The three groups want to encourage New Yorkers to recycle Nespresso’s aluminum coffee capsules in the city’s curbside recycling program.

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has partnered with Nespresso, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Sims Municipal Recycling, Brooklyn, New York, to encourage New Yorkers to recycle Nespresso coffee capsules and other lightweight aluminum items through the city’s curbside program. New Yorkers can recycle all small aluminum products in the same recycling bin as plastic, glass and other materials as a result of this partnership, Nespresso reports in a news release on the partnership.

Earlier in 2019, Nespresso committed $1.2 million to improve the recovery of small aluminum and to better allow for curbside recycling of its coffee capsules in New York City. In most cities, the size and weight of the coffee capsules require that they be divided from other recyclables using special equipment. However, with Nespresso’s funding, Sims Municipal Recycling purchased new technology to better sort and capture these aluminum capsules, Nespresso reports.

“Nespresso made a $1.2 million commitment to better enable the recovery of its aluminum coffee capsules through New York City’s curbside recycling program,” says Tom Outerbridge, general manager at Sims Municipal Recycling.

Outerbridge says the funding from Nespresso helped Sims to purchase and install a new processing system for small nonferrous objects recovered from curbside recyclables. The system includes a shredder, an eddy current and an associated hopper, bunkers, conveyors and manual quality control stations. “In addition to Nespresso coffee capsules, with this new system, we are able to better capture an array of other small and lightweight aluminum, such as the aluminum wrapping on bottlenecks, and produce a pure aluminum stream,” he adds.

During the recycling process, Outerbridge says the coffee grounds in the capsules are disposed of as residue. He notes that the coffee grounds are liberated from the capsules by shredding and agitation. He adds that the company is marketing the aluminum recovered from the capsules along with other recovered small aluminum and not with the normal material recovery facility (MRF) beverage can stream.

Nespresso offers its own store take-back program. Outerbridge says this program is integrated with the New York City Department of Sanitation curbside recycling program. Sims will be handling the capsules that come through the curbside program.

“We make our capsules from aluminum because it’s a fully recyclable metal, and it is an excellent material for preserving the quality of our coffee,” says Guillaume Le Cunff, president and CEO of Nespresso USA. “We are constantly innovating to make recycling easier for Nespresso customers and to contribute new solutions to all recycling challenges, and we’re excited to help improve recovery in New York City and lessen the amount of all kinds of aluminum in our landfills today.”

The partnership supports New York City’s Zero Waste initiative, Nespresso says. It has the potential to reduce about 43,000 tons of aluminum foil and other mixed metals that currently end up in landfills each year.

“We encourage New Yorkers to recycle their aluminum coffee capsules and other lightweight aluminum items, like foil and can lids, with their other recyclables,” says Kathryn Garcia, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation.

Before moving forward with this partnership, Outerbridge says Sims had to determine how the capsules behave at its MRFs, which material fractions they would flow with, how they behave at the company’s glass plant and determine this for each type of Nespresso capsule.

“We performed several different shredder tests to determine the right size and configuration and tests on separation of the shredded nonferrous to confirm aluminum quality,” he says.

“Our glass plant processes more than 11,000 tons of materials per month, and we’re excited to see that number increase due to our collaboration with Nespresso and DSNY,” Outerbridge adds. “The materials that are recovered in our facility are sold to manufacturers, which allows them to be turned into new products.”

In addition, Nespresso says its existing recycling program in the United States, in partnership with UPS, will continue to be made available across the country. Consumers can bring bags with used coffee capsules to one of 88,000 UPS drop-off locations or to one of 500 collection points in Nespresso Boutiques and select retailers around the country.

The containerboard operating rate for October is on par with where it was in October 2018.

Total containerboard production in October remained flat compared with containerboard production in October 2018, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, reports in its October 2019 Containerboard Monthly report, released Nov. 15. Overall, AF&PA reports that containerboard production is down about 4 percent for the first 10 months of 2019 compared with the first 10 months of 2018. 

