Chair’s Message
- Eric Bernath
Springtime is just around the corner! And what better way to enjoy the season than to join your friends and colleagues at the RIPA Technical Conference May 4-6 in the charming Midwest city of Indianapolis, Indiana?
The site of the Conference is the wonderfully restored Omni Severin Hotel, located downtown and close to many restaurants and attractions. Information on room reservations is included in the Conference Registration page. See the Registration link below.
The event will kick off with an evening Suppliers Welcome Reception on Sunday the 4th. Special thanks to RIPA’s Supplier and Associate Members for their contributions to this gathering and to the Technical Conference overall!
Monday morning will feature educational sessions covering many timely and topical issues. The Board of Directors will meet on Monday afternoon. For those who are not on the Board, or joining in as Observers, there will be an off-site visit to a couple of special attractions that “Indy” has to offer; transportation for the tour and lunch are included.
Monday evening features the Chair’s Reception.
Informative business sessions will continue Tuesday morning. After the lunch break, attendees will board buses to participate in the plant tour. This is the first plant tour for members in years, so I am really looking forward to seeing the facility. RIPA member, Superior Tote Solutions (STS), is generously opening its doors to allow attendees to take in the company’s recent expansion and new operations. At the tour’s conclusion at about 3:30 pm, one bus will head to the airport while the other returns to the hotel.
Everything is planned for your information, value, comfort and fun! Please join us as we usher in spring in the Hoosier State!
Registration (and room reservations) for the conference can be completed HERE.
Contact the RIPA Office or Events Manager, Bonnie Cunningham, with any questions. Bonnie 203-524-0674. RIPA Office 301-577-3786. Thank you! See you there!
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U.S. DOT PHMSA Senior Leaders Leaving Agency
Several long-serving senior executives at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) have decided to leave the Agency or retire in the next few months. PHMSA is the lead U.S. government regulatory body responsible for overseeing pipeline and hazardous materials safety.
Among those retiring is William Schoonover, Associate Administrator, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, who is the top career official in the government responsible for hazmat safety issues.
“Mr. Schoonover has been an effective, results-oriented leader since first coming to OHMS in 2016", said RIPA President Paul Rankin. “Over the years, he has demonstrated a willingness to work with the various industries he oversees, including the container reconditioning industry, to achieve positive outcomes that promote the safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials. He will be greatly missed and we wish him well going forward,” Rankin noted.
Several top Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration employees have agreed to take voluntary resignation offers from the Office of Personnel Management, according to a leaked memorandum from acting Administrator Ben Kochman. Those departing include PHMSA Executive Director Howard “Mac” McMillan; Alan Mayberry, who leads the Office of Pipeline Safety; Vasiliki Tsaganos, the agency’s top lawyer; and senior advisers Richard Chávez and Lisa Farmer.
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Rankin Presents to Petroleum Packaging Council on Packaging Sustainability
San Antonio, TX. RIPA President Paul Rankin gave a keynote presentation to members of the Petroleum Packaging Council (“PPC”) on the environmental benefits of industrial packaging reuse. Speaking to over 150 industry professionals and suppliers, Rankin observed that as global concerns about human environmental impacts mount, companies around the world are working together and alongside government policy makers to find new and innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions. One of the issues that is getting a lot of attention is packaging reuse.
PPC is a 70 year-old trade group that provides technical leadership and education to the petroleum packaging and blending industry.
Rankin provided an overview of two life cycle studies supported by RIPA which show significant environmental advantages from the use of multi-trip industrial packagings on all significant points of measurement, including carbon emissions, energy use and waste generation. Rankin explained that the studies show carbon emission savings (“CO2E”) arising from one round trip, and neither study looked at the CO2E savings derived from multiple trips of the same container. Presently, CO2E savings arising from multiple trips of the same container are never calculated.
Rankin believes that that coupling Artificial Intelligence with industrial packaging supply, delivery and reuse systems, is the way to address this problem. For example, equipping durable plastic totes, plastic drums and metal containers with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to track location and usage cycles, implementing blockchain solutions to manage complex and proprietary reverse logistics, and developing innovative processes to ensure safe reuse of industrial packagings, is just around the corner.
These technologies will enable container users and their suppliers to develop a scientifically valid statement of Scope 3 carbon savings derived from the purchase of reconditioned industrial packagings. Scope 3 emissions are all indirect CO2E emissions that occur in a company's value chain, but are not directly owned or controlled by the reporting organization. Many national governments allow companies purchasing packagings to count Scope 3 emission reductions in their overall emission calculations. In other words, valid CO2E savings from packaging reuse can be used by customers to reduce their carbon footprint.
Rankin urged PPC members to consider the use of robust industrial containers that can be used and reused many times. “Robust containers mean more round-trips, less scrap and greater carbon savings in the long run.”
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The Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana
Site of the 2025 RIPA Technical Conference May 4-6, 2025
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European Union Adopts Comprehensive New Packaging Regulations - Promotes Packaging Reuse and Recycling
The European Union has adopted a ground-breaking packaging regulation that is intended to reduce waste, increase recycling and promote reuse. The new rule, which officially goes into effect in August 2026, replaces the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. It applies to all packaging sold on the EU market, including industrial packaging, and packaging waste from manufacturing, retail, services and households.
