Tomra regional director to speak on sorting thermoformed packaging - Waste Today

2022-08-12 21:36:32 By : Emma MA

Carlos Manchado Atienza will speak during the Americas Thermoform Recycling and Food Contact Recycled Packaging virtual event.

Carlos Manchado Atienza, regional director, Americas, who works out of Charlotte, North Carolina, for sensor-based sorting system manufacturer Tomra Sorting Recycling, will speak about sorting thermoformed packaging Tuesday, Nov. 10, as part of the Americas Thermoform Recycling and Food Contact Recycled Packaging virtual event. This webinar examines cost-effective pathways to increase thermoformed tray recycling, improving its value for food packaging applications, according to Tomra Sorting Recycling, which is based in Germany.

Manchado Atienza and Octavio Victal, president of Green Impact Plastics,  will present from 10:10  to 10:55 a.m. Victal explains how the company has created a closed-loop polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoform recycling program through its partnership with rPlanet Earth, Vernon, California. The company processes thermoform bales to create a clean flake product for use in sheet extrusion and thermoforming using Tomra Autosort and Autosort Flake technologies at its plant in Ciudad  Juarez,  Mexico.  

Manchado Atienza’s presentation focuses on new Autosort technological advancements that make sorting thermoform products possible, according to a news release from Tomra. “Our latest sorting technologies include Sharp Eye to increase light efficiency, so the machine can see down to the molecular level and differentiate between the PET bottle and the thermoformed container,” he says. “This allows Green Impact to process and sort millions of pounds of cleaner thermoformed packaging each month.”

For more information and to see the full Thermoform Recycling & Food Contact Recycled Packaging webinar event sessions, visit www.cmtevents.com/eventschedule.aspx?ev=WEB201136&.  

Starting in May 2022, New Jersey will ban single-use plastic and paper bags and disposable polystyrene food containers and cups.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed New Jersey Senate Bill 864, which prohibits the use of single-use plastic and paper bags in all stores and foodservice businesses statewide. According to a statement on the governor’s website, he views this legislation as “a significant step to reduce harm and pollution that these products cause to our environment.”

The state's Senate initially voted to ban the use of single-use bags and expanded polystyrene (EPS) takeout containers March 5.

“Plastic bags are one of the most problematic forms of garbage, leading to millions of discarded bags that stream annually into our landfills, rivers and oceans,” Murphy says. “With today’s historic bill signing, we are addressing the problem of plastic pollution head-on with solutions that will help mitigate climate change and strengthen our environment for future generations.”  

The governor’s website states that “paper bags require resources and energy to produce, contributing to pollution.”

Starting in May 2022, New Jersey will ban single-use plastic and paper bags and disposable EPS food containers and cups. The state will focus on promoting reusable bags. The following products will be exempt from the ban for two years after May 2022:

Under the new law, the governor’s website states, foodservice businesses will be allowed to provide single-use plastic straws only upon request starting November 2021.

Several state lawmakers and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection applauded Murphy for signing S864.

“Single-use plastic bags unnecessarily litter New Jersey’s most treasured spaces and pollute our ecosystems,” says New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe. “By banning single-use plastic bags, Gov. Murphy and our legislature continue to make New Jersey a national leader in environmental protection and the DEP stands ready to implement these new measures and educate the public.”

New Jersey Assemblyman James Kennedy adds, “Single-use carryout products fill up landfills and find their way into our oceans. There are more sustainable, environmentally friendly alternatives that many are already using in place of these products. This new law aims to encourage all of us to act together to protect New Jersey’s environmental future.”

However, some trade associations do not agree with the action taken by the New Jersey legislature, including the Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA).

“This action undermines an environmentally responsible option for consumers,” says Heidi Brock, president and CEO of AF&PA, of the ban on paper bags specifically. “New Jersey is now the only state in the nation to ban paper bags, which are made from a renewable resource and are recyclable, reusable and compostable, providing a safe packaging option to protect purchases from damage and contamination. With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Murphy sent an alarming message in devaluing family-wage manufacturing jobs, which are often union labor. This is an unfortunate message to send to the thousands of people working in direct and indirect jobs supported by the paper and wood products industry in the Garden State.”

