Not-for-profit group advocates for federal emissions oversight of chemical recycling plants.

Ocean Conservancy, a nongovernmental organization based in Washington, says it is working closely with more than two dozen members of Congress to initiate a request to regulate plastic scrap treated with gasification and pyrolysis methods—two forms of chemical recycling technologies—as “municipal waste combustion units.”

The effort has already drawn the attention of the Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC), which expressed its opposition to the idea earlier this month.

Ocean Conservancy says it is backing the move at the same time “the plastics industry mounts an aggressive lobbying campaign to promote these technologies as solutions to the ocean plastics crisis despite serious environmental and community consequences.”

On April 29, the NGO says Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) were joined by 23 other members of Congress in sending a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies requesting the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate plastic scrap gasification and pyrolysis plants, citing a provision of the Clean Air Act.

“The truth is that right now pyrolysis, gasification and other chemical recycling technologies are just a fancy way to say, ‘burning plastics for energy,’ and this simply isn’t compatible with a healthy, plastic-free ocean,” says Dr. Anja Brandon, U.S. Plastics Policy Analyst at Ocean Conservancy.

Brandon adds, “Burning plastics emits greenhouse gases and countless toxic chemicals and incentivizes industry to continue unfettered plastics production instead of investing in a working recycling system. To keep plastics out of our ocean, we need to make less plastic, and better recycle what we already have; expanding chemical recycling will kill any chance we have of accomplishing either.”

The letter, sent to Subcommittee Chair Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Ranking Member David Joyce (R-OH), stated in part that “these chemical recycling technologies contribute to climate change, cause harmful health impacts in the surrounding communities, and do not represent a solution to the plastic pollution crisis. Chemical recycling does not represent a viable path forward to achieving a circular economy.”

Kathy Tsantiris, associate director of government relations at Ocean Conservancy, says, “This language still has a long way to go, but the letter sends a clear signal that regulating chemical recycling is a growing environmental priority.”

In its reply to the request, the ACC portrays chemical recycling (which it also calls “advanced recycling”) in a completely different light. The trade group says there currently are “seven commercial-scale advanced recycling facilities” and others “leveraging existing chemical manufacturing infrastructure to make virgin-quality plastic from used plastics in the U.S.”

ACC calls it “just the beginning of a massive wave of new projects” that can “reduce greenhouse gas emissions 43 percent relative to waste-to-energy incineration of plastic films made from virgin-resources.”

The company is reporting record revenue and says it saw "impressive" adjusted earnings growth despite inflationary challenges.

WestRock Co., an Atlanta-based containerboard and packaging producer, has reported its second-quarter 2022 financial results for the period ending March 31, and the company says it delivered what it's calling an "outstanding" quarter.

The company reported net sales of $5.4 billion, up 21.3 percent year over year, with its packaging sales up 15 percent and paper sales up 36 percent year over year "driven by successful implementation of price increases and solid demand."

WestRock's net income declined $73 million to $40 million year over year, or 64.5 percent, while its adjusted net income increased $164 million, or 112.9 percent. to $309 million. The company says its second-quarter net income was impacted by $363 million of pretax restructuring and other costs, or $1.04 per diluted share, which it says primarily was associated with the previously announced closure of the Panama City, Florida, paper mill.

In early April, the company announced that the mill would close by early June of this year. The Panama City mill produces containerboard—primarily heavyweight kraft—and fluff pulp, with a combined annual capacity of 645,000 tons. At the time of the announcement, WestRock said the mill would require significant capital investment to maintain and improve going forward, and that the production of fluff pulp is not a priority in the company's strategy to focus on higher-value markets.

WestRock says select grades of containerboard will be produced at other facilities and employees are to receive severance and outplacement assistance. The financial impact of the closure is $450 million of one-time costs and approximately $65 million impact to annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Included in the Q2 2022 financial report was a record consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $854 million, a 33-percent year-over-year increase, and an adjusted earnings per share of $1.17, up 117 percent.

WestRock says cost inflation and supply chain disruptions negatively impacted earnings, noting key drivers as fiber, labor, freight, energy and chemicals, but CEO David B. Sewell says, "We delivered an outstanding second quarter, reporting record revenue and impressive adjusted earnings growth despite facing challenges from inflation, higher supply chain costs and labor shortages."

He adds, "This strong performance speaks to the resiliency of our broad portfolio and the resolve of our 50,000 talented employees. We remain focused on execution and today have increased the midpoint of our full-year guidance."

The company reports total revenue growth of 14 percent and net income of $352 million.

