The Click-to-Lock Pods Box is on shelves in France and will be rolled out across Europe in the coming months.

Dublin-based paper-based packaging producer Smurfit Kappa has developed the Click-to-Lock Pods Box in partnership with McBride, a European manufacturer of private-label products for the cleaning and hygiene market. The packaging solution for detergent is a paper-based solution that provides a sustainable and safe alternative to the traditional plastic box for laundry pods, according to the company.

The Click-to-Lock Pods Box reduces CO2 emissions by 32 percent during production and is full recyclable and biodegradable. The company says it is the latest example of how Smurfit Kappa uses its circular business model to identify the best packaging solution for each situation alongside reducing the environmental impact.

The Click-to-Lock Pods Box is tamper-proof thanks to an effective, certified child-lock system that is in line with the International Association of Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products, following successful protocol testing. It is also moisture resistant because of a varnish inside the packaging that provides a barrier against moisture from accessing the contents.

The pack has 25 percent more capacity than the previous plastic version and brings efficiencies to the supply chain by facilitating an increased pallet load, the company adds.

CEO of Smurfit Kappa Europe Saverio Mayer says, “We are delighted to partner with such a prestigious company as McBride for this project. By combining our collective expertise, we have created this first-to-market innovative packaging solution that provides our customers with a child-safe, cost-effective and sustainable packaging option for laundry pods.”

“This project is an excellent example of the success that comes from pooling expertise between suppliers and customers to deliver the innovation to support the essential move to more environmentally friendly products,” says Chris Smith, CEO of McBride plc.

The Click-to-Lock Pods Box is on shelves in France and will be rolled out across Europe in the coming months, according to Smurfit Kappa. 

The company has benefited from its acquisition of American Zinc Recycling within the third quarter of the year.

Luxembourg-based Befesa S.A., owner of Pittsburgh-based American Zinc Recycling LLC (AZR), has reported continued strong performance on record earnings levels for the third quarter of the year, delivering what it calls strong growth year over year. The company reports that its growth also is above its 2019 earnings figures.

According to the company’s latest earnings report, it made what it calls significant progress in China and the U.S.

Befesa’s third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was at 42.7 million euros (or almost $49.9 million) compared with 29.3 million euros (or about $34.2 million) in the same quarter last year, which is a 46 percent increase. EBITDA also was 15 percent higher than what the company had achieved in the third quarter of 2019.

Befesa reports that its year-to-date growth has strengthened—the company achieved adjusted EBITDA of 136.8 million euros (or $159.8 million) in the first nine months of the year, up by 52 million euros or 62 percent compared with adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2020 and up 17 percent compared with the first nine months of 2019. The company attributes its year-over-year positive earnings development to strong base metals prices and good volume performance. Overall, Befesa reports that plant utilization was solid at prepandemic levels, with steel dust at more than 80 percent and aluminum salt slags and spent pot linings at or above 90 percent.

Within the quarter, Befesa successfully acquired AZR. The company renamed that acquired U.S. operation as Befesa Zinc US and appointed Rodrigo Daud as CEO and president of that business unit. Befesa Zinc US is a large provider of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust recycling services, and the company says that business is contributing to its operations as expected and is accelerating the expansion of its global footprint.

Befesa adds that its developments in China are continuing on target and budget, with the official opening event for the first state-of-the-art steel dust recycling plant in Changzhou in China’s Jiangsu province scheduled for mid-November. The construction of Befesa’s second plant, based in Xuchang in China’s Henan province, also is on target, with construction to be completed by the end of the year and commissioning scheduled for the first half of 2022.

Javier Molina, CEO of Befesa, says the third quarter was “exciting” for the company with the global expansion in the U.S. and China. He says, “Our improved full-year guidance of around 195 million euros EBITDA now incorporates the contribution from Befesa Zinc U.S. and highlights our confidence to deliver 2021 at the highest earnings levels. 2021 positions us very well to further accelerate our growth path globally. We are focused on continuing to actively protect the environment by providing environmental services to existing and new customers in the steel and aluminium industries around the world. Finally, we would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support.”

Befesa manages and recycles more than 2 million metric tons of residues annually, with a production of about 1.5 million metric tons of new materials.

Cohoes will be the first city in the state of New York to receive a grant from The Recycling Partnership.

The city of Cohoes, New York, is rolling out a recycling program with the distribution of 4,500 recycling carts in early November and a yearlong recycling education campaign.

Developed in collaboration with The Recycling Partnership and a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the program is part of the city’s “Cleaner Greener Cohoes” initiative.

“Successfully expanding recycling in Cohoes is a team effort,” Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler says. “Residents across the city have already responded enthusiastically to the news they will be getting a new cart. Staff across city departments are pitching in to create a robust program, with enthusiastic expert guidance from The Recycling Partnership. None of this would be financially feasible for a working-class community like Cohoes without essential funding and guidance from The Recycling Partnership and the initial DEC cart grant required to help us launch this effort.”

The city says it will receive 4,500 65-gallon lidded recycling carts on wheels, replacing the small 14-gallon open bins residents currently use. The carts will be delivered to households across the city and will come with an information packet on what does and does not get recycled, along with a list of frequently asked questions. Recycling information also is available on the city’s website.

Each recycling cart will be assigned to an address and can be identified using an identification tag.

