The company says its "record results" are a testament to continued execution and customer service focus in overcoming inflation and supply-chain issues.

Delware, Ohio-based packaging producer Greif has announced its second-quarter 2022 financial results, reporting a strong performance "driven by disciplined pricing action and cost management despite a challenging inflationary environment."

The company reports a net income of $125.1 million, or $2.09 per diluted Class A share, compared with a net income of $149.8 million, or $2.51 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2021, noting that last year's results included a one-time $95.7 million gain from the sale of approximately 69,200 acres of timberlands in southwest Alabama. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $144.9 million increased compared with with $67.3 million in 2021.

"Our second-quarter results are a testament to our team's continued execution and customer service focus in overcoming significant ongoing headwinds related to inflation, supply chain and the pandemic to produce another quarter of record results," Greif President and CEO Ole Rosgaard said during an earnings call. "This level of execution is exemplary of the 'Build to Last' strategy in action."

Greif reports an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $251 million, an increase of $74.4 million compared with an adjusted EBITDA of $176.6 million in the second quarter of 2021, and the company's total debt decreased by $211.8 million to $1,991.2 million.

In its paper packaging and services division, Grief says net sales increased by $152.3 million primarily due to higher volumes and higher published containerboard and boxboard prices, which also impacted a gross profit increase of $56.9 million.

The company also announced several strategic actions including the completion of a divestment of its 50-percent interest in the Flexible Products & Services joint venture and applied net cash proceeds of $131.6 million received during the quarter toward repayment of debt.

In its 13th annual sustainability report released alongside its Q2 2022 earnings report, Greif Executive Chairman Peter Watson says since its acquisition of Caraustar Industries in 2019, the company has further elevated its focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors throughout 2021 to enhance its business performance. A leadership council comprised of Greif leaders from around the world focused on accelerating ESG performance in five areas: diversity, equity and inclusion, waste reduction, energy reduction, environmental compliance and circularity and innovation.

The full report can be accessed here.

According to local reports, Bay County Commissioners have been given the OK to evaluate and possibly acquire the former mill property, which ceased operations in early June.

Operations at WestRock's Panama City, Florida, paper mill permanently ceased June 6 and Bay County officials have been given the opportunity to evaluate and possibly acquire the property.

According to a report from the Panama City News Herald, County Manager Bob Majka executed an exclusivity agreement with WestRock on May 27 regarding the paper mill. Majka told the News Herald Chairman Robert Carroll would engage with experts to get appraisals completed, environmental assessments done and see if there is any type of risk or reward for the county owning the 350-acre property.

The 92-year-old mill produced containerboard—primarily heavyweight kraft—and fluff pulp, with a combined annual capacity of 645,000 tons. WestRock announced the closure in April and said the Panama City mill would "require significant capital investment to maintain and improve going forward."

The closure impacted approximately 450 employees who lost their jobs. WestRock said at the time it announced the closure that all employees would receive severance and other outplacement assistance in accordance with company policy and labor union agreements.

Carroll told the News Herald, "We need to make sure that we have great jobs that have good pay, good benefits in the long-term jobs. Some type of industry on that site, it's ideal with the roadway access to [U.S. Route] 98, the port access, it would just make sense to increase the industrial use.

"We're looking forward to look under the covers and see what's there and what it would take to develop that property again."

The coalition of companies will work together to bolster PET recycling efforts.

The Recycling Partnership has launched its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Recycling Coalition, an initiative informed by industry knowledge and expertise to improve PET circularity. Its work will focus on addressing four key opportunities to increase recycling of this valuable material:

PET is in high demand for use in textiles such as clothing and carpet (where it is known as polyester) and it’s the most common type of plastic utilized in liquid bottles and food packaging today, The Recycling Partnership says.

While eliminating unnecessary usage is an important component of circularity, increased PET recycling is another critical step in advancing circularity. Company commitments and recycled-content mandates in proposed U.S. legislation also are leading to skyrocketing demand for recycled PET even though supply is currently limited.

