Waste Briefing: Tim Hortons, Ford, Sonoco, Covanta

Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons has unveiled a way to recycle its hot beverage cups into take-out trays. The project, developed with the help of CKF Inc. and Scotia Recycling Limited, could potentially see 100 percent of Tim Hortons’ annual Nova Scotia cup inventory recycled, the company says. In stark contrast to Tim Hortons’ in-house approach, Starbucks largely relies on local municipalities and landlords for waste collection and recycling, the company says. The Seattlle-based coffee giant began using front-of-house recycling in some stores in 2009.

Ford is using 25 20-ounce plastic bottles to make the carpeting in every Ford Escape utility vehicle it builds. The PET bottles are used to make nonwoven carpet material, that Ford says is designed in such a way as to reduce wear. This is the first time Ford has used this type of carpeting in an SUV.

Packaging giant Sonoco has announced that two of its plants have achieved landfill-free status. The Birmingham, Ala., Cascades Sonoco and York, Pa., Sonoco CorrFlex facilities went landfill-free in June and October respectively. The plant in Birmingham is currently diverting all of its waste through a combination of recycling, the use of waste-to-energy alternatives and composting, Sonoco says. In Pennsylvania, the Sonoco facility is using a combination of waste-to-energy  technology and a comprehensive recycling program.

A U.K. subsidiary of U.S. waste company Covanta Holding Corp. has dropped plans to build a major waste-fired power plant in Wales, Reuters reports. In a letter to the U.K. planning body, Covanta blamed the move on local authorities’ “fragmented approach” to dealing with waste. The proposed Brig y Cym power plant would have collected 750,000 metric tons of non-recyclable waste per year and had a power capacity of 67 MW, the newswire reports.