The Committee on Environment and Public Works also advanced the nomination of the EPA Office of Solid Waste assistant administrator.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has voted to move the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2022 forward. The bill would establish a pilot rural recycling program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

Various organizations in the waste and recycling industry have voiced their support for the bill, including the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington.   

“SWANA is very pleased that the Senate EPW Committee is taking further action to support recycling,” says David Biderman, SWANA executive director and CEO. "We agree that rural communities often lack access to recycling services and this bill will provide federal support that will help expand the collection of recyclables. We urge Majority Leader [Chuck] Schumer to bring this bill to the Senate floor for prompt consideration.”  

The bill’s pilot program approach will provide current information about rural recycling systems that will be connected to customized solutions for all states and localities. Grants from the EPA ranging between $1 million and $15 million would make programs more accessible for local communities and pave the way for replication in numerous areas.  

“It represents the first substantial attempt to address the shortcomings of recycling for rural and underserved communities in the U.S. through innovative pilot projects and effective funding mechanisms to better serve these communities,” says Billy Johnson, ISRI chief lobbyist in a statement.  

During the same meeting, the committee also voted to move forward with the nomination of Carlton Waterhouse as assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management of the EPA.   

The plan calls for reducing waste, increasing materials recovery and ensuring sustainable materials management practices.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its strategic plan for the fiscal year 2022 through 2026. The agency plans to develop a stronger, more resilient and cost-effective U.S. municipal solid waste recycling system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by putting an emphasis on a circular economy.  

“This Strategic Plan deepens EPA’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment for all people, with an emphasis on historically overburdened and underserved communities,” the agency said in a statement.   

The first part of the plan includes updating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s (RCRA's) solid and hazardous waste regulations. While it’s unclear what the agency will change, it says it will develop outreach and guidance to help stakeholders implement the requirements. The EPA says its overall goal is to increase the percentage of updated permits at RCRA facilities to 80 percent from the FY 2021 baseline of 72.7 percent.   

The EPA says it will collaborate with federal, tribal, state, local organizations and other stakeholders to develop additional strategies for food waste and the built environment that meet its recycling and food waste reduction goals of 50 percent by 2030, respectively.  

“Investing in domestic recycling, as well as solid waste and food waste infrastructure that supports a circular economy, will help resources maintain their highest and best use and reduce GHG emissions,” the agency said.  

Batteries and other products with critical minerals are another point of interest for the agency. The EPA says it will work with public and private sector partners on strategies to increase the circularity and recycling of these materials to secure supply chains for critical minerals.  

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has submitted a proposal to increase the agency’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The agency says the increased budget of $11.881 billion, $1.5 billion from last year, would help it achieve its goals laid out in the Strategic Plan for the fiscal year 2022 through 2026.  

“Almost half of the budget ... will support tribes, states and localities, reaffirming the EPA’s commitment to work in concert with our partners and local communities to tackle the climate crisis and ensure that no American family has to worry about the air they breathe, the water they drink or the environmental safety of their homes and workplaces,” EPA  Administrator Michael S. Regan says in a statement about the proposal. 

Austrian plastic recycling equipment maker breaks ground on 16,000-square-foot facility.

Austria-based plastic recycling equipment producer Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen u Anlagen GmbH is building a 16,700-square-foot research and development (R&D) center at its main campus in Ansfelden, Austria. Completion of the project is scheduled for next February.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the site April 6 for two buildings with nearly 16,700 square feet of space that will include office space for some 50 people. “The R&D center will offer cross-departmental and cross-company test machines and laboratory for research and development of plastics recycling technologies to further advance the circular economy,” the firm states.

“Plastics recycling is currently evolving very rapidly from a niche to a trend,” Erema says, adding, “this is driven by the legislative targets for plastics recycling that the European Union and many countries around the world have enacted, as well as by the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent and in which the circular economy plays a very central role.”

The company says there is not just one recycling solution for different types of plastic scrap but rather different ones depending on the type of plastic, the product and the application intended for the recycled plastic.

