Nestle boosts use of recycled PET in Arrowhead water

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nestle Waters North America Inc. is increasing its use of recycled PET in its Arrowhead brand of bottled water by 38%, said Plasticsnews.

Many of the company’s most popular sized Arrowhead bottles, Nestle Waters said, excluding the reusable 3- and 5-gallon containers, soon will contain up to 50% recycled PET as a result.

The company announced the news on Oct. 7, and positioned the move as a commitment to environmental stewardship in California.

"Thanks to California’s strong commitment to recycling, there is high quality rPET available enabling us to increase our use of recycled material," said Tim Brown, CEO and president of Nestle Waters North America, in a statement.

CarbonLite Industries LLC, a producer of food-grade, post-consumer recycled PET in Riverside, Calif., will supply the recycled plastic, Nestle said. That recycled PET will be collected in California for the most part. CarbonLite reprocesses 2 billion containers each year.

Nestle Waters said the increased use of recycled PET will be in place by the end of next year. Arrowhead is just one regional bottled water brand owned by Nestle and is popular in the West. Arrowhead expects to use 18 million pounds of recycled PET annually through the new commitment.
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Auto sales hit record in September: Scotiabank

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Despite slumping global equity markets, Canadian auto sales climbed to record highs in September, surpassing the previous peak annual rate of 1.95 million units set a year ago, according to Scotiabank’s latest Auto News Flash, said Canplastics.

The News Flash estimates that sales climbed to an all-time high of 1.98 million last month, up from an average of 1.86 million through August. "The gain reflects improved credit availability, especially for vehicle leasing which has boosted lease volumes 16% this year," the bank’s report said.

Excluding the surge in leasing, overall sales have actually declined marginally through September. United States purchases accelerated to the fastest pace in more than a decade, with most automakers reporting higher-than-expected volumes last month. "We estimate that purchases climbed to an annualized 18.1 million units in September, the highest level since July 2005 and up from an average of 17.1 million during the previous eight months," the report said.

Activity was buoyed in early September by enhanced Labor Day promotions, but remained solid throughout the month. "Small crossover utility vehicles led the way, with volumes surging more than 25% above a year earlier, due to the rising popularity of these models with both young and aging vehicle buyers. Improving economic conditions, especially a robust labour market, and rising pent-up demand lifted retail volumes at the two largest North American automakers 20% above a year earlier — one of the strongest gains of recent years, and nearly five times the advance of the previous eight months," the report said.

As MRC informed earlier, global car sales advanced a slower-than-expected 2% in the first half of 2015, but remain on target to climb to the sixth consecutive annual record.
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MEG plant shuts for maintenance by CMMFC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China Man-Made Fiber Corporation (CMMFC) has shut operations at its monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant, said Apic-online.

A source in Taiwan informed that the company has taken off-stream its MEG plant early this week for a maintenance turnaround. It is scheduled to remain shut for around 8 weeks.

Located at Kaoshiung in Taiwan, the MEG plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Shanghai Petrochemical restarted its No.2 MEG plant in China following a maintenance turnaround on December 3, 2014. It was shut for a maintenance turnaround on October 17, 2014. Located in Jinshan, Shanghai, the No.2 MEG plant has a production capacity of 380,000 mt/year.

Besides, in August 2014, Xinjiang Tianye Group started a new MEG. Located in Xinjiang province, China, the plant will have a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.
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Plastic bag makers file second California ballot measure

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic bag manufacturers have filed a second ballot initiative related to the California plastic bag ban, said Environmentalleader.

In February, the American Progressive Bag Alliance’s ballot measure to repeal California Senate Bill 270 - legislation passed in 2014 to ban plastic retail bags and allow grocers to charge and keep 10 cents for each paper, compostable or reusable plastic bag provided to their customers - qualified for the November 2016 ballot.

If the manufacturers’ second proposal, filed with the California Attorney General’s office on Oct. 2, qualifies for the November ballot, voters will decide if they want to allow retailers to keep the 10-cent bag charge or redirect the fees to environmental project like recycling or beach cleanups, according to Plastics News.

"Our industry is proud to give California voters a chance to overturn a deeply flawed, job-killing law, or at least, ensure bag fees are dedicated to helping the environment instead of increasing grocer profit margins," Lee Califf, executive director of the APBA, told Plastics News in an emailed statement.

Califf says SB 270 wasn’t about stopping plastic waste and improving the environment; but rather a "backroom deal between the California Grocers Association and their union friends to scam consumers out of billions of dollars in bag fees — all under the guise of environmentalism." Califf says the law, if implemented, will kill 2,000 local manufacturing jobs and “funnel obscene profits to big grocers."

As MRC informed earlier, Brazil’s mega-city of Sao Paulo initiated a ban on petroleum-based plastic grocery bags on April 5, following a multi-year dispute between plastic industry trade groups and city government.
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WACKER expands Mexico technical center to include dispersion applications for Coatings & Adhesives

MOSCOW (MRC) -- WACKER has expanded the service portfolio at its technical center in Mexico City, Mexico, said Coatingsworld.

The local facility now comprises state-of-the-art applications technology and test equipment for polymer dispersions needed as binders for architectural coatings and adhesives. The expansion not only enables WACKER to help its local customers develop new and tailor-made products for the region. It also encourages the exchange of know-how and promotes internationally recognized quality standards in Latin America. The expansion has focused on vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions used as binders for low-odor indoor paints, durable outdoor coatings and sustainable water-borne adhesives.

This measure will help WACKER to further bolster its position as a globally leading producer and supplier of VAE dispersions. "Latin America is a promising market for WACKER. Demand is increasing steadily for our high-quality dispersions. Our sales in the region have grown significantly over the recent years and we are encouraged by the regions’ potential. This new facility will help foster the development of our products and support the needs of our local customers", explained John Fotheringham, vice president of Dispersions at WACKER POLYMERS.

The enhanced technical center will now also support customers in the paints, coatings and adhesives sectors to develop new products and applications for the regional markets with regard to locally available raw materials, climatic and environmental conditions, and regional requirements. The new labs are equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation meeting international standards: Test are ranging from optical and rheological property measurements of VAE-enhanced paints such as gloss, reflectance, viscosity or sag resistance to physical qualities of paints and adhesives like density, solids content or thermal stability.

Additionally, the technical center has installed a new UV chamber to analyze color fading and weathering behavior of polymer-modified exterior coatings.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site has, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
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