Smurfit-Stone Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., with headquarters in Creve Coeur, Mo., and Chicago, and its U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries have filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection.
The company’s U.S. operations filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., and the Canadian subsidiaries also will file to reorganize under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Canada.
The company says it plans to use this process to restructure its debt, resulting in a capital structure more suited to support its long-term growth and profitability. Smurfit-Stone says its day-to-day operations will continue without interruption.
Smurfit-Stone also announced that, pending court approval, it has received commitments for up to $750 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to fund continuing operations.
Of this total, $350 million consists of new incremental funding; about $400 million represents replacement of existing Accounts Receivable Securitization facilities both in the United States and Canada.
The DIP financing will enable the company to continue to satisfy customary obligations associated with ongoing operations of its business, including payment of employee wages and benefits in the ordinary course, and payment of post-petition obligations to vendors under existing terms.
All of the company’s operations outside of the United States and Canada are excluded from this process, and none of Smurfit-Stone’s subsidiaries or operations outside of the U.S. and Canada commenced Chapter 11, CCAA or similar proceedings.
A manufacturer of integrated paperboard and paper-based packaging, Smurfit-Stone operates approximately 150 facilities with nearly 22,000 employees in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Asia.
Preserve Group Introduces Polypropylene Recycling Program
The Preserve Group, Waltham, Mass., has introduced a collection program for polypropylene (PP) plastics. Through the company’s Preserve program, Gimme 5 collection bins will be located at a number of Whole Foods Markets, organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm and Organic Valley. Polypropylene containers are designated with the No. 5.
The program started in January at a number of Whole Foods Markets in the Midwest, Northeast and Northern California. Stores in Florida were to be added to the program by the middle of February. A full list of participating stores is available online at www.preserveproducts.com.
"This program will save thousands of pounds of No. 5 plastic from being sent to landfills," says Jeremiah McElwee, senior whole body coordinator for Whole Foods Market.
No. 5 plastic is commonly used for yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, margarine and hummus containers; medicine bottles; some plastic ice cream containers; and food storage and take-out containers.
MBA, EMR Choose Site for Joint Venture
MBA Polymers Inc., Richmond, Calif., and European Metal Recycling Ltd. (EMR), Warrington, U.K., have announced that they will locate their joint venture plastics recycling facility in Worksop, U.K.
The joint venture, known as MBA Polymers UK, will be housed in a building that was formerly used for glass production. In a news release, MBA says the building "is well accommodated to house the planned 80,000-ton-per-year plastic processing facility, and the central location is ideal for servicing sustainable plastics customers throughout the U.K. and greater Europe."
MBA Polymers UK will process shredder residue that has already been upgraded by EMR at its U.K. operations. MBA has developed processes to recover, separate and purify what it calls high-value plastics from the shredder residue stream.
Michael Biddle, MBA’s founder and president, says, "The MBA Polymers UK facility is an exciting development as it expands our company’s global ability to deliver high-quality resins from recycled plastic with a very small carbon footprint."
David Ireland, EMR’s director of technical services, adds, "The site selection has taken longer than expected as it was important to find the right location to maximize the benefits of lower logistical costs with suitable markets for the finished goods. We can now move quickly to complete this project and start recovering plastic from shredder waste in early 2010. This is an important development in EMR’s goal of eliminating waste from our shredder operations."
EMR is one of the largest metal recyclers in the world. Based in Warrington, U.K., the company handles more than 10 million tons per year of scrap materials, operating from more than 100 locations worldwide.
MBA Polymers Inc. describes itself as a company that uses patented processes to create high-performance plastic resin from plastic scrap recovered from end-of-life durable goods. The company currently operates plants in the United States, China and Austria.
Explore the March 2009 Issue
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