Company’s sustainability scorecard indicates strong benefits in choosing Repreve.

Repreve, the recycled-content fiber and resin made by made by Unifi Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina, has received its Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) scores. The Higg MSI (version 3.2) is the most comprehensive tool for sustainability analysts, designers and product developers who want to make more informed materials choices, according to Unifi.

The Higg MSI study confirms that U.S. manufactured Repreve reduces global warming potential by 21 percent compared with generic, mechanically recycled polyester and by 42 percent compared with conventional virgin polyester. The Higg MSI global warming potential is related to greenhouse gases. Based on the score, Repreve is verified to have a lower carbon footprint than comparable materials. By using Repreve, organizations and consumers can greatly reduce their environmental impact compared with using generic rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), one of the most commonly used plastics in the world.

Additionally, Repreve is the only eco-performance fiber with U TRUST verification to certify recycled content claims, Unifi says.

“We continue to build on our commitment to transparency by having the results of our Repreve life cycle assessment verified and accepted into the Higg MSI,” says James Cooper, Unifi sustainability manager. “Repreve manufactured in the U.S. has a lower global warming potential than standard PET, providing our customers with a verified pathway to lower their environmental impact and meet their sustainability goals.”

Higg MSI scores are used to communicate credible data about a product’s performance and validate sustainability progress.  

A life cycle assessment (LCA) tool measures the environmental impacts over the whole life cycle of a product or service, including emissions and consumption of material resources. In addition, it provides a more accurate estimate of environmental trade-offs that allows organizations to use more reliable and transparent data to prioritize impact reduction in products and services. The Higg MSI scores are based on an LCA reviewed by the global, multistakeholder nonprofit alliance for the consumer goods industry, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and its technology partner, Higg Co.

“At Unifi, we’re working today for the good of tomorrow, and these scores validate our belief that we are having a positive impact on the future through the growth of Repreve,” Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle says. “This assessment assures consumers and brands that by purchasing or using Repreve recycled fibers, they are making a more conscious and sustainable impact on the present and the future. To our shareholders, this transparency reinforces our commitment to Repreve and the growth potential it has with consumers and brands as they increase their focus on sustainable alternatives.”

The Italian mill operates a 600,000-metric-ton capacity recycled containerboard machine.

Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG), a paper-based packaging solutions provider headquartered in Dublin, has announced it will acquire Verzuolo, a recycled containerboard business in northern Italy for a cash consideration of 360 million euros (about $424.5 million). Owned by the Burgo Group, the Verzuolo mill is located near the port of Savona in northwest Italy. The mill’s PM9 machine was constructed in 2002 and converted into a 600,000-metric-ton-capacity recycled containerboard machine in 2019.

According to a news release from Smurfit Kappa, Verzuolo complements its existing business and is strategically positioned to serve the southern European region. The company says the cash consideration will be funded from the group’s existing resources. It expects the acquisition to complete in the fourth quarter of the year, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.

“Consistent with our multistakeholder approach, we believe that this acquisition represents another positive step for the group, our customers and all shareholders,” says Tony Smurfit, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Group. “SKG has a proven ability to identify, acquire, integrate and optimize complementary businesses. This acquisition also reflects the inherent agility of our approach to deploying capital rapidly and effectively.”

Smurfit Kappa Europe CEO Saverio Mayer adds, “SK Europe is delighted to announce our agreement to acquire Verzuolo. It is a business that we had identified and have admired for some time. The acquisition demonstrates our commitment to this important market for the group and provides additional security of supply for our customer base. It strengthens the group’s unique integrated operating model and is highly complementary to the significant investments we are making in our corrugated facilities.”

Adam Gendell joins the company as a senior consultant.

International environmental consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting, with global headquarters in London, has expanded its North America office with the appointment of packaging sustainability specialist Adam Gendell as a senior consultant.

Gendell joins Eunomia following 11 years with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, where he worked with a broad group of leading brand owners, retailers, nongovernmental organizations and packaging suppliers on an array of sustainability topics ranging from individual package design considerations to top-down corporate sustainability strategies.

Based near Washington, Eunomia says Gendell brings his wide-ranging experience and expertise in sustainability and systems design to support Eunomia’s work at the intersection of the upstream private sector, the waste management and recycling community and policymakers.

 “I’m delighted to join Eunomia’s world-class team of experts and tackle the most challenging–and important–areas within the circular economy,” he says. “Today’s landscape is evolving more rapidly than ever, and Eunomia is uniquely positioned to accelerate changes in the right direction. This juncture calls for science, art and philosophy steeped in a global perspective, and I look forward to the many opportunities we have to create meaningful improvements in our materials economy.”

