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The company notes that this new set "offers ocean lovers a new way to clean the ocean and raise awareness of the ocean plastic crisis." Last month, 4ocean, a purpose-driven business with a mission to help end the ocean plastic crisis, announced its latest product launch: a collection of sterling silver jewelry that features the artisanal inclusion of plastics recovered from beaches in Oahu, Hawaii. [Extracted from the article]

GFL Environmental (GFL) has created the Resource Recovery Alliance (RRA) in response to the Government of Ontario's extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation requiring product and packaging producers to operate and fully finance Ontario's Blue Box program. "RRA will bring the experience and expertise of GFL, CSSA, and producers together and provide consumer brands with sustainable solutions they can trust", added Dovigi. [Extracted from the article]

Bode-George mentioned specific bills in five different states that offer a sampling of the sorts of work happening in statehouses. Last week, be Waste Wise hosted a "U.S. Recycling Policy Status Report", webinar with panelists Yinka Bode-George, Environmental Health Manager at the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) and Sarah Edwards, Director at Eunomia Research and Consulting. As to the potential for chemical recycling, Bode-George noted that, "we've seen a lot of policies promoting chemical recycling under the premise of circularity.". [Extracted from the article]

This one-day event is all about the waste and recycling industry's role in building a sustainable future. When most people think "sustainability", they are often surprised to learn about how the waste and recycling industry is increasingly playing a bigger role as well. [Extracted from the article]

One of the presenters will be Maen Mahfoud, CEO of Replate, which is an organization that manages food donations for a variety of surplus-food generators. At the upcoming WasteExpo Food Recovery Forum (June 28-30 in Las Vegas), one exciting session will focus on "Preventing Food Waste and Fighting Hunger in the U.S.: Award Winners of Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation's Innovation Fund." b Mahfoud: Replate Rescue is an infrastructure that allows food surplus to travel efficiently from businesses to people in need at the right time in the right place. [Extracted from the article]

Len asked Minter if he could share some background on the "Secondhand" book. RREUSE (an international non-profit network representing social enterprises active in the reuse, repair, and recycling sector) hosted a discussion with Adam Minter, columnist at Bloomberg Opinion and author of "Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale" and "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade." Minter spoke with Michael Len, director of RREUSE, about the social dimension within the circular transition and how best to support it. [Extracted from the article]

The Recycling Partnership - a nonprofit "action agent" that seeks to transform the U.S. residential recycling system in positive ways - released a new report called, "Paying it Forward: Investment in Recycling Will Pay Dividends." And, as of now, recycling is "not provided evenly across the U.S.", with 40% of Americans lacking equitable recycling, as well as the fact that "many packages currently found on store shelves cannot be recycled through residential programs." The report itself begins with a look at The Recycling Partnership's key finding and supporting details on each, which are as below: The U.S. needs an overall investment in recycling of $17 billion over five years. [Extracted from the article]

We spoke with Jonathan about Rehrig's sustainability story, using hard-to-recycle materials, the importance of collaboration in meeting ESG goals, the Rehrig Roadshow Experience coming up at WasteExpo and more. Enjoy this Waste360 Sustainability Talks episode with Jonathan North, VP, Sustainable & Core Solutions, Rehrig Pacific. Prior to joining Rehrig, North spent the bulk of his career at logistics company CHEP and, most recently, managing sustainability at IKEA. [Extracted from the article]

Prior to joining Rehrig, North spent the bulk of his career at logistics company CHEP and, most recently, managing sustainability at IKEA. Enjoy this Waste360 Sustainability Talks episode with Jonathan North, VP, Sustainable & Core Solutions, Rehrig Pacific. We spoke with Jonathan about Rehrig's sustainability story, using hard-to-recycle materials, the importance of collaboration in meeting ESG goals, the Rehrig Roadshow Experience coming up at WasteExpo and more. [Extracted from the article]