With a $4.3 million loan through the Ohio Water Development Authority, the city hopes to purchase more than 29,000 carts, nine new trucks and five trailers and to upgrade the city's transfer station.

A proposed switch to automated refuse and recycling collection has received some preliminary backing from the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, City Council, including a nearly $5 monthly sanitation fee increase next spring, reports Cleveland.com.

Under the plan, more annual rate adjustments would follow over 14 years, with the initial increase to be around $16 per month coming in April 2021. Another $5 and change would be added in smaller annual increments after that, eventually taking the current rate of $11.50 up to $21.55 per month.

“Our equipment is in such a condition of disrepair that even if the city chose not to automate, there is no way we could continue our operations” with the state of the current fleet, City Public Works Director Collette Clinkscale told council at its Oct. 26 Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, Cleveland.com reports.

According to Cleveland.com, Clinkscale noted that the city’s garbage trucks and trash haulers are in such bad shape right now that they often can’t make the 80-mile trip to the Rumpke landfill in Shiloh, Ohio, where the charge is about $15 per ton. They instead travel to the company’s dump, which is closer but charges $33 per ton.

The additional funding would provide the wherewithal for a $4.3 million loan through the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) to buy the needed equipment. This includes more than 29,000 carts—one each for trash and recyclables to the city’s 14,531 customers—and nine new trucks, five trailers and to upgrade a city transfer station.

To pay the OWDA loan back, “the revenue is going to have to come from households in the community,” Acting City Manager Susanna Niermann O’Neil told council, adding that instead of instituting the initial sanitation fee increase at the start of the coming new year, officials also wanted to give residents “some lead time that their bill will be going up.”

As currently proposed, that won’t be until their second quarterly bill arrives around April 1, 2021, when the increase is expected to be $4.67, taking the household refuse and recycling fee from $11.50 to $16.17 per month.

In the second year, there would be an additional 31-cent increase, up to $16.48 per month, though city officials noted that the homestead exemption will remain considerably lower than that.

Clinkscale said she planned to apply for the OWDA loan as soon as legislation was prepared and approved by council. She added that it generally takes about six months for trucks to arrive once they are ordered and that she remains hopeful that the new system could be up and running by the end of 2021.

Company Wrench also represents Kobelco in five other states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Company Wrench Ltd., Carroll, Ohio, has announced it is the new dealer for Kobelco Construction Machinery USA Inc. in Central Florida. Company Wrench also represents Kobelco in five other states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. 

Company Wrench President Cam Gabbard believes the territory expansion is the result of a mutual admiration between the parties.

“Company Wrench has successfully represented the Kobelco product in a number of key markets over the years,” he says. “Adding the Central Florida territory is probably the most substantial development in our relationship with Kobelco since we first signed as a dealer in 2013. We are excited to show this booming market what the Kobelco product has to offer.”

Gabbard believes the high standards of both parties make Company Wrench and Kobelco a perfect fit. 

“From innovation to performance, Kobelco has established itself among the premier manufacturers of excavators in the United States. Company Wrench has built a reputation for providing unmatched levels of customer service. When paired together, our customers receive a great product with expert support just a phone call away,” he says.

Company Wrench will represent the full line of Kobelco Excavator and Demolition products in Brevard, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Seminole and Sumter counties.

Ron Thalacker succeeds former CEO John Cowdery, who plans to retire in June.

Cascade Environmental, a Bothell, Washington-based field services contractor of drilling, site investigation and remediation services, announced Nov. 2 it has appointed Ron Thalacker as its CEO.

Thalacker has more than 35 years of experience in the drilling industry. He joined Cascade in 2016 as senior vice president of drilling operations. He was promoted to COO, Drilling Services in July.

“Our path forward is focused on the sharing of equipment, people and expertise across lines of business and geographic regions to deliver the best possible service every day,” Thalacker says.

Thalacker succeeds former CEO John Cowdery, who plans to retire in June 2021. Cowdery will stay on as executive chairman until that time.

“My decision to retire comes at a time when the company is positioned for growth and continued success,” Cowdery says. “I’m confident Cascade will continue to thrive under Ron’s leadership.”