October production of containerboard for export increased about 4 percent compared with the same month in 2018, yet this figure is down 16 percent year to date compared with the same period in 2018, according to AF&PA.

AF&PA reports that the containerboard operating rate for October was 94.7 percent, which is on par with where it was at in October 2018. Additionally, mill inventories of containerboard at the end of October decreased 26,000 tons from the previous month and were up 30,000 tons compared with October 2018. 

AF&PA's complete report with detailed tables, charts and historical data can be purchased by contacting Kory Bockman at Statistics_Publications@afandpa.org or calling 202-463-4716.

The wind tunnel device helps MRFs process light materials at high throughput.

Intelligent sorting devices, such as optical sorters, robots and humans on quality control lines, are integral in today’s material recovery facilities (MRFs). However, for these machines and personnel to perform their best, infeed material must first be properly prepared. Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, Norwalk, Connecticut, has introduced a new wind tunnel called DeftAir to aid in preparing material for optical sorting. 

According to a news release from Van Dyk, DeftAir helps process light materials at higher throughput. Typically, light sheets of paper and film start to fly up and drift when a conveyor speed approaches 550 to 600 feet per minute. DeftAir is installed on an optical sorter’s acceleration belt and blows a steady stream of air onto the belt to stop fiber and other lightweight materials from floating as the belt accelerates. 

With DeftAir, air flow is applied at the same speed as the conveyor to maintain the relative speed of the material, according to the news release from Van Dyk. The belt can reach speeds of 800 to 1,000 feet per minute without causing light materials to float. The optical sorter receives more throughput, and because material is in a single, steady layer, it is fully recognizable, the company says.

Recovery rates will increase, while accuracy is maintained or improved, Van Dyk says, allowing operators to increase their paper quality while achieving high production rates.

Van Dyk says it has installed DeftAir units for several customers so far, with more planned in the future. DeftAir can be installed in conjunction with optical sorting upgrades or retrofitted in front of existing optical sorter units that need to improve their performance on paper separation. 

The Vora family has consolidated its established brands Victory Creations, Paperworks and Ultraprint under the Adler name.

Devang and Hrishikesh Vora, the father and son duo who jointly lead several Mumbai-based paper recycling firms, have announced a rebranding of those companies as Adler.

The Voras note that adler means “eagle,” and they say the combined company will use “razor-sharp vision” and a “high and stable flight path” to remain and grow as a “confident and respected” part of the global paper recycling industry.

The three companies being placed under the Adler umbrella are Victory Creations, Paperworks and Ultraprint. (A profile of the companies as they operated in 2016 can be found on here.)

Devang Vora says the rebranding will create “a seamless merger of three global recycling entities.” A veteran of 35 years in the paper industry, Devang says Adler is poised to provide “complete solutions in the recovered paper trade internationally.”

Devang Vora also stresses the combined 100 years of experience held by Adler’s officers as a way to ensure the “upholding of world-class standards in every business-related activity” at the firm. He says, “Our unparalleled commitment to excellence forms the backbone of Adler. It enables us to perform complex business operations with the utmost ease, and this has led to continued growth and success for us and our business partners internationally.”

Hrishikesh Vora says Adler’s associates and its long-time customers are equally enthused about the ability of the rebranded companies to work together to provide cross-border services. “It is gratifying to look back on the decades of growth we have already enjoyed, and it is exciting to be part of something new that we can build on and soar above what we’ve already accomplished,” he says.

“It’s the same people and the same business, but a new chapter and a new identity,” adds Hrishikesh Vora. “We remain committed to our goal of recycling and reusing paper and to reducing carbon footprints across the globe.”

H.R. 5115 calls for federal grants for state and local governments to expand curbside recycling options.

U.S. Reps. Tony Cárdenas and Larry Bucshon used America Recycles Day to introduce the Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Value of Expanding Recycling (RECOVER) Act. A coalition of partners, led by the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), support House Bill 5115 (H.R. 5115), which would allocate federal grants to states and municipalities to invest in improving recycling programs and infrastructure, including upgrading material recovery facilities and other plants that receive and process recyclables, and enhancing the recovery and collection of material.

