NEW METRICS -
Oceans cover more than 70 percent of our planet’s surface and are home to 80 percent of life on earth. Fish, which provide 20 percent of daily protein intake to about 3.1 billion people, is among the most widely traded food commodities — at a value of US$145 billion annually.
PRESS RELEASE -
A joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Italian healthcare group Angelini is working to create a sustainable recycling loop that would allow dirty diapers to be turned into plastic bottle caps and viscose clothing.
More than 20 million tonnes of disposable diapers are burned or dumped in landfills globally every year - a major environmental problem since their use became widespread in the 1960s and 1970s.
Part of the problem is that collecting, cleaning and breaking diapers into their component parts - plastic, cellulose and super absorbent polymer - is tricky and expensive.
The other issue is that no-one has been able to establish a market for the recycled output, dooming previous commercial efforts to failure.
PRESS RELEASE -
Employees, families, friends and customers of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) are collaborating with local organizations across the world and Ocean Conservancy to take part in beach and waterway cleanups at more than 50 locations across the globe to bring attention to the issue of ocean plastic pollution.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Amazon today announced that it will invest $10 million in Closed Loop Fund to support recycling infrastructure in the United States. The investment will increase the availability of curbside recycling for 3 million homes in communities across the country, making it easier for customers to recycle and further develop end markets for recycled commodities. The investment will divert 1 million tons of recyclable material from landfill into the recycling stream and eliminate the equivalent of 2 million metric tons of CO2 by 2028 — equivalent to shutting down a coal-fired power plant for six months.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
A new £1.4 million flagship projects competition was launched at the inaugural annual meeting for members of The UK Plastics Pact, held in London yesterday.
PRESS RELEASE -
Seventh Generation, a leading household and personal care products company and pioneer in the eco-friendly products space, has announced the launch of a new laundry detergent in an effort to modernize the liquid laundry category and drive unnecessary plastic and water waste out of the industry.
PRESS RELEASE -
Loop Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOOP), a leading technology innovator in sustainable plastic and PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) today announced that they have entered into a multi-year supply agreement that will enable PepsiCo to purchase production capacity from Loop’s joint venture facility in the United States and incorporate Loop™ PET plastic, which is 100% recycled material, into its product packaging by early 2020.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
There’s a flurry of activity this week, as several heavy-hitters announce moves that promise big ripple effects in the plastics and packaging space.
PepsiCo, Inc. today announced a multi-year supply agreement with Loop Industries, Inc., a leading technology innovator in sustainable plastic, that will enable PepsiCo to purchase production capacity from Loop’s joint venture facility in the US and incorporate Loop™ PET plastic, which is 100 percent recycled material, into its product packaging by early 2020.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
A Canadian startup called Genecis, formed by a group of graduates from the University of Toronto Scarborough, is upcycling food waste into biodegradable plastics, which can then be used in everything from 3D printing filament to packaging.
PRESS RELEASE -
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today announced the creation of two new senior leadership roles charged with addressing global plastics recycling and waste management challenges. Tim Boven, previously Dow’s global integrated supply chain director for Hydrocarbons, is the new recycling commercial director for Latin America and North America. Carsten Larsen, formerly Dow Industrial Solutions’ commercial director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, will serve as recycling commercial director for EMEA & APAC.
PRESS RELEASE -
Brazilian chemicals company Braskem, producers of I’m green™ – a bio-based polyethylene made from sugarcane – has had its negative carbon footprint credentials strengthened thanks to an independent review by the Carbon Trust.
In a new report comparing I’m green™ with fossil-based equivalents, the Carbon Trust has endorsed the methodology used by Braskem to support claims that for every tonne of I’m green™ produced, the equivalent of around 3 tonnes of CO2 are locked away by the sugarcane, which provides the main raw material for its manufacture. This means Braskem’s bio-based plastic is effectively carbon-negative.
PRESS RELEASE -
To kick off a one year partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS), S’well CEO and Founder Sarah Kauss hopes to lessen New York City’s plastic problem with the launch of S’well’s latest campaign: BRING IT - a city-led campaign in which 320,000 reusable S’well bottles, one for each High School student in every public and charter school in the city, will be donated and distributed so that students can “bring it” every day. The goal of this initiative is to displace 54 million single-use plastic bottles over a span of 12 months by limiting the consumption of single-use plastic.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Hospitality giants Sandals Resorts International (SRI) and Caesars Entertainment have joined the growing, cross-sector fight against single-use plastics with ambitious phase-out plans for plastic straws and stirrers.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The milkman is making a come back.
In a dozen or so communities around the U.S., dairy trucks sporting happy cows and nostalgic farm scenes are showing up at doorsteps to drop off fresh milk, cream, butter and eggs.
Is that a sustainable strategy? And what does it do to promote sustainability?
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Circulate Capital, the impact-focused investment management firm dedicated to financing companies, projects and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic; and SecondMuse, a global business accelerator that works with local stakeholders, leading corporations and government agencies to build resilient economies, today announced the launch of The Incubator Network by Circulate Capital and SecondMuse, a new initiative to accelerate solutions to ocean plastic waste by partnering with existing incubators t
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
This week, SAP UKI announced plans to work with partners to pilot a “Plastics Cloud,” which will collect existing and live data from across the plastics supply chain to spark new ideas for waste reduction. The Plastics Cloud will use the power of SAP Leonardo, including machine learning, to compile information which can be used to forecast trends in plastics purchasing and recycling, enabling services to meet demand. Data could also be shared with consumers to help them understand their own plastics impact.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit organization that made waves in 2015 with its grand plans and new approach to ridding the oceans of plastic, last weekend launched the world’s first ocean cleanup system from the San Francisco Bay. “System 001” headed to a location 240 nautical miles offshore for a two-week trial before continuing its journey toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1,200 nautical miles offshore, to start the cleanup. System 001 is being towed from the San Francisco Bay by the vessel Maersk Launcher, which has been made available to the project by A.P.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
One of the most frequently asked questions I get when pitching Thread is “what happens if you run out of plastic to recycle?”
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
First, Danish brewer The Carlsberg Group has unveiled a series of packaging innovations, including its new Snap Pack, which is set to reduce plastic waste globally by more than 1200 tonnes a year – the equivalent to 60 million plastic bags.
The Snap Pack replaces the plastic wrapping used around Carlsberg’s six packs with a pioneering technology that glues its cans together. A world first for the beer industry, it will reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76 percent, and save 1,200 tonnes annually – the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags – once all of its 4-, 6- and 8-packs have been converted.
PRESS RELEASE -
The NaturALL Bottle Alliance is a research consortium formed in 2017 by Danone, Nestlé Waters and bio-based materials development company Origin Materials to accelerate the development of innovative packaging solutions made with 100% sustainable and renewable resources. Today it announced that PepsiCo, Inc. has joined the Alliance to advance the shared goal of creating beverage containers with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.