Most Americans with recycling access are able to recycle PET bottles, but just 54 percent can recycle other types of PET packaging like plastic egg cartons and fruit containers, according to The Recycling Partnership. Additionally, the recycling rate for PET bottles was only 26.6 percent in 2021 and as much as 17 percent of bottles that are recovered are lost at material recovery facilities (MRFs) due to sortation challenges. There is the potential to increase recovery and reduce plastic waste and help make progress toward packaging circularity goals by supporting solutions identified by the PET recycling coalition, the organization says.

The PET recycling coalition will make grants to recycling facilities for sorting equipment and related capital needs. These upgrades will improve PET bottle capture, deliver more rPET for use back into bottles and thermoforms, increase the acceptance of nonbottle rigid items in community recycling programs and strengthen recycling opportunities for pigmented and opaque PET. Through grants, technical assistance and knowledge sharing, the coalition envisions a thriving PET recycling system that captures significantly more material, enabling more circular PET packaging with increased amounts of recycled content, The Recycling Partnership says.

“The Recycling Partnership is dedicated to building a stronger U.S. recycling system, including material-focused efforts such as the PET recycling coalition. The success of these material-specific coalitions shows us that when we take a systems approach, we’re able to not only lift up that targeted material but all the other recyclables in the bin as well,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, which is based in Falls Church, Virginia. “We encourage all companies that use PET to join the coalition and be part of the solution.”

The PET Recycling Coalition is part of The Recycling Partnership’s Pathway to Circularity initiative and aims to advance the circularity of all packaging. The coalition is supported by and open to members representing all segments of the material’s value chain, including founding steering committee members Eastman, Indorama Ventures, Procter & Gamble and the Walmart Foundation.

“Eastman is deploying technology that transforms plastic ‘waste’ into valuable feedstock. And while making waste valuable improves the economics of recycling, we know technology alone cannot solve this crisis. Our country needs substantial innovation and investment in its recycling ecosystem,” says Scott Ballard, Eastman plastics division president. “We are excited to partner with leaders across the value chain to catalyze the change that will get all forms of PET, not just clear bottles, into our recycle stream. Together, we can create a circular economy, leave fossil feeds in the ground and do it with a lower carbon footprint.”

“Recycled PET is an extremely useful material when used and reused responsibly,” says Mark Agerton, group scientist from Procter & Gamble’s responsible packaging R&D team. “This PET coalition is a partnership to help provide the essential funding and innovations needed to increase recycling rates and drive true circularity of nondesired plastics.”

“The Walmart Foundation is committed to programs that enable system-wide transformation – and this effort is a critical element of scaling on the infrastructure needed for PET circularity. The Walmart Foundation looks forward to working with the coalition on transforming the recycling sector – and setting the foundation for designing a more circular economy for all,” says Julie Gehrki, vice president of the Walmart Foundation.

“PET is made to be remade. We are a proud member of The Recycling Partnership, and by joining this coalition our goal is to ensure PET never becomes waste and stays in the circular economy,” says Muthukumar Paramasivam, business head, PET & aromatics Americas at Indorama Ventures.

Additional founding members include The Coca-Cola Co., Danone, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation and Niagara Bottling. The coalition set an initial funding target of $25 million over five years and is seeking additional supporters.

The PET Recycling Coalition is aided by an advisory committee of industry leaders, including the American Beverage Association, Association of Plastic Recyclers, Closed Loop Partners, Foodservice Packaging Institute, National Association for PET Container Resources and RRS. In addition to serving on the advisory committee, RRS will serve as the coalition’s technical partner and inform the coalition’s strategy with supporting research.

“We are pleased to continue our work to build PET packaging recycling by supporting this important collaborative effort,” says Resa Dimino, managing principal at Resource Recycling Systems, Ann Arbor, Michigan. “The PET recycling coalition builds on the important actions of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, the Association of Plastic Recyclers and other industry leaders to optimize the mature market for recycling PET bottles, while building the recycling infrastructure for newer entrants to the recycling market, such as PET cups, clamshells and colored bottles.”

The recycling centers will support various Arca services, including residential appliance recycling programs.

Arca Recycling Inc., Minneapolis, a wholly owned subsidiary of JanOne Inc., will open three recycling centers in June and July to support growth in its recycling business and help Arca better serve its customers across North America.

