Houston-based plastics-to-graphite conversion firm receives funding from Tailwater Capital subsidiary.

Freestone Holdco LLC, a portfolio company of Dallas-based Tailwater Capital LLC, has announced signing definitive agreements to make an investment in Houston-based Elemental Recycling. That firm is developing a process designed to convert discarded plastic and tires into what it calls high-quality graphite and hydrogen.

Founded in 2019, Elemental’s goal is to own and operate recycling facilities that use its patented single-step conversion process. Elemental says the spherical graphite produced from the process can be used in lubricants, lithium-ion batteries, construction materials and other products. Additionally, the resulting hydrogen can be used “to decarbonize traditionally hard-to-abate sectors,” says the firm.

The process is free from Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions, provides a clean, domestic source of a critical energy transition mineral and will reduce create an additional end market for discarded plastic, says Elemental.

“The company has proven its technology at its pilot facility, and Freestone’s investment will be used to fund the company’s first commercial recycling plant,” states a news release from Freestone and Tailwater Capital. That first commercial facility will be located in Houston and is expected to be operational by mid-2023.

“The massive growth expected in the electric vehicle and energy storage industries will drive significant demand for high-quality graphite, a key mineral for lithium-ion battery production that is currently produced primarily by China,” says Alan Boswell, managing director of Freestone. “Elemental provides a low-cost source of graphite supply that is both environmentally friendly and made right here in the United States.”

Remarks Tom Samuels, CEO of Elemental, “We are excited to partner with Freestone and Tailwater as we grow our business to a commercial scale and bring much needed solutions to the plastic waste and graphite industries. Freestone and Tailwater’s experience in the recycling, critical minerals and energy infrastructure industries will be invaluable as we seek to establish Elemental as a leading provider of recycling solutions and low-cost, clean graphite supply.”

Regarding that experience, Tailwater is part of a joint venture with Houston-based WM (formerly Waste Management) formed to provide financial, commercial and operational support to Continuus Materials, a Houston-based manufacturer of roof cover boards made from plastic and paper scrap materials.

Freestone says it previously announced an investment in Dallas-based Momentum Technologies, a lithium-ion battery and rare earth magnet recycling company.

“This is another exciting transaction that demonstrates Freestone and Tailwater’s commitment to partnering with innovative growth infrastructure businesses that solve bottlenecks as we transition to a low-carbon economy,” says David Cecere, a partner at Tailwater Capital.

California International Canned Wine Competition honors quality of canned wines from around the world.

Nearly 300 types of canned wine from around the world took part in the fourth annual International Canned Wine Competition held last month at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville, California. Wines from 20 foreign countries competed with compatriots from throughout the United States, says the event’s organizer.

Contest judges awarded 97 gold medals in several categories. Judges, described as “veteran wine industry judges” by the competition’s organizer, included one from the Netherlands who has proposed holding a partner canned wine competition in Europe next year.

This year’s “best of show” winning entries included wines from: Handley Cellars, Anderson Valley, California; Djuce Wines of Provence, France; Joiy winery of New Zealand; OBC Wine Project of Fort Collins, Colorado; and Riot Wine Co. of South Australia.

The fifth annual version of the International Canned Wine Competition is being planned for next July, with competition director Allan Green saying that, like its predecessor contests, it will be “aluminating.”

While aluminum wine cans would seem to have a recycling value, under current California Redemption Value (CRV) rules posted to the CalRecycle website, the agency writes that among “notable exceptions are milk, wine and distilled spirits, which are not included in the CRV program.”

Poultry processing facility is company’s third to receive GreenCircle Zero Waste to Landfill certification.

Poultry processor Perdue Farms says its food-producing facility in Washington, Indiana, has earned GreenCircle Zero Waste to Landfill certification, making it the first United States turkey processing facility and third Perdue facility to earn the certification.

After an audit that ran from May 2021 to April 2022, Pennsylvania-based GreenCircle Certified LLC validated that the Indiana operation diverted 100 percent of its waste from going to landfills starting in January of 2022, says Perdue. During the audit period, the food company says it kept nearly 155 million pounds (77,500 tons) of material from entering landfills, says the firm.

Perdue says GreenCircle tracked all waste streams at the facility, including hazardous and non-hazardous materials, inspection of all waste receptacles, and assessment of all third-party waste management companies to confirm management methods and diversion rates. “Every aspect of the operation’s waste was assessed, including the personal protective equipment worn by associates, the process used to minimize contamination of the cardboard recycling stream, and the beneficial reuse of cardboard, paper and feathers, as a few examples,” states the company.

“The certification of our Indiana operation reflects the effort behind achieving our company’s vision to be the most trusted name in food and agricultural products, and our commitment to being good stewards of our environment,” says Drew Getty, a vice president with Perdue Farms.

In 2020, Perdue’s Lewiston, North Carolina, facility became what the company calls the first U.S. poultry company to earn GreenCircle certification, and the company’s Petaluma, California, operation attained the status last year.

“This achievement required an enormous collective effort from our team here, and we are tremendously proud to contribute to the company's overall goals to reduce our environmental impact,” says Brandon Bottorff, director of operations at Perdue’s Indiana facility. “The GreenCircle team’s expertise helped us solidify best practices and processes for achieving our goals as well as continuous improvement.”