Sarah Edwards, CEO, Eunomia North America, based in New York, says, Gendell is an important addition to Eunomia. “We have been looking for some time to find someone that is not only a well-respected industry leader but also someone that shares the same values as the company, and Adam is definitely that person. As we continue to grow, inform and influence, ensuring our clients are able to make informed environmental, social and financial decisions to address climate change, I know that Adam will be instrumental to that growth.”

Eunomia says its North America team has doubled in the last year, demonstrating the increasing need for independent, data-driven consultancy advice in waste resources management and the circular economy.

The Eagle Edge 350 can produce mulch from the treads and sidewalls of tires ranging from 33 inches to 63 inches in rim size.

Eagle International, Lyons, Nebraska, has debuted the Eagle Edge 360, which is designed to produce high-quality mulch from the treads and sidewalls of over-the-road (OTR) tires ranging from 33 inches to 63 inches in rim size.

The design features rasp heads in three locations at varying angles. Multiple rasp heads increase the surface area that can be claimed as mulch and speeds up cycle time, according to the company. In addition, operators can shred rubber mulch from the tread and sidewall simultaneously.

“Our goal with this machine was to incorporate automation,” says Joe Brehmer, president of Brehmer Mfg. Inc., the parent company of Eagle International. “Once the machine has been set up, and you tell it how wide the tire tread is, the programmable logic controls (PLCs) take over.”

The Edge 360 uses semiautomation through PLCs that adjust for speed and rasp pressure, according to the company. The PCLs maximize efficiency by providing consistent pressure and tire rotation to remove mulch evenly across the whole surface of the tread. Operators also control rasp angle and depth with a remote function, Eagle International says.

The entire system includes the Edge 360, a high-efficiency vacuum, cyclone, magnet, conveyor, hopper and bag stand.

“I wanted the Edge 360 to have an element of transportability that Eagle International equipment is known for,” Brehmer says. “We designed this machine to come apart in sections so you can transport it to different locations. You can set up where the stock tires are being stored, recover your mulch and tear down to move on to the next location.”

The plant, to be built in Beerse, Belgium, will use a hydrometallurgical process.

Aurubis, a leading global provider of nonferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers in the world, has announced that it is building a hydrometallurgical recycling facility at its Beerse site in Belgium.

At the new Advanced Sludge Processing by Aurubis (ASPA) facility, anode sludge, a valuable intermediate product from electrolytic copper refining, from the company’s recycling sites in Beerse and Lünen, Germany, will be processed. The new process will enable faster extraction of more precious metals, such as gold and silver, as well as tin from the anode sludge, according to Aurubis.

Aurubis acquired the site in Beerse when it purchased the Metallo Group from the investment firm TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2020. This site processes about 250,000 tons of multimetal scrap annually, ranging from complex residues to higher grade scrap types, producing metals, metal products and minerals, the company says.

Since the acquisition of the Metallo Group, Aurubis says it has further expanded its role as one of the world’s leading copper recyclers, processing roughly 1 million tons annually.

“Metal recycling is a core business area for Aurubis,” Heiko Arnold, chief operating officer of Aurubis AG, which is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, says. “This is how we contribute significantly to the circular economy.”

He adds, “With ASPA, our production in Beerse is becoming faster, more efficient and with less valuable metal loss. The new facility is also a prime example of the synergies created by the acquisition of Metallo and how the whole company benefits in developing new innovative solutions together. ASPA uses the in-house recycling know-how of the Beerse plant and grafts it into the processes of other Aurubis plants.”

“We have been working on perfecting the ASPA process for more than three years,” Dirk Vandenberghe, managing director for Beerse, says. “This is a special and very important project for us because it allows us to get more valuable metals out of the same intermediate product and to do it faster than before.

“The newly developed hydrometallurgical process significantly increases the valorization of valuable metals, such as tin and precious metals. “There will be more metals that can be reused. For us, this is the circular economy at its best,” he adds.

Aurubis says it is investing 27 million euros in the project at Beerse. Detailed engineering and approval processes for ASPA are underway. The start of construction for the facility is planned for the second quarter of 2022 and the commissioning for early 2024.

 “We are leveraging synergies, strengthening and securing the Beerse site with ASPA. We are creating new jobs and increasing the plant’s importance for the whole group,” Arnold says. “Its central geographical position between the involved sites enables us to keep the transport distance of the intermediates low.”

Metal recycling is becoming increasingly complex, according to Aurubis, as the number of metals used in discarded electronic consumer goods has risen, and the design of these devices is becoming more intricate. Therefore, the company says, sustainably valorizing metals from this end-of-life material stream requires special recycling skills and investment in research and development.

“ASPA is taking metal recycling to the next level,” Arnold says. “We combine efficiency and speed to get even more out of it. It’s a complex process. However, recycling as many components as possible and harnessing the potential of ‘urban mining’— which means using the city as a raw material depot—for scrap metal is crucial to closing  the waste loop and catering to the increased demand for metals in a resource-efficient way.”