New safety features offered on 742, 943, 1043, 1055 and 1255 JLG models.

JLG Industries, Inc., an Oshkosh Corp. company based out of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, and leading global manufacturer of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) and telehandlers, offers a seatbelt engagement and operator presence option for JLG 742, 943, 1043, 1055 and 1255 telehandler models. This system, which includes seatbelt engagement assurance, operator presence functionality and a high visibility orange seatbelt, uses visual and audible alarms, as well as limits machine functions to enhance safety during telehandler operation.

Seatbelt engagement assurance functions by producing a visible and audible alarm that activates whenever an operator is seated and unbuckled and the ignition is on. The alarms will cease when the operator leaves the seat or turns the vehicle ignition off. The alarms are intended to alert and remind the operator and will not prevent engine start up or hydraulic and drive functions, similar to seat belt alarms in automobiles.

Operator presence functionality prohibits engine start and hydraulic functions if an operator is not present. Additionally, if the system detects a loss of seat pressure during operation, one of the following will occur:

The bulk of R-LDPE currently produced in Europe is not suitable for use in packaging. Scaling up the collection of flexibles could change that.

Rapid growth in the collection and recycling of flexibles could help partially offset the current shortage of sufficient mechanically recycled material to meet packaging sector demand, particularly for the recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE) chain.

Flexibles, defined as material with a thickness of less than 0.25 millimeters, typically comprise such plastic waste as cling film, lids from ready meals and refuse bags. Postconsumer material is typically sold on a mixed-colored basis, and material reprocessed from it is predominantly used for bin bag production. However, it is the postcommercial sector that could lead to a rapid increase in the availability of material suitable for use in primary packaging applications.

Flexibles now stand as one of the most profitable and attractive parts of the R-LDPE chain for waste collectors and recyclers, where previously material had been largely discarded. This is driving rapid development of the sector.

For R-LDPE this is because flexible material provides one of the few sources of material that can be widely adopted by the packaging sector, where sustainability pressure is most intense.

Outside of flexibles and some small quantities of postindustrial material, R-LDPE suitable for use in primary packaging is predominantly limited to material from France.

This is because across most of Europe, rigid R-LDPE is produced from mixed-colored postconsumer bales, and the natural fragment—limited to around 10 percent of an average bale—is used to produce honeycomb natural pellets (pellets with an amber-tinge) that can only be used in secondary packaging applications. The main end-use for this grade remains nonpackaging applications.

In France, eco-modulation fees introduced by the French government have subsidized the sorting and separation of bales at the point of collection, which previously had been deemed prohibitively expensive. This has led to natural bales being sold in France, which can then be used to produced natural transparent pellets suitable for use in primary packaging applications.

Nevertheless, France has a shortage of sorting and collection capacity compared to the demand coming from the European packaging sector.

Underlying buying interest from the packaging industry has been growing in recent years in light of the ongoing backlash against single-use plastics, mounting consumer and regulatory pressure on packaging firms and rising sustainability targets among fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) producers.

The net result has been that rigid natural bales currently are trading at more than four times the price of mixed colored bales, and rigid natural transparent pellet ex-works NWE (northwest Europe) at more than 200 euros per metric ton above rigid natural honeycomb ex-works NWE pellets.

LDPE is the most widely used plastic in packaging applications globally, and the development of further mechanical recycling volumes that can be reused by the packaging market essential.

Roughly 700,000 to 800,000 metric tons per year of postconsumer rigid LDPE are collected in Europe each year, according to market estimates. If every single metric ton of this material was used in the packaging industry with no waste, this would still only be sufficient to replace approximately 15 percent of European LDPE packaging demand.

However, at least 25 percent of input material is wasted during the recycling process because of contamination on process losses, and this figure can rise to as high as 50 percent. Coupled with this, approximately 10 percent of this is natural material, meaning that even if collection widened significantly beyond France, availability would remain too limited to meet FMCG targets, which are typically for 25 to 50 percent recycled content by 2025.

Although some reprocessers have been producing material from flexibles for a number of years, the current market size stands at less than 100,000 metric tons per year, according to market estimates.

Many local authorities still do not allow flexibles into recycling streams, and many waste managers do not yet have the capability to process this material. Instead, typically flexible material is included in what are colloquially referred to as “MRF” bales, which are bales of mixed plastic material that has been rejected by a municipal recycling facility for reprocessing or sorting and separating.

Nevertheless, separated collection systems are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the U.K., where major supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco have introduced flexible polyethylene and polypropylene collection points within the past two years.

Postcommercial bales are made up of preconsumer waste from the retail industry, which is typically used in the distribution of products to point-of-sale for applications, such as wrapping pallets for transport.

As a result, this material is typically clear and rarely comes into direct contact with the product itself, meaning that it typically does not absorb the scent of the product it’s packaging and contamination is limited to less than 2 percent typically, and it can be used as a feedstock to create near virgin-like mechanically recycled material. (Although, as with all mechanically recycled materials, it does suffer from tensile strength degradation with each cycle.)

Pellets produced from flexible bales typically are broken down into three grades from least to most transparent: natural honeycomb, natural translucent and natural transparent.

The spread between postcommercial natural flexible bales and transparent pellets, which is the most desirable grade from the packaging sector, is currently 950 to 1,050 euros per metric ton on average in Europe. This compares favorably, for producers, with a spread of 700 to 800 euros per metric ton between rigid natural postconsumer bales and rigid natural transparent pellets.

With regulation against single-use plastics continuing to intensify and public pressure at an all-time high, underlying demand from packaging is expected to continue to sharply increase over the next few years.