Intel recently released a white paper on "The Role of Reverse Logistics in Reinventing the Technology Product Life Cycle", which discusses the importance of managing e-waste and how the Company's circular-economy philosophy can serve as an example of how companies can reinvent the product lifecycle with an eye toward sustainability. In addition, our circular economy strategies delivered $30 million in added value to Intel in 2020 and we expect this will continue to grow. [Extracted from the article]

Waste Management (WM) announced its first quarter earnings today. The Company started off this industry earnings season strong with revenue of $4.11B, which is up 10.2% year over year (YOY). [Extracted from the article]

And, when customers are shopping online, the packaging actually looks similar enough to plastic packaging, so it feels like they're buying a package that they're used to. B You are currently working with White Buffalo Trust on a pilot program where customers can send packaging back to you to be composted. Some of our other customers care first and foremost about sustainable packaging, so they buy us for the plastic-free packaging, and then the healthy and delicious food is just an added bonus. [Extracted from the article]

Clean Earth, a division of Harsco Corporation (NYSE: HSC), recently announced the launch of Fullcircle, a new program that "strategically analyzes waste at each source of generation, then offers solutions for recycling and beneficial reuse alternatives." Across multiple customers, including a large home improvement retailer, our Fullcircle program supplied a safe, sustainable solution for the disposal and recycling of hand sanitizer amid the pandemic. b We have strong, close relationships with our existing Fullcircle customer accounts, and even through the COVID-19 crisis, we have been able to maintain progress on their sustainability objectives and maintain success of the program. [Extracted from the article]

This event focused on the urgent environmental challenges in the textile and fashion industries with a discussion featuring Caroline Brown, managing director, Closed Loop Partners; Rachel Kibbe, CEO & founder, Circular Services Group; and Rolf Ekroth, fashion designer & creative director. During Circular City Week New York 2021, the Consulate General of Finland in New York (CGFNY) hosted, "FROM WASTE TO FASHION: Solutions for Fashion Brands in Transition to Greener Future." Ekroth went on to talk about a new fabric that he has been using, made by Finnish energy company Fortnum. [Extracted from the article]

Maintaining a bottle bill program and a recycling program is duplicative and redundant and forces both programs to be funded. Read on for his thoughts on the redundancy between bottle bill programs and recycling programs, the importance of maintaining strong recycling programs and more. b B Changaris: b The 30,000-foot view is that passage of either the expanded current bottle bill system proposal, or the bottling industry's new proposal to have an extended producer responsibility deposit style bottle bill program in Connecticut, will further cannibalize the stream of recyclables collected at the curb. [Extracted from the article]

Last week, The Recycling Partnership announced the launch of Communities for Recycling, a national initiative designed to provide Americans with real-time, personalized, and hyper-local recycling information through Facebook Messenger. As we built the experience, we partnered with the pilot communities on every aspect of their program, from materials accepted to recycling tips and top contaminants, to how to get a recycling cart. [Extracted from the article]

This month, Schick introduced its Xtreme 3 Eco Glide razor - the first disposable razor on the mass market made with 95% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and fully recyclable. This product supports that mind shift, and we anticipate the product will be widely accepted by both consumers and retailers alike. [Extracted from the article]

B Croke: b We built our Closed Loop Leadership Fund, which is our private equity arm, which Unilever just invested in, as I'd say an evolution of the types of investments we feel like are needed in order to solve some of those supply chain breakages, to be able to scale a circular economy and circular supply chains. Unilever North America has made a $15 million recycling infrastructure investment in the Closed Loop Partners' Leadership Fund. [Extracted from the article]

GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) has agreed to acquire the solid waste and environmental solutions business of Terrapure Environmental Ltd. for C$927.5 million (US$743.3M). "The acquisition of Terrapure is another example of GFL delivering on our commitment to pursue strategic and accretive acquisitions to continue growing our business", said Dovigi. [Extracted from the article]

