Residents receive gold lids for their recycling carts to reward stellar efforts, and The Recycling Partnership helps roll out carts in a New England city.
Coating expansion: An Alabama manufacturing facility has announced a sizable investment in a water-based coating for fiber products, an alternative to the traditional LDPE or wax coating barrier commonly found on take-out food containers. Cascades Sonoco will spend $16 million to expand its Birmington, Ala. facility, giving it the capacity to produce 40,000 to 50,000 tons per year of the alternative material.
Earning report: In separate Cascades news, the tissue and packaging producer announced its financial earnings for the last quarter of 2016. The company’s recovery and recycling activities led to a $13 million sales increase compared with the previous year.
Going for the gold: The Des Moines, Iowa public works department is working to cut down on recycling contamination by publicly recognizing residents who recycle correctly. WHOTV, the local NBC affiliate, reports that the city’s “Gold Level Recycling” program will replace standout residents’ blue recycling cart lids with yellow lids, a public display of their recycling prowess.
Clothing collection: Residents of Raleigh, N.C. may soon see the addition of curbside textile recycling service. According to a news report by local network WRAL, city officials have tried to reassure residents the service would not serve as a replacement for donating old clothes to thrift stores, a situation that has generated consternation elsewhere.
Cart kickoff: A bin-based recycling system in Portland, Maine will be replaced by a 25,000-cart rollout for residents. The Recycling Partnership, which assisted the city in planning the effort, describes the considerations that led to the decision, which included economic modeling to ensure the move penciled out financially.
Scrap settlement: A metals recycling company has agreed to pay a hefty fine for allegedly contributing to higher air pollution levels in Minnesota. According to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency press release, Northern Metal Recycling will pay a total of $2.5 million in costs and penalties.
Partnership: The City of Santa Fe, N.M. will contract with Rubicon Global to bolster its recycling programs through the use of technology. The company will provide the use of its cloud-based technology platform to assess diversion rates and optimize recycling collection routes.
Searching for service: Montgomery, Ala. continues to have no residential recycling option, since a mixed-waste processing facility closed nearly a year and a half ago. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, the city is looking for another company to operate the facility, which was run by now-bankrupt Infinitus Renewable Energy Park at Montgomery (IREP Montgomery).
Fiber profile: Pratt Industries, which manufacturers cardboard from recycled fiber and has its roots in an Australian company, praises the U.S. manufacturing climate. In a profile of the company, the Australian Financial Review describes its turn toward success when sustainability became a popular concept and the company’s revenue rose from $300 million to its current $2.5 billion.