Republic Services Inc., Pheonix, has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2022, reporting strong growth, attributable to its focus on profitably growing the recycling and solid waste business and expanding its environmental solutions business.  

"Our strong start to the year was made possible through the execution of our strategy that is designed to generate profitable growth," says Jon Vander Ark, president and CEO of Republic. "We delivered double-digit growth in revenue, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and free cash flow while making investments to expand our environmental solutions business and further build our differentiated capabilities."

The company reports net income of $352 million, or $1.11 per diluted share, for Q1 2022 compared with $295.9 million, or 93 cents per diluted share, in Q1 2021. Excluding certain benefits and expenses, on an adjusted basis, net income was $360.7 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, versus $297.2 million, or 93 cents per diluted share, for the comparable 2021 period.  

First-quarter earnings per share (EPS) were $1.11 and adjusted EPS, a nongenerally accepted accounting principle measure, was $1.14 per share. Cash provided by operating activities was $705.6 million, an increase of 6.7 percent compared with the prior year. Adjusted free cash flow was $530.9 million, an increase of 14.4 percent compared with Q1 2021.  

Republic says its first-quarter net income was $352 million, or 11.9 percent of revenue. First-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $903.5 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.4 percent of revenue compared with 30.7 percent during Q1 2021.   

Republic says it invested $65.6 million in acquisitions in the first quarter. This includes closing on the acquisition of US Ecology May 2. The company says the contribution from US Ecology for the remaining eight months of the year will be about $720 million for adjusted EBITDA of about $130 million, including $5 million of realized synergies.   

Total cash returned to shareholders was $349.4 million, including $203.5 million of share repurchases and $145.9 million of dividends paid. Revenue growth from average yield was 4.2 percent, and volume increased by 3.6 percent.  

Core price increased revenue by 6 percent and consisted of 7.6 percent in the open market and 3.5 percent in the restricted portion of the business. The average yield on total revenue was 4.2 percent, representing an increase of 80 basis points when compared with the Q4 performance of 2021.  

The company's average recycled commodity price per ton sold during the first quarter was $201. This represents a decrease of $17 per ton from the fourth quarter of 2021 and an increase of $68 per ton over the prior year.  

“Our results demonstrate the positive impact our strategic investments are making in the business, not only for today but for years to come,” Vander Ark says. 

Material handling dealer expands sales and service territory to include the Memphis market to sell equipment from Hyster-Yale Group.

Black Equipment, a material handling equipment dealer with headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, has expanded its sales and service territory to sell lift trucks from Cleveland-based material handling equipment maker Hyster-Yale Group Inc. The company has expanded its operations in the southern United States.   

The company has acquired the Briggs Equipment territory as the Hyster dealer in the Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Tennessee; and Jonesboro, Arkansas, markets, effective last month.  

“Memphis, Jackson and Jonesboro are very significant to Hyster and Yale, and this expansion by Black Equipment further strengthens our dedicated dealer network,” says Chuck Pascarelli, president of the Americas Division of Hyster-Yale Group. “With a proven performance record that includes 22 consecutive years of recognition as a Dealer of Excellence, we are confident in the service and expertise that Black Equipment will provide to their new customers in these markets.”   

Black Equipment is an authorized Yale dealer for these markets and will continue to operate from its existing locations. A family-owned business, the material handling dealer has grown from a single facility to 11 locations covering parts of seven states.   

“Black Equipment is a dedicated partner and industry leader in the markets we serve, and our growth is a reflection of that,” says Scott Bonnell, president of Black Equipment. “By investing in people and technology, we deliver trusted service, material handling solutions and 24-hour support that helps our customers thrive. In fact, 80 of our trained technicians are already dedicated to this region, and we look forward to welcoming our new customers with a seamless transition.”   

As part of this transaction, Briggs Equipment will take over the Black Equipment territory as the Yale dealer for Tupelo, Mississippi.   

Hyster-Yale Group Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a line of lift trucks and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster and Yale brand names. Hyster-Yale Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc.   

The company says the price hike is in response to inflationary cost increases.

Packaging producer Greif, headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, has announced a price increase for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) and coated recycled paperboard (CRB) effective with new orders and shipments on and after June 6.

Both URB and CRB prices will be increased by $50 per ton.

The company says the recycled paperboard increases are in response inflationary cost increases in transportation, energy, labor, chemicals, maintenance and other raw materials and continued strong demand across the Greif paperboard and converting network.

Recent data suggests transportation and warehousing costs aren't coming down anytime soon. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a 4.5 percent increase in the producer price index from February to March.

The company's previous two price increases were less than 1 percent.