“It makes a difference whether clean production waste is recycled and returned to the production process or whether printed and contaminated packaging materials collected in yellow bags are recycled and used to make food packaging again,” says Markus Huber-Lindinger, managing director of Erema.

“While some plastics processing loops, such as for PET [polyethylene terephthalate] bottles, have already been closed, many other plastic waste streams still require a great deal of R&D in cooperation with everyone involved in the value chain to produce recycled pellets that meet the very highest standards for the production of new products,” says Huber-Lindinger. “More space will be available for this in the new center.”

Company started by designing reverse vending machines in 1972.

The Norway-based Tomra Group and its Germany-based Tomra Recycling business unit celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary early this April.

Each of the group’s four divisions - Collection, Food, Recycling and Mining – marked the milestone by declaring a collective mission for the future to “transform how we all obtain, use and reuse the planet’s resources to enable a world without waste,” says the company.

Tove Andersen, Tomra’s president and CEO, remarks, “We live in a world that needs big transformation. We urgently need to improve sustainability, develop the circular economy and make more efficient use of resources--challenges which Tomra’s solutions can help address.”

She continues “Fifty years after its humble beginnings, Tomra can be proud of the fact that it is a highly respected global market leader. This is living proof of our ability to adapt, innovate, and provide the solutions our customers really need. This is also a time to look forward because we are now opening the chapter in Tomra’s story where we step up our role leading the resource revolution.”

Tomra was founded in Norway on April 1, 1972, by brothers Petter and Tore Planke. After seeing a local grocer struggle with the manual collection of empty bottles in its store, the brothers developed what Tomra calls the first fully automated reverse vending machine (RVM) in their family garage.

Over the years, Tomra’s technology has expanded to include sorting systems for the recycling, mining and food processing industries. Tomra currently employs more than 4,600 people globally and has annual sales of 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion).

Tom Eng, senior vice president and head of Tomra Recycling, comments, “We continue to innovate and support our customers in achieving their business goals as well as those set by legislation. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we would like to recognize our customers and partners that made our long-standing success possible.”

Tomra Recycling describes itself as a global supplier of sensor-based sorting technology and connected digital services designed to transform discarded items into valuable secondary raw materials. The company has installed more than 8,200 sorting units in more than 100 countries.

Swiss company calls its AmPrima bags and pouches “recycle ready.”

Switzerland-based packaging producer Amcor has announced two new applications for its AmPrima “recycle ready” packaging line for Europe. The polyethylene (PE) product line is being expanded for coffee and dairy products, Amcor says.

“The AmPrima range has already been proven to work for our United States customers, and we’re happy to now offer it in Europe,” says Noemi Bertolino, a vice president with Amcor. “For the latest applications in coffee and cheese, Amcor has run over 50 trials, and we are delighted to bring our customers a simple switch to more sustainable packaging. Fitting a wide range of packaging needs, the versatility of AmPrima demonstrates our commitment to ongoing innovation and finding more sustainable solutions where they previously did not exist.”

The company sees the new products as being in line with an upcoming EU packaging directive and with Amcor’s 2025 pledge to develop all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable and to increase the use of recycled content. AmPrima, the company says, is recycle-ready in most flexible PE packaging recycling streams.

The AmPrima range is designed according to Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) guidelines and is certified by the Germany-based Institut cyclos-HTP for recyclability.

New in April 2022 is AmPrima PE PLUS for roast and ground coffee. “Suited for all typical coffee pack formats and sizes, [the] full PE packaging is treated for thermal stability, allows easy transition on existing filling machines, and has an innovative barrier coating for product protection,” Amcor says.

According to Amcor’s analysis, AmPrima PE PLUS has the potential to replace more than 200 current nonrecyclable coffee packaging specifications.

Also launching in April is AmPrima PE PLUS for cheese, available in a variety of formats including flow wrap for hard cheeses, pouches for grated, and pouches for leak-prone cheeses such as mozzarella. “The launch of AmPrima PE PLUS for cheese will allow brands to choose a full PE solution with robust product protection that fits the requirements of most European PE recycling streams,” Amcor says.