The operation will manufacture recycled-content polyethylene films.

Indevco Plastics, a plastics packaging manufacturer based in Longview, Texas, is expanding its portfolio of recycled industrial films with sustainable multilayer polyethylene (PE) films in its recently opened Orangeburg, South Carolina, facility.

Construction of the flexible packaging 100,000-square-foot facility began last year in Orangeburg County Industrial Park, and houses manufacturing, warehousing, offices and laboratory space. The company has invested $25 million in the first phase and expects to generate 50 jobs.

“Our plant in Orangeburg further cements the commitment of our board of directors and owners to grow Indevco Plastics in North America,” says Chady Zablit, senior vice president of manufacturing. “It confirms our purpose to create opportunity for people, just as we create packaging solutions for customers as an essential part of their value chain.”

The operation will manufacture polyethylene converting films, FFS and stretch hood films. The company says the facility will support the petrochemical, lawn and garden and salt markets.

“Sustainable films are our growth focus,” says Scott Sirmans, divisional sales director for Indevco Plastics. “We are aligning our supply chain to ensure we can deliver recycled and recyclable films to help customers reduce their environmental impacts while meeting their product performance requirements.”

Indevco Plastics produces polyethylene flexible packaging for appliances and electronics, beverage, building material, chemical and petrochemical, industrial salt and minerals, lawn and garden, packaging converting, pet food and animal nutrition and transport packaging markets.

The company says its Carbon Footprint Reduction Program is designed to help customers quantify and reduce their impacts through sustainable packaging metrics, including raw material reduction or downgauging, use of post-industrial recycled (PIR) and post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, and product design for 100 percent recyclability.

The bill, which allows customers to repair their own electronics, including phones, tablets and computers, now goes to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk.

The New York State Senate has approved the Digital Fair Repair Act, which will expand consumer access to parts, tools and information to repair personal electronics. The act was approved June 3 by a vote of 145-1.

The bill requires original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make diagnostic information, spare parts, schematics, special tools and firmware available to independent repair providers, says Nathan Proctor, the senior right to repair campaign director for the United States Public Interest Research Group or U.S. PIRG.

“This means repair shops that are fixing those devices are going to get the support they need without jumping through hoops that manufacturers make them go through to control their process do their jobs,” Proctor says. “I hope this will put pressure on the industry to expand access to repair their devices.”

However, the bill’s scope has been narrowed. Originally, it included provisions for agricultural equipment, public service equipment and home appliances. Now, the bill only focuses on devices like computers, phones and tablets. Gaming consoles are not covered by the act, according to Proctor.

The bill could have a wide range of impacts in New York and across the country. The U.S. PIRG says the legislation will increase competition, boost the economy and drive down prices for electronics repair in the state. The bill could also serve as the blueprint for other states interested in enacting right to repair laws.

“For independent repair shops, this news is huge. Independent shops will finally be able to compete with manufacturers, resisting the repair market consolidation manufacturers have created by restricting access to parts and tools,” says Kyle Wiens, the founder of iFixit. “People who want to fix their own stuff can. And your repair experience should improve even if you’re intimidated by the thought of cracking open your laptop or phone. Where before, manufacturers could push consumers to use manufacturer-authorized shops, now they’ll have to compete.”

Twenty-five states are considering right to repair laws, including Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. States like Arkansas, Kansas and Vermont are considering right-to-repair laws for agricultural equipment, Proctor says. Recently, a right to repair bill failed to pass the Senate committee.

Last year, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14036, which paves the way for new regulations for original equipment manufacturers. The order directs the Federal Trade Commission to draft regulations that limit OEMs’ ability to restrict independent repairs of their products.

The bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Once it is signed, it will take a year to take effect in New York.

“There will still be a long way to go before we’ve legally secured a Right to Repair for everything, across the whole world,” Wiens says. “Many other states are considering bills of their own, and we’ve still got appliances, tractors and medical devices on our dream docket. Nevertheless, this victory is the biggest the Right to Repair movement has seen so far.”

The companies will work together to focus on new standards for ocean-bound plastics.

Illinois-based global safety science company UL has announced its collaboration with OceanCycle, a social enterprise focusing on reducing ocean plastic pollution, on new elevated standards and ethical sourcing criteria for ocean-bound plastics. These strengthened industry standards include critical new social standards, ethical sourcing criteria, third-party, independent validation of all recycled ocean-bound plastics, clear definitions of ocean-bound materials and standards on where coastal collection should happen.

“At UL, we are committed to the highest standards of ethics and believe our collaboration with OceanCycle will help bring greater clarity around what should be ocean and ocean-bound plastics. It’s our intent that this clarity around ocean and ocean-bound plastics will lead to more trust for brands and consumers and focus the world’s attention on regions most at-risk for ocean plastic pollution,” says Dr. Bill Hoffman, senior scientist at UL. “We are excited that our collaboration helps to ensure clear standards are accepted by industry at large.”

These new elevated standards and ethical sourcing criteria come after two years of close collaboration between UL and OceanCycle to build on each company’s initial standards for ocean-bound materials to help counter greenwashing in the industry, UL says.

UL and OceanCycle will continue collaborating to drive dialogue on standards and encourage the industry to agree on common definitions and processes ­– similar to what the Association of Plastic Recyclers achieved for post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. The companies will leverage their knowledge of ocean plastics recycling and certification to encourage more responsible sourcing, focus efforts and resources on countries and coastal regions most at-risk for ocean plastic pollution, and grow the ethically sourced ocean-bound plastics market. While UL says it will take time to establish these new standards, they can immediately serve as a guidepost for brands and companies looking to integrate ethically sourced, ocean-bound plastics into their supply chains and products

UL says standards for recycled ocean-bound plastics promote real transparency, traceability and accountability for real change. UL and OceanCycle’s collaboration has resulted in an alignment of standards, providing a 100 percent independent, third-party certification of ocean-bound plastics’ recycling supply chains to help ensure that standards meet international quality, ethical, environmental and labor requirements. Purchasers of OceanCycle Certified (OCC) materials have end-to-end traceability, from bottle collection through manufacturing.

