October in review: Suzano’s US expansion, Hurricane Helene, Avantium’s launch
October began with Brazilian pulp giant Suzano making new US acquisitions as part of its ongoing push into the North American market. Meanwhile, the US packaging industry was hit by Hurricane Helene, which left many companies temporarily closed.
An investigation in the UK revealed that incineration has become a leading source of national emissions, and in the Netherlands, alternative polymer company Avantium opened the doors to its industrial production plant after 19 years of development.
Among this month’s key developments, we look at some of the hottest topics, market dynamics and trends while speaking to some of the most prominent players in the industry.
October
Suzano’s US acquisitions: The Brazilian pulp giant’s expansion ambitions
Suzano is likely to continue exploring new growth opportunities in packaging.Suzano completed the acquisition of two industrial mills from Pactiv Evergreen in the US for US$110 million. The move adds approximately 420,000 metric tons annually of integrated paperboard to the Brazilian company’s production capacity, making it a major supplier of papers used to produce liquid packaging boards in North America. We spoke to Natasha Valeeva, an analyst for food supply chain and agriculture at Rabobank, about the acquisitions’ implications.
Digimarc launches plastic waste sortation software to drive circularity and meet legislative requirements
Digimarc Corporation released its Digimarc Recycle sortation software for consistently and accurately identifying the material composition of waste packaging using digital watermarks — reducing the cost of compliant hardware “by nearly 50%.” Digimarc Recycle increases the precision and accuracy of recycled material sorting machines, which “lowers the entry barrier” for global recycling and waste sorting facilities. Digimarc’s CEO, Riley McCormack, stressed that the problem of plastic pollution is growing exponentially.
US packaging industry operations halted by Hurricane Helene amid mass displacement
Hurricane Helene led to deaths at a plastics facility and the temporary closure of a paperboard facility in the US. The hurricane hit Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, spreading over 5,000 miles (~800 km), left parts of America’s southeast “nearly unrecognizable” and over 200 deaths. About half the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more were killed in Georgia and South Carolina. Packagers in the regions had to face suspended operations, facility damage and employee displacement.
Lobbying for the UK EPR delay: A needed deferral and an opportunity for Labour?
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) decision to delay the plastic packaging tax under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) by a year was taken under lobbying pressure from food industry bodies, according to meeting notes obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. We spoke to the Food and Drink Federation’s director of Corporate Affairs, Jim Bligh, about why he thinks the delay was needed despite criticism from some environmentalists.
Unilever completes sale of all Russian assets to Arnest Group
Unilever confirmed the sale of its Russian subsidiary to local consumer goods company Arnest Group, marking an official end to the FMCG’s presence in Russia and Belarus. While no details of the transaction were disclosed, reports suggested the sale was made for around €520 million (US$568 million). Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever, stated: “Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. This work has been very complex, and has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic. The completion of the sale ends Unilever Russia’s presence in the country.”
“No more excuses”: Earth Action extends waste database to governments ahead of UN Global Plastic Treaty
Earth Action collaborated with governments to integrate their plastic data into the consultancy and research organization’s Plasteax system, expanding the “world’s most comprehensive” plastic database. The collaboration allows governments to access high-quality data informing their waste policies, particularly in preparation for the final round of Global Plastic Treaty negotiations (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea, next month (November 25 – December 1) and post-ratification. Rhys Davies, product manager at EA Earth Action.
After the hurricane, packaging companies have donated to charity and relief efforts in their local communities (Image credit: US government).
Waste incineration becomes most polluting energy source in UK as contracts block reductions
Almost half of the UK’s trash, including plastic packaging, is incinerated in waste-to-energy plants around the country, a new investigation found. The research shows that there are now 52 incinerator sites, providing 3.1% to the national energy supply, which produce almost the same level of GHG emissions as the burning of coal (which has now been ended entirely). Dozens of new plants are currently being planned, and existing ones are growing in capacity, found the investigation.
Avantium officially opens Dutch flagship bioplastics plant for European green transition and global expansion
Dutch bioplastics company Avantium officially opened its commercial production facility in Delfzijl, Netherlands. The launch followed over 20 years of development and will enable industrial output of the company’s furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and polyethylene furanoate (PEF) materials. We spoke to Tom van Aken, CEO of Avantium, about the opening and its significance for the industry.
UK confirms food and drink firms will work with councils to create EPR organization
The UK government appointed a “Producer Responsibility Organisation” (PRO) ahead of the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme in October next year. The move puts the scheme under greater industry leadership and follows a process designed by ministers of each of the UK’s four nations. In an open letter, the ministers recently advised that EPR should be developed based on advice from industry stakeholders and that the PRO — convened by the Food and Drink Federation — will work with other value chain representatives and local government administrations to advance it.
EU report calls for stricter legislation as plastics recycling industry enters “recession”
A new European Commission report found that the EU’s plastics industry and recycling market is undergoing a recession, with investments dropping and imports rising. Experts at Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) warn policy implementation gaps and loopholes have left many recyclers struggling to survive in a market increasingly saturated with uncontrolled imports that fail to meet EU standards. We spoke to Ton Emans, PRE’s president, about the findings.