The comprehensive rule applies to all companies producing or using packaging, including packaging manufacturers and reconditioners of steel and plastic drums, as well as IBCs. The rule also covers importers, distributors and service providers of all packaging types. The new regulation is much more strict and legally binding than the previous directive and was created with several effective dates for different activities in the packaging system.
The Regulation will impose specific sustainability requirements on packaging, including targets for packaging recyclability, minimum recycled material content and labeling requirements. It will also impose limits on per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food-contact packaging.
The Regulation requires all packaging placed on the EU market to be recyclable and, in most cases, to be produced with recycled content. The European Commission will establish design and content requirements in time for the implementation deadline of January 1, 2030. Packaging used for the transport of dangerous goods is largely exempt from the recycled content rules; however, industrial packagings used for all other commodities are covered.
Reusability
By 2027, the European Commission must adopt delegated requirements establishing minimum reusability requirements for packaging. Companies that use reusable packaging will be required to participate in reuse systems.
The Regulation includes the following reusability requirements:
• For transport packaging or sales packaging used to transport products (including drums, IBCs, pallets, crates, etc.). By January 2030 -
• 100% of packaging used between sites where a company operates must be reusable within a reuse system.
• 100% of packaging used to deliver products within the same Member State must be reusable within a reuse system.
• 40% of all other packaging for transporting products within the EU must be reusable within a reuse system.
Importantly, the rule states that reusable packaging sent to a reconditioner is not considered to be a waste. This change will reduce substantially record-keeping and compliance requirements for reconditioners in Europe who often move empty packagings across multiple national borders.
Labeling Requirements
Perhaps the most important requirement affecting packaging reusability are the new EU labeling rules. Starting August, 2028, all packaging placed on the EU market must carry a label containing information on its material composition. In addition to the label, economic operators may include a QR code or other standardized digital carrier on packaging to provide information about the sorting destination for each packaging component.
However, starting one year later in 2029 all reusable packaging must be labeled to inform users that it is reusable. A QR code or other acceptable digital signifier must provide details on the availability of reuse systems and collection points, and track the packaging’s usage (e.g., trips and rotations). Reusable packaging must also be clearly distinguished from single-use packaging at the point of sale.
Conclusion
The new EU regulation on packaging is the most comprehensive multi-nation effort to reduce packaging waste ever written. Although industrial packagings used to carry dangerous goods (i.e., hazardous materials) are excluded at this time, such packagings used for all other goods are covered. Reuse is mandated, which is a positive outcome of this regulatory effort. Additionally, labeling requirements that promote container tracking and describe material content will likely promote increased reuse of industrial packaging.
A great experiment in packaging management has clearly begun in Europe. RIPA will keep you posted on new developments as they arise.
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Uncertainty in the Time of Trump
By Paul Rankin
President Donald Trump's first month in office has been nothing if not busy. As of March 6, he has signed 86 Executive Orders on issues ranging from eliminating DEI to implementing (and then retracting) trade tariffs. For those of you with a calculator, that works out to nearly two EO’s per day.
While one can legitimately argue about the benefits or problems associated with one or another of the President’s EOs, one thing is clear:
They are creating uncertainty in different sectors of the economy, and manufacturing businesses – large and small - typically do not function well during periods of regulatory, financial or economic uncertainty.
Although 20 of 22 cabinet appointments have been confirmed by the Senate, which is a faster pace than his predecessor, most have been on the job for only a short period of time and they are primarily focused on governmental restructuring rather than policy issues.
I have spoken with lots of RIPA members around the country in the past few weeks. Many of them are concerned that customers appear to be delaying major investment decisions until they have more clarity on the administration's approach to the economy.
Their concern seems to be borne-out by a recent survey of small business owners conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The survey says:
- 30% of small business owners say the economy has improved (6 points lower than January) and 22% say the economy has gotten worse (6 points
worse than January).
- 46% of small business owners believe the economy will improve in the
next 12 months (8 points lower than January and 14 points above October’s level) and 32% believe the economy will worsen (18 points worse than January).
- 64% of small businesses expect increased revenues in the next 12 months (12 points lower than January) and 54% believe profitability will improve (6 points lower than January).
- 54% of small business owners are not taking any actions in response to tariff policies and 30% are raising prices.
Who knows where the economy will be in a few months? But for now, the only thing certain is uncertainty.
What is an Executive Order?
An Executive Order (“EO”) is a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. They are numbered consecutively, so executive orders may be referenced by their assigned number, or their topic.
EO’s have evolved into one of the most common Presidential documents in modern government. EO’s are a sort of “instant law,” and can be benign or steeped in controversy.
Every American President has issued at least one EO, totaling more than 13,731 since George Washington took office in 1789.
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Newly Elected RIPA Board Member Leaving the Industry
Elected to the RIPA Board of Directors in January 2025, Ms. Kathy Lodico has since set course towards a new opportunity, resigning her seat on the Board and leaving the employ of RIPA Member The Cary Company. In recent years, Kathy was an energized and very involved attendee at RIPA conferences and other events. She was very helpful with a number of RIPA projects and offerings. RIPA thanks Kathy and wishes her all the best in every new endeavor.
RIPA’s Board will meet for its summer meeting in July, at which time a decision will be made on the timing and the conduct of an election to fill the open seat. We encourage other “rising stars” to seek – or make - a nomination. Contact RIPA with any questions.
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Contact RIPA at 301-577-3786 or admin@ripaus.com
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