In addition to establishing a $500 million matching grants program to support and expand the recycling programs and infrastructure, the RECOVER Act would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to submit a report to Congress no later than two years after the date of enactment of this legislation on measures taken toward implementation, according to a news release issued by Cárdenas office. Moreover, the bill precludes the use of EPA funds for incineration.

According to Cárdenas’ Facebook post about H.R. 5115, the bill also would support public-private partnerships to increases materials recovery, direct grant money to consumer education on recycling practices and encourage the development of rural recycling programs.

“This bipartisan, commonsense bill is a smart solution to a growing problem,” Cárdenas says. “The RECOVER Act encourages local and state governments to invest in recycling programs and new technologies to increase collection rates and promote consumer education. This grant would support public-private partnerships and will help communities across the nation to expand and modernize our country’s recycling infrastructure. This bill would create new jobs, boosts our economy and, ultimately, it is good for American families and the environment.”

Bucshon says, “As the father of four kids, it is important to me to leave future generations with a cleaner environment than the one we inherited from our parents and grandparents. One of the ways that we have been successful in cleaning up our nation’s environment is by encouraging greater numbers of Americans to recycle waste items instead of discarding them in landfills.

"Today, our nation is facing a recycling crisis due to inadequate infrastructure and the inability to keep up with waste stream contamination," he continues. "Without the proper recycling infrastructure in place, we will not have the capacity needed to recycle waste items and they will either end up in a landfill, our oceans or elsewhere in the environment as litter."

Bucshon adds, "On America Recycles Day, I am proud to join Congressman Cárdenas in introducing the RECOVER Act, which will help promote greater investment in recycling infrastructure and consumer education to ensure our nation has the recycling infrastructure needed to continue allowing Americans to recycle waste items instead of sending them to the landfill.”

H.R. 5115 would establish a recycling infrastructure program within the EPA and put federal funding toward building new recycling technology and programs to help increase collection rates, improve the sortation and separation of materials, enhance the performance of curbside collection and more, its supporters say.

“We applaud Reps. Cárdenas and Bucshon for introducing a bill that will improve our recycling systems and educate Americans on the importance of reclaiming valuable materials and repurposing them for greater use,” says Tony Radoszewski, president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, Washington. “This bipartisan bill will help address the infrastructure shortcomings that can contribute to recyclable materials ending up in our oceans and waterways and we look forward to working with the representatives to move it forward. We are thankful to the coalition members who helped in the development of the bill because improving our recycling infrastructure is necessary for all materials.”

“Prioritizing recycling requires bipartisan support,” says Scott DeFife, president of the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), Arlington, Virginia. “The Glass Packaging Institute applauds Reps. Cárdenas and Bucshon for their leadership in introducing this important legislation. The RECOVER Act is a proposal both parties can get behind as it grows American manufacturing jobs with a public-private matching infrastructure investment package.”

He adds, “Recycling efforts, including those focused on glass recycling, need federal support to help the system reboot and handle modern waste stream challenges. This bill—and the jobs and economic and environmental benefits it will create and support—is a viable part of a solution to bolstering domestic recycling endeavors while making an impact on sustainability from coast to coast.”

In addition to the Plastics Industry Association and GPI, other supporters of the legislation include the American Chemistry Council, American Frozen Food Institute, AMERIPEN, Berry Global, EREMA, Flexible Packaging Association, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Bottled Water Association, Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc., National Waste & Recycling Association, The Recycling Partnership, SNAC International, Solid Waste Association of North America, Sustainable Packaging Coalition/GreenBlue, Unilever and The Vinyl Institute.

“I am in full support of the RECOVER Act,” says Chairman and CEO of Evansville, Indiana-based Berry Global Tom Salmon. “The time is now to enhance our country’s recycling system through improvements in infrastructure and education at all levels – national, state, and local. Increasing recycling access and material recovery is the first step towards moving to a truly circular economy.”

The Plastics Industry Association has more information on its recycling infrastructure priorities at http://plasticsindustry.org/advocacy/infrastructure/recycling-infrastructure-priorities.