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) hosted the second webinar in its "Close That Loop!" Minor talked about designing for Net-Zero using carbon offsets but reminded the audience that the ultimate goal is that the net carbon we're adding to the environment approaches zero "so things like offsetting isn't required.". [Extracted from the article]

A common theme around sustainability runs through the work that most of our newly minted Waste360 40 Under 40 winners are doing. Whether they are haulers or food-waste experts, sustainability is built into their important work. [Extracted from the article]

Key points related to each stage are as follows: The most successful infrastructure scenarios for positive recycling behaviors happen when the desired behavior is made an easy action, less reliant on personal investment, motivation, and choice. The Recycling Partnership (TRP), a national nonprofit committed to improving recycling has released a new white paper titled, "Start at the Cart™: Key Concepts for Influencing Behavior to Drive a Circular Economy." The most successful scenarios for positive recycling knowledge happen when guidance is available at the point that the recycling behavior must happen - and helpful, customized feedback happens when a mistake is made. [Extracted from the article]

Last week, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) held a Science Session webinar on "Weighing the Options: Current Strategies for Managing PFAS in Leachate", which covered the science behind PFAS in leachate; the EPA's interim guidance; knowledge gaps that exist; and more. Dr. Bolyard talked about the EPA's most recent interim guidance related to PFAS, which offers suggestions related to both the destruction and disposal of PFAS-containing waste materials. Next, Dr. Bolyard addressed why PFAS is so challenging to treat in leachate, which is due to its carbon-fluorine bond - the strongest possible bond in the field of organic chemistry. [Extracted from the article]

The Company grew revenue by nearly 38% and credits its strong quarter results to organic growth in its solid waste business, cost control initiatives, and the realized synergies of its acquisitions. GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) today announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2020. [Extracted from the article]

Collection and disposal yield was 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019. On the recycling front, sales grew by 28% YOY to $308mm B Cost Management b Total Company operating expenses were 61.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 60.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019. B Profitability b Total Company operating EBITDA was $1.09 billion, or 26.8% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to $1.05 billion, or 27.3% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2019. [Extracted from the article]

Stifel and Waste360 conducted a survey of solid waste service companies focused on post-pandemic trends exiting 2020. The industry and the public companies continue to demonstrate how durable the business is and how nimble the public companies proved to be during the pandemic." Graph: https://www.waste360.com/sites/cet.com/files/temprolloff2021.png B Recycling business mix b The survey results support that the market has been shifting to a process-fee from a dependence on commodity sale with the respondents nearly split evenly between fee (49%) vs. commodity (51%). [Extracted from the article]

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) hosted the first webinar in its "Close That Loop!" Fuentes also shared about the foundation's collaboration with 80 companies/partners (many of whom are normally competitors of each other) to create jeans that are completely circular. This company focuses on packaging sauces in home-compostable sachets and has partnered with Just Eat, Hellmann's, and Innovate UK to scale its efforts. [Extracted from the article]

As Vice President of American Waste Control (AWC), Paul Ross leads the day-to-day operations of AWC's fleet of 185 trucks. In 2010, AWC built Oklahoma's first Material Recovery Facility (MRF), so I created Mr. Murph, a lovable recycling mascot with a giant smile and conveyor belt on his back. [Extracted from the article]

Burns explained that ACS Clothing has been renting menswear - predominantly for black-tie events - since 1997, and some of the garments it still has in circulation are more than 20 years old. Burns noted several barriers to change that must be overcome before clothing rental can truly become mainstream. Burns noted that "it would be good to create more of a level playing field between clothing rental and fast fashion", perhaps by incentivizing the consumer to do the right thing, "and one way we could do that is to remove the value-added tax on rental clothing; that would absolutely make a difference.". [Extracted from the article]

