Hydropol offers the benefits of traditional polymer plastics and is water soluble, biodegradable, nontoxic and UV resistant, the company says.

Aquapak Polymers, a polymer technology manufacturer based in Birmingham, England, has partnered with Industrial Physics, a global packaging, product and material test and inspection company based in Boston, to create a set of water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) testing methods for its Hydropol biodegradable polymer.   

According to a news release from Aquapak, Hydropol offers the benefits of traditional polymer plastics and is water soluble, biodegradable, nontoxic and UV resistant. It also offers multiple end-of-life options like recyclability, compostability and compatibility with anaerobic digestion plants.   

Industrial Physics is a global test and inspection partner that works across a wide range of industry sectors to help customers protect the integrity of their packaging, products and materials. The group comprises various specialist testing brands, including Systech Illinois, TQC Sheen, Quality By Vision, Eagle Vision, Steinfurth, Technidyne, RayRan, Testing Machines Inc. and more.  

Industrial Physics’ surveyed 255 packaging professionals globally. The survey found that professionals say testing new sustainable materials is challenging. Almost half the 255 global packaging professionals, 49 percent, said meeting testing standards was one of the biggest challenges they faced in the wider adoption of sustainable packaging materials.   

An example of this is that current WVTR test methods and standards are based on traditional polymers rather than biodegradable alternatives such as Hydropol. 

Aquapak approached Industrial Physics to support it in developing a repeatable and reliable test method for WVTR for its Hydropol biodegradable polymer.  

The WVTR test method is a known challenge for hydrophilic polymers, and the team at Aquapak was looking to use knowledge and resources from Industrial Physics to develop a testing method that could be carried out in-house as well as replicated at its customers' premises wherever they were in the world. 

Max Phippard, quality control manager at Aquapak, says, “Allowing the WVTR test to reach equilibrium means that we are confident in the results. Over the last few months, we have carried out full analysis of multilayer samples to gain an understanding of how our customers can replicate their own WVTR testing regime on Hydropol.” 

“We have reached a point where the WVTR test on Hydropol can be replicated anywhere in the world by using the approach taken by Aquapak and ourselves,” says Alana Shema, product line director at Industrial Physics. “This is a major step forward because it will shape how hydrophilic films are tested in the future. It allows our global customers who source sustainable packaging materials such as Hydropol to carry out their own WVTR knowing they can trust the results.”  

Phippard adds, “As highlighted in Industrial Physics’ research, businesses face challenges when looking to switch to new, sustainable packaging materials. Developing a WVTR approach for Hydropol is one of the ways we are supporting our customers as they take this journey." 

Industrial Physics says it offers a range of packaging, product and material integrity testing solutions to food and beverage, flexible packaging, medical, pharmaceutical and coatings markets. The company adopts a collaborative approach with customers to help them work through the challenges of moving to sustainable packaging.   

The new appointees come from Keurig Dr Pepper, Ball Corp., Nestle USA and the Association of Plastic Recyclers.

The Recycling Partnership, Washington, recently made changes to its board of directors. The board guides and supports The Partnership’s plan and builds on the organization’s mission, transforming U.S. residential recycling and advancing the circular economy.   

“When companies make commitments to reduce waste, improve recycling, and advance the circular economy, it’s our job to insist and assist,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership. “Our board is comprised of industry-leading sustainability and recycling advocacy experts from leading companies across the value chain who are committed to transforming U.S. recycling and enhancing a circular economy.”   

At the June board of directors meeting, the following officers were elected:     

Chair – Monique Oxender, Keurig Dr Pepper;  

Vice Chair – Stephanie Potter, Nestlé USA;   

Vice Chair – Gary McElyea, The Coca-Cola Co.;    

Treasurer – Steve Alexander, Association of Plastic Recyclers; and,  

Secretary – Sara Axelrod, Ball Corp.  

“As the U.S. makes the critical shift toward a circular economy, there is an opportunity to significantly improve recycling through The Partnership’s cross-sector collaborations,” Oxender says. “Companies are amplifying both dollars and action by investing in solutions that accelerate change, reflecting an action-oriented focus that The Recycling Partnership can uniquely deliver.”  

The five appointments join seven industry leaders recently elected to serve on The Recycling Partnership’s board of directors. The newly elected directors include Holli Alexander, a strategic initiatives manager of sustainability at Eastman; Meghan Altman, environmental impact lead for Danone North America; Scott Breen, vice president of sustainability for the Can Manufacturers Institute; Gary McElyea, the head of North American public policy center for The Coca-Cola Co.; and Stephanie Potter, the head of sustainability for corporate and government affairs for Nestlé USA.   

Also reelected for an additional term was Megan Daum, the vice president of sustainability for the American Beverage Association, and Scott Hemink, ITQ director of packaging for General Mills.     

The Recycling Partnership says it fosters relationships across the recycling value chain to connect needs to solutions, build data-driven tools, engage policymakers and communicate with stakeholders to accelerate change. The Partnership works with communities across the country to improve recycling and supports companies as they improve packaging to support climate and sustainability goals. It also engages with policymakers to address the systemic needs of the residential recycling system.   

The facility will use the company’s advanced anaerobic digestion technology to convert up to 130,000 gallons per day of food waste along with sewage biosolids into biogas.

