Canadian beverage maker says the straws are recyclable.
Sun-Rype Products, a division of Canada-based A. Lassonde Inc., has announced it has replaced plastic straws with paper straws in all SunRype 200 milliliter (ml) single-serve beverage boxes in Canada. The beverage producer calls the straws recyclable and bendable.
“We are on track to meet our sustainable development objectives by 2025,” says Claire Bara, president of A. Lassonde. “We plan on incorporating recyclable packaging for all of our products, and the launch of paper straws on our single-serve juice products is another step in the right direction. We know that our customers place a lot of importance on finding products that meet today’s environmental challenges, and these SunRype juice containers with new bendable paper straws are now available at Canadian grocery retailers - just in time for back-to-school lunch boxes.”
SunRype says with the new straws its Tetra Pak product containers are fully recyclable. “We are pleased to provide our customers with this environmentally responsible paper straw on all 200 ml beverage containers of our iconic brand, SunRype,” states Bara.
The launch of the paper straw follows Lassonde’s recent launch of new bottles containing 25 percent post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) for all its juice brands available in 300 ml (roughly 10 ounce) packages in Canada.
By 2023, British Columbia-based SunRype has as its goals: using 25 percent post-consumer recycled content in its PET bottles; using 100 percent recyclable packaging for all its products; and working with governments, industry and associations to promote the collection of recyclable materials.
Equipment company says the shredders are designed for RDF production.
Metso Outotec Waste Recycling says it has strengthened its position in the market for makers of products like refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF) via its FineShredders F-series line of equipment.
The new M&J F-series of shredders can be adapted to “virtually all fractions and capacity requirements up to 23 tons per hour at 50 millimeters (two inches) and 28 tons per hour at 100 millimeters (four inches),” states the firm.
The F-series consists of three models: the F140, F210 and F320. Each of the models can “adapt easily and quickly to different materials, without even stopping production,” says the company.
“The engineers have really outdone themselves with the M&J F-series, so as to make life as easy as possible for the customer,” says Morten Kiil Rasmussen, Commercial Director, Metso Outotec Waste Recycling. “In addition to the well-known Metso Outotec Waste Recycling build quality, you can enjoy a FineShredder that keeps energy and operating costs to a minimum. We have matched and exceeded our customers’ current and future needs.”
What the company calls “a cleverly designed rotor” leads to high-efficiency shredding of “qualified materials, making it particularly suitable for the production of alternative fuels like RDF and SRF,” says Metso Outotec. In addition, the machines leave a very small number of undesired fines, adds the company.
Metso Outotec Waste Recycling also cites minimal maintenance, a unique cutting system and less heat generation (thus no downtime due to molten plastic) as “some of the many other benefits of the new M&J F-Series. States the company, “The FineShredders are extremely flexible. You just decide the output size and the pusher adjust to meet your needs. In addition, the highly efficient knife system requires virtually no maintenance or adjustment.”
SignalFire Group will dedicate resources to help manufacturers, retailers and governments enter and participate in new recycling systems.
Resource Recycling Systems Inc. (RRS), a sustainable materials and resource consulting firm headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has launched a new group to assist companies with policy development and implementation. Called the Signalfire Group, the subsidiary will provide research, planning and implementation support to governments and organizations using policy and regulation as a tool to guide sustainable materials management and circular economy strategies.
“RRS has been working with government, businesses, nonprofits, NGOs (nongovernment organizations) and universities for more than 35 years,” says Jim Frey, RRS co-founder and CEO. “We have seen the evolution of material recovery approaches that now engage all players in the manufacturing, use, collection, recovery and processing value chain. Signalfire will focus targeted support for the changing recovery model that will enable organizations to better participate in long-term sustainable circular economy initiatives.”
According to a news release from RRS, the company created the subsidiary to dedicate resources to help manufacturers, retailers and governments enter and participate in new recycling systems. Signalfire Group provides services focused on developing and implementing best-in-class policy and regulatory approaches. Services include:
Signalfire Group is led by three environmental industry veterans with decades of experience in sustainability, materials management, policy and product stewardship:
Resa Dimino has worked in recycling businesses, trade groups and served as the lead policy staff for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). While at DEC, she managed the development of the state’s Beyond Waste 10-year sustainable materials management strategy and helped to formulate the state’s e-scrap extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation. Dimino currently serves as a managing principal at RRS, overseeing the infrastructure and engineering team.
Garth Hickle led the product stewardship program for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, overseeing the implementation of EPR programs for rechargeable batteries, electronics and architectural paint. In his consulting practice, he has worked with a variety of public and private clients on EPR and circular economy policy development for waste electric and electronic equipment, packaging, carpet, mattresses and more. He is currently serving as the managing director of the International Electronics Management Network and has been a board member of the Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) and Conservation Minnesota. Garth is also a senior lecturer at the University of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. from Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
David Stitzhal has served as a delegate to national product stewardship dialogues and served on teams advising on product stewardship and EPR matters to Seattle; King County, Washington; the Washington Department of Ecology and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. David also helped develop early local, state and national policy for the take-back of unwanted medications. He was the founding coordinator of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and served as an original stakeholder of the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative. He currently serves as board president of the National Stewardship Action Council and president of Full Circle Environmental Inc.
