkonium chloride as antimicrobial agent; composite film extends strawberry shelf-life by 11 days, shows potential use for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/28)

Researchers develop biodegradable, active food packaging material which includes integrated gas transmission, radiation cooling, antimicrobial, UV shielding features; material is made of microporous chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol, preserves fruits, vegetables
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/28)

Scientists create packaging films using guar gum, polyvinyl alcohol, silver nanoparticles, pokeweed betacyanins; film changes color from pink to purple to yellow in response to shrimp spoilage, shows improved barrier, antimicrobial, antioxidant activity
MDPI Journal: Molecules (08/25)

Biobased Chemicals & Materials

Iowa State University chemistry researchers aim to develop synthetic catalysts that can break down cellulose, potentially turning plant biomass into a practical source of sugars for fuels and chemicals; project leaders to seek commercial partnerships
Iowa State University (08/28)

Researchers improve chitosan-based films' performance by adding nanocellulose, biobased plasticizer, chestnut extract; nanocellulose increases hydrophobicity, plasticizer boosts mechanical properties, chestnut extract acts as antimicrobial agent: study
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (08/25)

Community Betterment / Philanthropy

Natoo receives Jaguar Friend seal from Jaguar Parade to support jaguar conservation projects; brand supported Jaguar Parade NYC by sponsoring six of art installation sculptures and raised over US$100,000 for biodiversity nonprofit
Pet Age (08/25)