The bulk of R-LDPE currently produced in Europe is not suitable for use in packaging. Scaling up the collection of flexibles could change that.

Mark Victory is senior editor, recycling, at ICIS. 

The partnership will lean on Univar’s expertise in sorting and diverting waste and Li-Cycle’s expertise on processing end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.

Li-Cycle Corp., a recycler of lithium-ion batteries based in Mississauga, Ontario, has formed a partnership with Univar Solutions OnSite Services, a specialty chemical and ingredient distributor based in Downers Grove, Illinois, to provide waste management solutions for lithium-ion batteries. Through the partnership, Li-Cycle and Univar Solutions customers will have a new waste management option for lithium-ion battery scrap across several manufacturing verticals, including the North American electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing market.

Li-Cycle uses a commercial process to recover materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries through partnerships with large automotive and battery manufacturers, and Univar Solutions offers waste and byproduct management programs, servicing the automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics and manufacturing sectors. According to a news release from Li-Cycle, the partnership will leverage Univar’s expertise in collecting, sorting and diverting waste on-site at its facilities with Li-Cycle becoming a partner for responsibly managing lithium-ion battery scrap.

“This new partnership with Univar Solutions will enable us to deliver additional value for both new and existing customers by providing them with total waste management solutions as it pertains to lithium-ion batteries,” says Ajay Kochhar, co-founder and CEO of Li-Cycle. “We are constantly looking for ways to support our growing customer base and promote more economically and environmentally sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling, which in turn helps create new sources of critical materials for the end consumer.”

Stephen Molica, vice president of services for Univar Solutions, adds, “We believe this partnership will help enhance best-in-class sustainability solutions of our OnSite Services portfolio and look forward to further supporting our customers’ important sustainability goals using Li-Cycle’s solutions.”

The two companies will invest in capabilities to recycle beverage cartons, cans and containers in Central and Eastern Europe.

Stora Enso Oyj, a manufacturer of pulp and paper products based in Helsinki, and Tetra Pak, a food packaging company based in Switzerland, have announced plans to partner to invest in a complete recycling solution that will improve recycling in Central and Eastern Europe. The two companies are investing approximately 29.1 million euros (about $34.3 million) in recycling in that region.

According to a news release from Stora Enso, the partnership follows a comprehensive feasibility study. The partnership will introduce a large-scale carton repulping line at Stora Enso’s Ostrołęka production unit in Poland. The company reports that the line will triple the annual recycling capacity of used beverage cartons in Poland from 25,000 to 75,000 metric tons.

Stora Enso says this new line “will allow recycling of the entire volume of beverage cartons sold” in Poland and the ones coming from neighboring countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Stora Enso is investing 17 million euros (about $20 million) into a new repulping line that will recover carton fibers. Tetra Pak, along with Plastigram, is investing 12.1 million euros (about $14.2 million) to build an additional line to recover and recycle polymers and aluminum, using a patented separation technology.

According to Stora Enso, both of these lines will be operational in 2023. The separated materials will be used as raw materials for various end applications. Recycled fibers will be integrated into Stora Enso's recycled board, and the separated polymers and aluminum will be given new life in the form of different kinds of products, such as pellets and foils.

“Today, carton packages are recyclable. They are collected and recycled at scale where waste management and recycling infrastructure is in place. But for us, that’s not enough. We are seeking opportunities across the entire recycling value chain to improve how cartons get recycled and to develop solutions that effectively recycle all packaging components, including polymers and aluminum,” says Charles Brand, president of Tetra Pak Europe & Central Asia. “Therefore, I am very proud of this investment as well as of the strong partnership with Stora Enso that made this advancement possible. Collaborative action is key to realize our ultimate ambition—a world where all carton packages are collected, recycled and never become litter.”

“Stora Enso delivers packaging materials produced from renewable sources. With this development we can advance towards a greater degree of recyclability, a critical factor in enabling a circular bioeconomy,” says Hannu Kasurinen, executive vice president of Stora Enso’s Packaging Materials division. “We are delighted to join forces with Tetra Pak in what will be another important milestone towards the fully circular future we expect to realize. Moreover, as EU collection systems continue to evolve, the project holds potential to increase capacity for future excess volumes.”

The company achieved its target of sourcing 100 percent recycled or chain-of-custody certified papers in the last year.

DS Smith, a global sustainable packaging leader based in London, has announced that it has hit seven of its key sustainability milestones, including meeting targets on the circular economy, forest management, community engagement and water management.

According to the packaging company’s 2021 Sustainability Report, the company trained its 700 designers on the circular economy in the past year, enabling those employees to build circular design principles into packaging designs for customers. Additionally, all of DS Smith’s forests achieved forest management certification and the company maintained its Forest Stewardship Council certification for all of its sites.

The report states that every DS Smith site with more than 50 employees engaged in activities to support the local community in the last year. The company also implemented plans to reduce, reuse and recycle water at 25 of its sites that are at risk of water stress.

The 2021 Sustainability Report also reveals that DS Smith achieved its target to source 100 percent recycled or chain-of-custody certified papers in the last year and ensured all sites accounting for 90 percent of its energy consumption were ISO 50001 certified.

“As we continue to tackle the challenges facing our communities and the environment, achieving a number of our key targets, including forest management, community engagement and designing for a circular economy, shows great progress,” says Keith Ledbetter, managing director of DS Smith North America Packaging and Paper. “By placing sustainability at the heart of all we do, we will continue to reduce our impact on the environment while creating innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers.”

The company’s full sustainability report can be found online.