Purchasers and consumers will know that OCC materials meet the following criteria:

OceanCycle also partners with local recyclers to elevate the well-being and livelihoods of the people collecting material in communities. The social audits and surveys help baseline income levels and community needs and give insights to the recyclers, material brokers and brand partners on meeting those needs. In many cases, the people collecting the material are the most vulnerable, UL says. However, with proper support, they can collect more material in a better manner that both improves incomes and increases recycling rates.

As recycling rates and quality improve, it helps recyclers deliver large volumes of OCC material to manufacturers for use in new products according to UL. The manufacturers’ positive experiences in sourcing OCC plastics drive consistent demand that keeps recycling programs operating.

OceanCycle will work with UL and other industry leaders to help ensure recognition of and adherence to these new standards. The group will collaborate to improve market access to products made from ocean-bound plastics, assisting companies in using more sustainable, responsibly-sourced, recycled materials in their products.

The two developed Greatview Planet, which uses fully bio-based products.

Greatview, an integrated aseptic packaging manufacturer based in Beijing, has partnered with Ineos and UPM Biofuel to launch Greatview Planet. The product is made primarily from FSCTM-certified paperboard and uses natural feedstock from sustainably managed forests and other controlled sources.

“At Greatview we see sustainability as an integral part of our business model and our commitment to developing long-term value for our customers, retailers and consumers,” says Victor Lee, international director of Greatview. “Greatview Planet saves fossil resources and helps to decarbonize the value chain. Greatview Planet is produced in Germany and is [the company’s] first product with its own sustainability position, dedicated to serving international market needs.”

Greatview says the product increases the share of renewable content linked to the forest by using bio-attributed, mass-balanced polymers made from tall oil-based bio-naphtha. The material is fully certified to the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials' (RSB) Standard 1. Tall oil is a sustainable residue of wood pulp processing.

"The new Ineos product that Greatview uses is made from UPM’s bio-naphtha, converted into a 100 percent bio-attributed polymer using 100 percent renewable wind power,” says Rob Ingram, CEO of Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe. “This new polymer gives Greatview a competitive edge based on a certified sustainable product range."

At the Greatview factory in Halle, Germany, the bio-attributed polymer is used for laminating the paper board and producing the aseptic carton pack. The whole value chain for the bio-attributed polymer and Greatview’s production facility in Halle are certified to the RSB sustainability standard (RSB Global) 2. The Halle factory runs with 100 percent green electricity, is equipped with resource-efficient production lines and is certified according to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, to ensure low environmental impact manufacturing.

The bio-attributed polymer used in the product has the same material property as conventional polymer and guarantees the same high quality and food safety as the Greatview Planet carton packs. The packaging is ready to run on the customer’s filling line without any downtime or additional waste in case of a switch from standard packaging material to Greatview Planet. The product maintains high line efficiency and causes zero extra waste while also ensuring low filling costs and total cost of ownership of the carton filling system.

With Greatview Planet, Greatview doubles its product portfolio. All formats produced in Germany are available in both Planet and standard versions. Greatview says the product is an important step to complement its product portfolio with a sustainable solution.

Steel producer buys Pennsylvania-based Summit Utility Structures.

Steelmaker Nucor Corp. says it has entered into an agreement to acquire West Hazleton, Pennsylvania-based Summit Utility Structures LLC and its related company, Sovereign Steel Manufacturing LLC, producers of metal poles and other steel structures for utility infrastructure and highway signage.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based owner of scrap-fed steel mills and dozens of scrap yards says the two companies will become part of a new business unit, Nucor Towers & Structures, serving the utility, transportation and telecommunication sectors.

Summit and Sovereign currently focus on markets in the northeastern United States, but Nucor says its plan is to establish a nationwide footprint able to service customers throughout North America.

“These acquisitions continue to position Nucor as the leader in steel and downstream steel products as part of our strategy to “Grow the Core, Expand Beyond and Live Our Culture,’’ says Leon Topalian, president and CEO of Nucor.

“These businesses fit well into the Expand Beyond part of our strategy to acquire companies who have a direct connection to our industry, offer significant growth opportunities and enhance Nucor's position as the leading manufacturing company in the metals industry,” Topalian adds. “We intend to grow these businesses to become the preferred solutions provider for utility transmission towers, substations, telecommunication towers and highway signage structures.”

Nucor says the market for utility infrastructure has been historically stable and is expected to enter a phase of accelerated growth because of the replacement of aging infrastructure, growth and migration of population, a focus on increasing electric grid reliability, and an increased penetration of renewable energy and energy storage.

Additionally, says the firm, the transition to 5G and the increased consumption of wireless data supports a market trends for telecommunication tower expansion. The highway signage market is also continuing to see strength and is expected to benefit as departments of transportation begin to implement the recently signed federal infrastructure bill, adds Nucor.

“The markets for transmission and telecommunication towers are forecast to experience strong growth for decades,” says Chad Utermark, an executive vice president with Nucor. “The creation of Nucor Towers & Structures strongly complements our plate capabilities while also adding a new dimension to our arsenal of value-added downstream products such as joists and deck, hollow structural section tubes, metal buildings, insulated metal panels, racking systems, piling and foundation solutions, and shortly, overhead doors.”