“As more organizations are working to develop a circular economy, there is an increasing interest in shared financial and operational responsibility for materials management,” says Dimino. “Signalfire Group provides a dedicated, focused effort to help governments and businesses navigate the challenges of this new model and apply proven, practiced solutions.”
Container manufacturers and users must work in conjunction to prevent harmful runoff from roll-offs.
Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 cause of stream impairment in urban areas. Excess deposits from roll-on and roll-off containers are significant contributors to the large volumes of water that end up in local streams, lakes, wetlands and rivers. This stormwater runoff can cause flooding and erosion and wash away critical habitats for organisms in local waterways.
To help protect the environment, container manufacturers must adhere to standards from various entities, such as the Department of Transportation and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. These requirements allow companies and municipalities to control how they prevent stormwater runoff. As long as the end product prevents stormwater run-off, the container remains compliant.
The waste industry needs due diligence to prevent stormwater runoff and protect natural resources, and it must take steps to cut dumpster water pollution that results in stormwater runoff. The real work begins with the container itself. Companies have the opportunity to be innovative with product development.
Additionally, customers can employ simple concepts, such as keeping the lid closed to prevent rain entry, positioning dumpsters away from storm drain inlets, avoiding the disposal of liquids in a dumpster, and replacing the unit when it begins to rust or crack to help prevent these issues.
Although there are steps to take to reduce the risk of contamination, the responsibility begins with the container provider’s design and engineering.
As companies launch corporate responsibility programs, developing new products to meet compliance best practices is critical.
By creating products and a standard of behavior that shows respect for the environment, container manufacturing companies can support the economy by sourcing responsibly, reducing carbon footprints, and developing more products with environmental benefits.
City and state governments also hold control to dictate product designs. Many municipalities in the Northwest, for example, don’t allow containers with inside drains. As an industry, this type of oversite continues to be a popular trend, expanding to other areas of the country, as well.
Roll-off container manufacturers adhere to local constraints during the design process and specialize in adjusting the engineering to provide a final product that suits both the client’s needs and adheres to local regulations.
When a container arrives, the customer expects it to do its job. Protection against environmental damage is part of that expectation. Containers are designed, constructed and tested in manufacturing to ensure they meet guidelines such as Carboline Protective Coatings recommendations and DOT specifications. Companies follow stringent guidelines to ensure roll-off containers position their customers to protect the environment.
Testing occurs during product development. Interior tank surfaces are inspected before coating. Engineers remove all blisters, weld splatter, sharp projections, slivers and pits. Decontamination should combine rounding, grinding, and high-pressure washing with sand injection.
After the preliminary inspection, surface preparation begins. All oil and grease should be removed from surfaces so they can be coated with a safety solvent before abrasive blasting. Additionally, manufacturers must consider the type of air compressor used to coat the exterior of the container to the anchor pattern’s depth to the tooth in the metal.
After the coating application and curing of the container, final testing begins. Before an order leaves the warehouse, containers are water tested to ensure they are liquid-tight and sift-proof.*
Meeting regulatory requirements is not just about proving compliance, it is about the owner and operator’s responsibility to protect the environment. Stormwater runoff wreaks havoc on water sources, and chemical contaminants have the potential to harm both humans and wildlife.
Beginning with a container that works to prevent stormwater runoff and insisting on ongoing maintenance and timely replacement, container users can adequately do their part to keep our waters clean and protect our planet.
*DOT terminology requires both a "sift-proof non-DOT specification cargo tank and portable tank" (173.240.b, 173.240.c) and a "non-DOT specification cargo tank and portable tank suitable for transport of liquids" (173.241.b, 173.241.c).
Brett Withers is an engineering manager at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wastequip.
Our report shares insights into the U.S. recycling sector pulled from surveys of material recovery facility operators, haulers and government officials, as well as from roundtable discussions.
Earlier this summer, Recycling Today and Waste Today partnered to produce a survey that was administered by Readex Research of Stillwater, Minnesota, with the intention of gauging the state of the municipal recycling industry in the U.S. The results were published in the September issue of Recycling Today. Of the 188 respondents, 46 percent indicated they were in the government sector, 41 percent identified as haulers and 12 percent indicated they were material recovery facility (MRF) operators.
Research for this report was funded by sponsors CP Manufacturing of San Diego and Shred-Tech of Cambridge, Ontario.
In addition to the survey, the staff of Recycling Today hosted three virtual roundtables in the spring: one with MRF operators, one with government recycling officials and one with representatives from consumer packaged goods companies. (Some of the MRF operators who participated in the roundtable and some of the government participants also offer hauling services.)
The survey results and the roundtables help to illustrate the resilient and adaptable nature of the U.S. recycling industry. Respondents share how they are responding to recent challenges, including those related to the pandemic; the areas they are investing in within their businesses and communities; and contracting practices.
Excerpts from the roundtable discussions, as well as results from the survey Readex sent out on our behalf, are included in The State of the Municipal Recycling Industry report. However, w e had more content than the print issue allowed, so we created a special section on the Recycling Today website where we are sharing additional information over the month of September. Be sure to check it out at www.RecyclingToday.com/keyword/soi-municipal.