Kickstart: From trash to technology to takeout

Some consider the offerings at McDonald's restaurants as junk food, so they may think it's appropriate that a material most would consider junk — difficult-to-recycle packaging and waste from landfills and incinerators — went into a new McDonald's in Brazil.

The fast-food project is just one example of a new technology that its backers say can play an important role in future projects.

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., an Uruguay-based company that is the largest independent McDonald's franchise holder worldwide, says it used recycled plastics from UBQ Materials Ltd. for electrical components, energy boxes and stands for the site in São Paulo.

More than 800 pounds of recycled polypropylene also went into the structure of a dessert kiosk.

"This restaurant makes tangible and communicates the vision that drives our business and our ESG strategy," Rogério Barreira, president of the Brazil division of Arcos Dorados, said in a news release. "In it, we apply everything we have developed in recent years and add sustainable innovations that will be a reference for us, for the sector and for consumers in the future."

Arcos Dorados has been working with UBQ, based in Israel, since 2019 and also uses its material for customer trays.

Entek Manufacturing Inc. has officially marked the start of construction for a $1.5 billion plant in Terre Haute, Ind., that will make lithium-ion battery separators.

The plant represents the biggest single investment ever for Lebanon, Ore.-based Entek, which also produces extruders and material handling equipment. When completed, the plant will produce up to 1.4 billion square meters of battery separators annually, enough to supply 1.4 million electric vehicles each year.

Entek has a proprietary "wet process" for ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene-based separators. The company was picked as one of 20 in 12 different states to receive federal funding support through the federal government's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2022.

Does your first sip of a pumpkin spice latte leave you thirsty for more of the seasonal treat?

Well, if pastries, pretzels, cookies and candles still don't manage to fill that need, Hefty is now selling limited edition "Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Ultra Strong" trash bags at "select" retailers throughout the U.S. The bags were first introduced as a very limited pilot program in 2022, but now they're more widely available, the company says. The Hefty brand is owned by Reynolds Consumer Products Inc.

"We hope pumpkin lovers all over the country will enjoy getting to indulge in their pumpkin spice obsession in this unexpected way," Brian Lutz, senior brand manager at Reynolds, said in a news release.

Hefty isn't the first company to add some scented style to its trash bags. In 2022, Clorox Co.'s Glad brand of bags introduced a cherry blossom version of its products and went on to add other scents.