“We are working to make it easier for Cohoes residents to properly recycle materials because it is good for the environment, it will help beautify the city and it will save taxpayers money,” says Joe Seman- Graves, Cohoes’ city planner. “Our ‘know where to throw’ education campaign will be an important part of this project because the more recyclables people put into their carts rather than into the trash, the better off we all will be.”

The city says the purchase of the 4,500 new carts costs $260,000 and is being funded, in part, by a $130,000 grant from the New York State DEC. The Recycling Partnership, Falls Church, Virginia, also awarded Cohoes up to $125,000 in technical support, a $63,000 grant to help fund the purchase of a new collection truck and $9,000 to fund outreach and education materials.

“We are thrilled Cohoes is the first city in New York state to benefit from our curbside recycling granting initiatives,” says Chris Coady, director of community programs at The Recycling Partnership. “The transition to a cart-based curbside recycling program will make the city’s program more efficient, resilient and sustainable, capturing 2.2 million pounds of valuable recyclables.”

The packaging producer will use its EnviroCan paper containers as a raw material at 10 of its paperboard mills.

Sonoco, a global provider of packaging products based in Hartsville, South Carolina, plans to expand its postconsumer recovery and recycling opportunities for its EnviroCan paper containers. In June, the company announced the ability to use the EnviroCan paper containers as a raw material at three of its paperboard mills.

According to a news release from Sonoco, the company is expanding the ability to use the EnviroCan paper containers at 10 of its paperboard mills to produce new paperboard.

Elizabeth Rhue, staff vice president of sustainability at Sonoco, says all of Sonoco’s U.S. paper mills have validated that they can accept rigid paper cans in bales of mixed paper coming from residential material recovery facilities (MRFs). These mills will use the mixed paper to produce 100 percent recycled paperboard with up to 85 percent postconsumer fiber. Ten of the company’s paper mills will accept EnviroCan paper containers, including its mills in Menasha, Wisconsin; Newport, Tennessee; City of Industry, California; Hartsville, South Carolina; Holyoke, Massachusetts; Richmond, Virginia; Summer, Washington; Hutchinson, Kansas; DePere, Wisconsin; and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

“Sonoco is uniquely positioned as a leading recycler, paper mill operator and paper packaging converter to help grow end of life solutions across not only our consumer and industrial packaging platforms but across the paper industry,” Rhue says. “After validating that our mills could recycle EnviroCan factory scrap, we are now taking the lead to further demonstrate the ability to recycle our paper containers with metal ends not only through the steel stream, as it is largely done today, but also through the postconsumer mixed paper stream.”

Tim Davis, division vice president and general manager of Sonoco’s U.S. and Canada paper operations, says this collaboration across the company’s manufacturing network highlights the flexibility the company has to recycle and process fiber-based packaging through its conventional paper mill pulping systems.

Rhue adds, “This is one of many steps Sonoco is taking to further our commitment to responsible material sourcing at our manufacturing operations, while building material circularity into our consumer packaging platforms. If a consumer recycles an EnviroCan paper container and it is sorted into the mixed paper stream, the cans can now be sent to our mills to be turned into a number of new fiber products, including new EnviroCan containers.”

The company has selected Little Rock, Arkansas, for its next capacity expansion.

Trex Co., a wood-alternative decking and outdoor living product manufacturer based in Winchester, Virginia, has announced plans to develop a new multifaceted production site in Little Rock, Arkansas. The company says it believes that building a third U.S.-based manufacturing facility should enable it to increase customer access. 

Trex says it expects to invest an estimated $400 million over the next five years in developing the new Arkansas site. The Trex campus will sit on about 300 acres of land and include buildings dedicated to decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing, warehousing and administrative offices. 

Construction is slated to begin early 2022. The development approach will be modular and calibrated to demand trends, with the first production output anticipated in 2024. The campus will expand output and has the potential to be the company’s largest manufacturing facility, according to Trex.

“This new site represents a strategic investment not only in our company’s future but in the future success of our valued channel partners,” says Bryan Fairbanks, CEO and president of Trex. “With the outdoor living category continuing to show strong momentum and our success to date in converting share from the wood decking market, the time is right to further expand our capacity so that we can meet future customer demand efficiently and effectively.” 

Trex says the new production complex will be located within the Port of Little Rock. The location emerged as the best fit for the company’s immediate and future needs with a location closer to essential raw materials, a strong pool of qualified and skilled labor, proximity to key growth regions for wood conversion and adjacency to major transportation hubs. 

The company says the added capacity allows it to better serve its distribution and retail partners domestically and abroad.  

“This is an exciting day for the city of Little Rock and all of Central Arkansas,” says Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “Trex is highly regarded as the world’s premier composite decking company, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome them to Arkansas. The jobs created by Trex will significantly enhance our economic climate, and I look forward to watching Trex grow and succeed in the coming years.”

Trex says the facility will bring more than 500 new jobs to the Little Rock area. The company will be interviewing candidates for positions starting this fall. Trex will broaden its recruiting efforts for salaried and hourly positions in spring 2022. 

“This expansion provides Trex with important competitive advantages in today’s dynamic outdoor living market,” Fairbanks says. “It will afford us the ability to flex with demand by adding capacity as needed. Having multiple manufacturing sites also helps mitigate risk while providing bandwidth to pursue new opportunities that will enable us to further leverage our unsurpassed brand recognition and expand our presence both domestically and internationally.”