Solid Waste and Alternative Fueled Vehicles - What Does the Future Hold? Last week, Stifel hosted a fireside panel discussion on the evolution of routed solid-waste hauling, from a primary reliance on diesel to alternative-fueled vehicles. This chat was designed to explore one of the "Top 10 Trends in 10 Years in Solid Waste" as identified by the financial-services company on its most recent list: Stifel anticipates a future where more than 50% of such hauling vehicles will be non-diesel. [Extracted from the article]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the glass-packaging market was swift and remains ongoing - with changes to both supply and demand. In order to get a first-hand look at the effects, we interviewed Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability Officer for O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), one of the world's leading manufacturers of packaging products. However, as recycling returns to normal, and haulers resume normal service, we expect that consumers will want to recycle their glass packaging once they have consumed the contents. [Extracted from the article]

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CWST) has released its 2020 Sustainability Report, which marks its fifth biennial report on the company's sustainability activities. This is enabled, in part, by its Resource Solutions team, which unites its recycling, organics, and customer solutions business units to help customers meet their waste and recycling goals. [Extracted from the article]

We recently spoke with CMO Liam Howley about business during the 2020 holiday season, trends in secondhand gift giving, the impacts of COVID-19 on e-waste, and more. For example, you can get an iPhone 11 Pro from Decluttr for nearly $200 less than the new iPhone 12, while also helping to combat the environmental issues involved with the production of new tech such as e-waste, increased carbon emissions, and mining for precious metals. [Extracted from the article]

This week, Stifel released its latest solid-waste industry update, "Top 10 Trends in 10 Years in Solid Waste: A Mixture of Recurring and New Ideas." In urban markets, if there are three to four landfills on average today, the trend is likely to result in at least one landfill closing over 10 years. Many have turned to third-party ratings agencies, which mostly automate data collection, often resulting in errors that drive incorrect conclusions. [Extracted from the article]

It seems rain, snow or even a pandemic will not stop a nearly 100-year-old Christmas tradition in Tulsa, OK. AWC's goals for the parade are: to continue the longstanding tradition of bringing the community together to celebrate Christmas, and also to benefit the family of a military serviceperson or veteran from the funds raised for the parade. [Extracted from the article]

Waste Management (WM) hosted the second virtual conversation in its two-part "Driving Sustainability" series. The chat focused on "The Next Four Years" and featured Nat Bullard, chief content officer of BloombergNEF, and Alex Wagner, journalist & author - in conversation with Tara Hemmer, SVP, field operations, WM. [Extracted from the article]

At this year's WasteExpo Together Online, one of the top sessions was, "Independent Haulers and the Role of Technology." Similarly, Atkinson noted the importance of on-board technology. Coulter was of the opinion that, "Our needs are very similar today to those of the national companies - because we need quick access to data, and we need to be able to have very similar systems to be able to compete and lower our cost structures.". [Extracted from the article]

Dear Readers, I hope that you and your families are staying safe and well, and thank you for your continued support of Waste360 and WasteExpo during this challenging year. WasteExpo has made the proactive decision to reschedule WasteExpo 2021 from its original dates in April to B June 28-30, 2021 b in Las Vegas.This decision was made with our community in mind, as many of you have expressed an interest in postponing the event to provide some breathing room and instill confidence in a successful 2021 event for all involved. In addition to the safety protocols in place for WasteExpo 2021, The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) has been awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR facility accreditation by ISSA, the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association. [Extracted from the article]

This month, Novomer - a sustainable chemical manufacturing and products company - released a research paper on the "Economic and Environmental Impacts of Poly(3-hydroxyproprionate)." Because these polymers are found in nature, microbes have already developed mechanisms to break down these polymers. b Due to the economies of scale that typically drive cost positions in this market, the current cost position of biodegradable polymers - including Rinnovo - generally exceed those of non-biodegradable polymers. [Extracted from the article]

Waste Management (WM) recently released its 2020 Sustainability Report, "Building Value Together." Much of the report is dedicated to showcasing how WM "builds value together" and "solves waste together" - through stories and case studies about collaborative partnerships with customers. Additionally, WM has created a new ESG Resource Hub to complement the report. [Extracted from the article]