NewsBits

A new organization has formed to advocate for plastics recycling issues in North and South Carolina. The Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council is co-chaired by Tamsin Ettefagh of Envision Plastics, and Steve Zagorski of United Fiber.

A leading seller of oxodegradable additives expects to report a loss of more than $2 million for 2012. Publicly-traded Symphony Environmental had revenues of $7.8 million last year, down 42 percent.

Japanese firm Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. has filed Patent Application No. 20130018115, which covers a method of recovering polycarbonate resin from discarded optical disks.

A ban on plastic bags took effect on Jan. 17 for Hawaii County. The ban will be phased in, with a fee charged for single-use plastic bags for the first year.

The manager for Waste Management's new materials recovery facility that recently opened to serve the Topeka, Kansas area has a message for the residents: Don't put plastic bags in with your recyclables, reports The Topeka Capital-Journal.

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