The recycling facilities are in Kent, Washington; Tulare, California; and Hainesport, New Jersey. The company says the facilities will have the capacity of 100 units per day based on one shift. They will focus on appliance recycling for Central California, the greater Seattle area, Northern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia area.

The company says it chose these locations to better serve our existing contracts with utilities to provide appliance recycling services for their customers. It also wants to establish presence in markets where it see a need for commercial appliance recycling services. The facilities will create 12 jobs between the three facilities and primarily serve the residential and commercial district.

The Hainesport, New Jersey center will be equipped with advanced appliance processing equipment, a technology that reduces the size of recyclable material by compaction and baling. Compacting materials recovered from appliances allows Arca Recycling to transport these materials more efficiently, reducing its carbon footprint and will provide cost savings on labor and transportation.

These recycling centers will support a range of Arca's services, including residential appliance recycling programs implemented on behalf of major electric utilities, Energy Star appliance replacement programs and appliance recycling on behalf of Arca's commercial clients.

Three telehandlers keep recyclables moving for Polish waste agency ZZO Wlodawa.

Three telehandlers made by Bobcat are helping ZZO Wlodawa, an intermunicipal waste management organization in eastern Poland, manage a recycling process serving some 24,000 people in seven cities near Poland’s border with Ukraine and Belarus.

Bobcat, based in the U.S., says the ZZO Wlodawa operation runs 24 hours a day, six days a week. The telehandlers “play a key role in the proper functioning of the operation,” says Bobcat and the waste management agency.

“The Bobcat telehandlers are perfect for our conditions,” says Krzysztof Chilczuk, board chair of ZZO Wlodawa. “They are compact, easy to operate and offer a high lift height. Disposal of [materials] on the sorting line is organized in such a way that the loader must rotate through 90 degrees in a small space. This is an easy job with these machines.”

The agency’s first Bobcat telehandler, a TL470 model with a maximum lift height of seven meters (nearly 23 feet) and a load capacity of 3.5 metric tons, was delivered to the plant in Wlodawa in 2013. So far, it has worked more than 20,000 operating hours and is still in use.

“It has never had a serious breakdown and we have never repaired the engine in it,” Chilczuk says. “There was once a problem with the fuel pump, but it was not the fault of the manufacturer, but rather the fuel itself,” he adds.

In 2018, the agency bought a second Bobcat machine, a TL35.70 model, with the same operating parameters as the older machine. That machine is now approaching a total of 5,000 operating hours. Having positively evaluated the first two machines, management of ZOO Wlodawa added a third Bobcat telehandler to the fleet in August of last year. Again, a TL35.70 model was chosen, but this time with a slightly different specification.

Chilczuk explains the choice of this newest machine as follows: “Telehandlers with these working parameters meet our needs and working conditions well. However, the two older machines have 20-inch wheels. When considering the purchase of another telehandler, we wanted it to be equipped with 24-inch wheels. As a result, it has a greater ground clearance and is even more efficient when working in a landfill. In addition, when loading on the processing line, the operator can drive more boldly directly into the waste heap. The new machine also has more features, which include, for example, air conditioning, an air-cushioned seat, cab protection and also a reversing warning system that does not beep, but provides the white noise sound we really wanted.”

At ZZO Wlodawa, there is no division of tasks between the Bobcat telehandlers—each machine is used for all tasks involved, according to Bobcat. The sorting area operates 24 hours a day, so the telehandlers change with the operators. In addition to loading material onto the processing line, the machines are used for pushing and stacking material to maximize the use of available space.

The Bobcat telehandlers also are used to unload composting bins and to create compost piles and turn them over for aeration.

At ZZO Wlodawa, Bobcat telehandlers are used additionally to maintain the currently operated landfill and to rehabilitate a landfill that has already been closed. To perform the variety of tasks, in addition to a universal bucket, two high-volume buckets, pallet forks and a bale grab, the ZZO Wlodawa range of attachments also includes a sweeping brush.

Chilczuk praises the Bobcat telehandlers for their performance, good visibility and versatility, with Bobcat saying he credits them for never having a job “that they cannot do” at the ZZO Wlodawa facility.