Coffee cup lid made with PulPac’s dry molded fiber technology to be used by Swedish fast food chain.

Sweden-based PulPac, a maker of equipment for molded pulp packaging, is part an effort to produce the Liplid hot beverage cup lid, which is made with dry molded fiber technology rather than plastic. 

“A Swedish collaboration between three innovative companies at the forefront of sustainability—PulPac, Liplid and MAX Burgers—is now leading the way toward replacing the traditional plastic lid with a sustainable fiber-based alternative,” state the three companies in a joint press release.

MAX Burgers, which describes itself as the first quick service restaurant chain in the world to label and compensate for its food’s impact on the environment, says will start to roll out the Liplid in all its restaurants in Sweden this year. 

“This has been a fantastic project, where we have adapted Liplid’s brilliant product to our technology—and will manufacture the first series of 2 million lids for Liplid,” says Sanna Fager, chief commercial officer of PulPac.

PulPac says its dry molded fiber technology offers benefits such as structural strength and “unparalleled control of material thickness, making it possible to produce very thin fiber products.” The dry process also saves “significant amounts” of water and energy, adds the firm.

“The world needs smart and functional alternatives to single-use plastics,” says Jesper Berthold, CEO at Liplid. “Using PulPac’s innovative approach, we at Liplid produced a fully recyclable, plastic-free and biodegradable cup lid with a new and unique design - bringing a new drinking experience to the market.”

The lid is placed inside, rather than on, the cup to prevent leakage and improve the stability and drinking experience of on-the-go beverages, according to Liplid.

Signed legislation means state’s government could enact a collection, recycling system in 2024.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed legislation to establish an industry-led statewide mattress recycling program.

The Alexandria, Virginia-based Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) states, “The mattress industry supports this new law, which authorizes an industry-organized nonprofit [such as MRC] to provide residents with free, convenient and accessible opportunities to discard old mattresses and divert them from waste to recycling.”

MRC says it will submit a program plan to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) no later than Oct. 1, 2023, and will propose launching the program in 2024. “This legislation is aligned with other successful recycling programs administered by MRC in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island,” the council says. It adds, “Since 2015, MRC has recycled more than 10 million mattresses and diverted more than 190,000 tons of steel, foam, fiber and wood from landfills.”

“By giving Oregonians a convenient way to recycle mattresses, we are reducing both waste once destined for the landfill and the likelihood of these items being illegally dumped,” says state Sen. James Manning (D-Eugene), a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1576. “The public-private partnership authorized by this legislation will be good for state residents and the environment and will create good green jobs.”

MRC says it will propose funding its activities through a stewardship fee added to the cost of all mattresses and box springs purchased in Oregon, including online sales. MRC would then use the fee to establish collection sites and events where residents can drop off mattresses for free. In current program states, MRC says it accomplishes this by working with mattress retailers, the existing solid waste infrastructure, waste haulers, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. MRC says it also would recycle mattresses from commercial sources, including hotels and universities.

“We look forward to working with mattress manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, local governments and state officials to develop an efficient and effective program for collecting and recycling mattresses discarded by Oregon residents,” says Ryan Trainer, president of MRC and the International Sleep Products Association.

“What to do with an old mattress has been an age-old challenge for both the mattress and solid waste industries. MRC’s approach offers a practical and efficient solution to this problem,” says Doug Guffey MRC board chair and an executive with the Atlanta Attachment Co. and Hickory Springs Manufacturing.

Industrial Service Solutions added a nonferrous plant to a space-constrained facility to process ASR on-site.

An automobile shredder operator in Statesville, North Carolina, sought to eliminate costs associated with sending automobile shredder residue, or ASR, off-site for processing by adding a nonferrous plant. This would enable the recycler to recover zorba, turning an operational expense into a source of revenue. However, space constraints meant a nonferrous plant based on trommels and high-frequency screens wasn’t possible.

The recycler wanted to make three cuts from the nonferrous line, processing nonferrous material from 4 inches down to less than 0.75 inches, processing up to 35 tons per hour.

Industrial Service Solutions (ISS), Houston, says it worked with Action Vibratory Equipment, Newberg, Oregon, to deliver a plant that eliminated the need for a trommel and fines screen setup and additional handling components, significantly reducing the footprint.

With the nonferrous plant online, the recycler was able to eliminate the cost of handling and trucking its ASR for off-site zorba recovery, ISS says. The expanded capability also enabled the recycler to explore new revenue streams by further developing its in-house ASR processing capacity.

Tim Sheehan, who has been with Eriez since 2011, will relocate from Canada and operate from Eriez's Chennai, India, facility. 

Eriez, am Erie, Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of magnetic, vibratory and inspection system applications , has appointed Tim Sheehan as Eriez - India managing director. Sheehan will replace Satish Shenoy after his retirement earlier this year. Sheehan has been with Eriez since 2011, serving most recently as sales director for the company’s Canadian office.   

“Tim’s knowledge of the minerals market will help accelerate Eriez-India’s growth in the traditional mining market,” says Jaisen Kohmuench, president - international for Eriez. “In addition, his management capabilities, interpersonal skills and sales experience will help Eriez - India grow domestically while becoming a stronger intercompany contributor.”  

According to Eriez, Sheehan earned a bachelor’s degree in mining and mineral engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech in 2001. He began his career at Unimin Corp. as a senior process engineer before joining the Eriez team in 2011 as a lab manager at the company’s headquarters in Erie.   

Sheehan then emigrated to Canada in 2012 to work as a senior process engineer for Eriez - Flotation in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over the next several years, he moved into the Eriez Canadian sales department, which he led before this most recent promotion to Eriez - India managing director. Kohmuench says Sheehan will relocate from Canada and operate from Eriez's Chennai, India, facility.   

Miguel Alvarez has been appointed as executive vice president of North American Metals Recycling.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Indiana, has announced the appointment of  Miguel Alvarez as executive vice president of North American Metals Recycling, effective March 31.

Alvarez replaces Russell B. Rinn, who is retiring in July but will continue to report to CEO Mark D. Millett in the interim. During his tenure, Rinn contributed to SDI's overall leadership and optimized and rationalized recycling operations, including strategically growing in Mexico, SDI says.

"Since joining Steel Dynamics over 10 years ago, Russ has played a key role as part of our senior leadership team, and has been instrumental in our metals recycling strategy," Millett says. "Russ came to us with an already impressive resume within the steel industry, with over 30 years of leadership. I, along with our board of directors and the entire senior leadership team, recognize and appreciate his contributions to Steel Dynamics and our success."

Alvarez joined SDI in 2019 as its senior vice president of Southwest United States and Mexico. His role was to support steel and metals recycling growth strategies in that region. Before joining SDI, Alvarez served in various leadership roles within the steel industry since 2009.

Additionally, the company is promoting James Anderson from his current position as vice president of the company's steel fabrication operations to a senior vice president, retaining the same responsibilities.

"As we look forward, we see a meaningful opportunity for Steel Dynamics, our customers, our teams, our communities and our shareholders,” Millett says. “We are excited to continue successfully executing our strategic growth plans with sustainable value creation.