AF&PA Thanks Congress for Clarifying Federal Regulatory Policy on Biomass Carbon Neutrality

TC Transcontinental takes a bold step in becoming the first Canadian-based manufacturer to join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. TC Transcontinental is pledging, by 2025, for 100% of its plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable and to achieve a 10% use of post-consumer recycled content on average by weight across all plastics in its product basket. Additionally, the Corporation commits to collaborating towards increasing reuse, recycling and composting rates for plastic in the communities where it operates. Ever since TC Transcontinental adopted its first environmental policy in 1993, the Corporation has demonstrated proven leadership in conducting its business responsibly. Throughout its transformation and steadfast growth in packaging, TC Transcontinental remains driven by its unwavering commitment towards sustainability. Click Read More below for additional detail.

"As far as recyclability is concerned, the plastic bottle is probably slightly better because it is likely only made from one plastic, and so is easier to recycle than a multilayer material like a beverage carton," says Rolf Buschmann, waste and resource expert with the German environmental organization BUND, who worked on the group's 2019 Plastic Atlas. He explains that only the paper part of the drink carton would be recycled — everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste. "In recent years there's been a trend toward so-called multilayer packaging, which is extremely light and thin. It saves material as well as CO2 emissions during transport, but can't be recycled," Christiani says. Because it is not possible to melt the different plastics together, or — at least for now — to separate the individual films from one another at recycling plants. A 2017 cyclos-HTP study into the recyclability of conventional packaging waste concluded that a third of it was not recyclable, and only 40% of the remaining two-thirds was made into plastic recyclate. The rest was used as fuel — in other words it was incinerated. click read more below for more of the story

Illegal logging has devastating consequences for natural habitats and the climate. Research by the University of Leeds, in partnership with World Land Trust, highlights the significant environmental damage caused by illegal logging, including the release of vast amounts of stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In Vietnam specifically - but also in the other three Carbon Balanced-supported World Land Trust projects (Guatemala, Ecuador and Mexico) - illegal logging remains an ever-present threat to both biodiversity and local communities. In Vietnam, illegal logging releases up to 130,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, harming both local ecosystems and contributing to climate change. For example, the Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong forest in Vietnam is home to over 40 vulnerable animal species, including nine endangered and ten critically endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).