Anaergia Inc., a waste-to-energy company based in Burlington, Ontario, has announced its equipment has been integrated with a wastewater treatment plant in Highland, California. The new facility, owned and operated by East Valley Water District and known as the Sterling Natural Resources Center (SNRC), held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this month.

According to a news release from Anaergia, the SNRC will recycle water to replenish local groundwater and convert wastewater solids and food waste into renewable energy and organic fertilizer. It will also serve as a community center for education and local events.   

All wastewater and food waste entering the plant will be converted into resources, and the facility will supply electricity to the grid for its needs.   

The SNRC will use Anaergia’s advanced anaerobic digestion technology to convert up to 130,000 gallons of food waste daily and its sewage biosolids into biogas. The biogas will be used to generate three megawatts of renewable electricity, enough to meet all the facility’s energy needs and add renewable power to the electric grid.   

Additionally, the plant will use membrane technology made by Anaergia’s affiliated company Fibracast to recycle up to eight million gallons of wastewater daily. Residues left over after energy is produced will be converted to valuable biochar, a natural fertilizer that will be sold and used to enrich farmland soil.  

“Thanks to the leadership of East Valley Water District, the SNRC will make two paradigm shifts on how humanity builds wastewater facilities in the future,” says Andrew Benedek, chairman and CEO of Anaergia. “The first paradigm shift is to make every wastewater plant maximize its resource recovery, reducing impacts to the environment. The second paradigm shift is to make such plants a social benefit and not a smelly eyesore.”  

Benedek says he believes this facility will serve as a catalyst for positive change due to its park-like setting, its community center and the vocational training programs associated with the SNRC. 

The grant will help the organization purchase equipment to haul and transport scrap tires.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has awarded a $750,000 grant to Tennessee Tire Recycling (TTR) in Lebanon, Tennessee, as part of the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program.

According to a news release from TDEC, TTR, a division of Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, will provide matching funds of $914,170 and use the grant to purchase equipment related to the hauling collection and transportation of tires between counties. TTR plans to increase its hauling capacity through the purchase of a truck, trailers and a mobile grinder to support counties across the state with more options for managing scrap tires. The project will cost a total of about $1.66 million and will enable TTR to recycle about 700,000 tires annually.

“TDEC is proud to support the business community in its efforts to implement environmentally responsible actions,” says TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “TDEC is a resource, not just a regulator. We are proud to be a resource in working with our communities through the grant process while working with the Tennessee General Assembly to obtain the funding for grants that help protect our natural resources and grow local economies throughout the state.”  

According to TDEC, the Tire Environmental Act Program selects and funds projects that best result in beneficial uses for scrap tires. Projects must qualify for one of three categories: tire processing/recycling, tire-derived material use or research and development. The program provides grants to eligible entities, including local governments, nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools and for-profit entities.

TDEC says the state established its Tire Environmental Fund in 2015. Upon the first retail sale of a new motor vehicle to be titled and registered in Tennessee, a flat fee based on the number of a vehicle’s wheels is assessed, and that fee goes into the fund, which is used for projects creating or supporting beneficial end uses for scrap tires. Since 2015, grantees have received about $4.5 million from the program and about 3.6 million tires have been diverted from landfills as a result. The tires have been repurposed for use in rubberized asphalt, tire-derived aggregate, tire-derived fuel, granulated rubber porous flexible pavement and other end uses.

A partnership between Great Lakes Tissue, Carton Council, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide funds to better handle food and beverage cartons.

Great Lakes Tissue, a manufacturer of 100-percent-recycled tissue and paper products in Cheboygan, Michigan, has partnered with the Carton Council of North America and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to help boost sustainability by improving manufacturing and recycling infrastructure in the state.

The mill says for 30 years it has been utilizing 100-percent-recycled material, including cartons and other postconsumer products, to make tissue products, and now seeks to recycle more food and beverage cartons and to find what it calls “a better use for the small percentage of polyethylene (PE) and poly/aluminum in cartons. Great Lakes Tissue has now partnered with the Carton Council and EGLE, as well as the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), to fund the effort.

The funding has provided the mill with new equipment to better handle the poly and poly/aluminum residual from the pulping process and, along with allowing the mill to process more cartons, the equipment also removes more moisture from PE and poly/aluminum, which it says significantly decreases its weight and allowing for more efficient transport with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The company says it also can recapture the water and recycle it back into the process for reuse.

“The new equipment has allowed us to reduce the water content in our material from 65 percent to 17 percent, far exceeding our goal of 25 percent,” says Julie LaFond, plant engineer and general project manager at Great Lakes Tissue. “This lower moisture allows for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as we can haul the same volume of materials in fewer loads.”

MDARD Director Gary McDowell says his department is “proud to invest in technology helping reduce food and beverage cartons from ending up landfills while supporting a Michigan-based business.”

Currently, Great Lakes Tissue says the small amount of poly/aluminum residue is sent to St. Mary’s Cement in Charlevoix, Michigan, where it offsets the use of coal as fuel versus being sent to landfill, and the company adds that it continues to explore alternative uses for the material with a goal of eventually using it to make new products.

“Our goal is to keep cartons out of landfills and ensure they are able to go on to have a second life,” says Jason Pelz, vice president of recycling projects at the Carton Council and vice president of sustainability, U.S., Canada, Central America and Caribbean for Tetra Pak. “We are delighted to help fund these efforts and believe it is a model that could be replicated in other locations.”