Comments Michelle Bonanno, director of operations at GreenCircle, “Perdue’s pursuit of their waste diversion goals demonstrates that transparency and continuous improvement are essential to the way they do business. Our Zero Waste to Landfill certification requires absolute commitment to waste diversion and waste minimization.”

In 2018, Perdue Farms established five-year environmental sustainability goals, including improving its solid waste diversion from landfills by 90 percent by 2023. The company says it has diverted more than 94 percent of solid waste from landfills subsequently.

The company saw a net income of $371.9 million and 21.4 percent revenue growth.

Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, has released its financial results for the second quarter 2022, which ended June 30. The company is reporting revenue growth and has announced plans to expand with acquisitions in the second half of the year.  

According to the report, the company saw a net income of $371.9 million or $1.17 per diluted share, for the second quarter, compared with $331.1 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, for Q2 2021. Excluding certain benefits and expenses, on an adjusted basis, net income for the three months was $418.4 million or $1.32 per diluted share, compared with $349.9 million or $1.09 per diluted share, for 2021.  

"We are very pleased with our second quarter results, which demonstrate our ability to dynamically adjust the price to offset higher levels of cost inflation and drive margin expansion in the underlying business," Republic President and CEO Jon Vander Ark says.

The company is reporting total revenue growth of 21.4 percent, which includes 11.1 percent organic growth and 10.3 percent growth from acquisitions. Revenue growth from acquisitions includes US Ecology, which closed May 2. Second quarter revenue growth from average yield was 5 percent, and volume increased revenue by 2.4 percent.  

Republic's core price for the second quarter increased revenue by 6.2 percent. The core price consisted of 7.8 percent in the open market and 3.5 percent in the restricted portion of the business. EPS was $1.17 per share, and adjusted EPS, a non-generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) measure, was $1.32 per share. Adjusted EPS increased 21.1 percent over the prior year.  

Year-to-date cash provided by operating activities was $1.563 million. Adjusted free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.152 million, an increase of 14.1 percent compared with the prior year. Second quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a non-GAAP measure, was $1 billion and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 29.6 percent of revenue, compared with 30.6 percent in the prior year.  

Year-to-date cash invested in acquisitions was $2.5 billion, $2.2 billion of which related to the acquisition of US Ecology. Vander Ark says the integration of US Ecology is well underway and progressing as planned.  

“We now expect to invest over $600 million in acquisitions apart from US Ecology for the year,” Vander Ark adds. “Substantially all of these deals are in the recycling and solid waste space.”  

Year-to-date cash returned to shareholders was $494.7 million, which included $203.5 million of share repurchases and $291.2 million of dividends paid.  

The company's average recycled commodity price per ton sold during the second quarter was $218. This is an increase from the first quarter of 2022 of $17 per ton and an increase of $48 per ton compared with the prior year.  

As a result of the company’s strong performance and outlook for the balance of the year, Vander Ark says the company is raising its full-year financial guidance. 

“We're experiencing higher than expected inflationary pressures that continue to persist,” Vander Ark says. “That said, we expect to continue to price more than our internal cost inflation, ultimately leading to full-year results that are projected to exceed original expectations.”  

The company says it expects adjusted EPS in the range of $4.77 to $4.80 and adjusted free cash flow in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.725 billion. This represents an increase of about 4 percent from the midpoint of the prior guidance.  

The company also expects the full year 2022 adjusted EBITDA margin to be about 29.3 percent. The change in margin from our initial expectations relates to the impact of US Ecology and fuel.  

Adel Omrani spent more than 20 years at General Electric Co., where he held numerous leadership and senior operational roles across the United States, the Middle East and Africa.

Covanta, a provider of sustainable materials management and environmental solutions based in Morristown, New Jersey, has appointed Adel Omrani as executive vice president of safety, operations and engineering. He will report directly to President and CEO Azeez Mohammed.  

According to a news release from Covanta, Omrani will oversee waste-to-energy operations in North America. There he will work to optimize safety performance and invest in technologies that will enhance the company's infrastructure and ability to support the growth of its zero-waste-to-landfill services.  

"With more than 25 years of deep operational experience in transformative markets around the globe, Adel is an exceptional addition to the Covanta team," Mohammed says. "His expertise in leading cross-functional teams, managing a high-performing workforce and delivering operational excellence is perfectly matched for our strategic efforts to grow and leverage Covanta's unique zero waste-to-landfill solutions."  

Before joining Covanta, Omrani spent more than 20 years at General Electric Co. (GE), where he held various leadership and senior operational roles across the United States, the Middle East and Africa. Most recently, he served as regional president and CEO of GE Gas Power, where he oversaw all commercial and operational aspects of a 20-gigawatt installed base power generation equipment and services business. This included planning and executing more than 700 maintenance events per year across more than 20 countries.   

Before this role, Omrani served as chief operating officer and chief commercial officer for various power generation and services business units within GE. He began his career as a design engineer with GE Aviation and later advanced to the role of general manager for contractual services in Africa for GE Power & Water.  

"I couldn't be more excited to join Covanta at such a pivotal time in its history," Omrani says. "Covanta is an extraordinary company with an exceptional team and portfolio of services that is unmatched across the industry."  

Omrani holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute.