Amid uncertainty surrounding projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, the CEO of Tennessee-headquartered Eastman expressed confidence in the future of its second U.S. chemical recycling plant, which was greenlit upon a $375 million award from the Department of Energy. 

Packaging Company of America will stop linking its customer agreements to third-party pricing indexes, becoming the second major packager to announce similar intentions due to frustration with the leading index.

U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, effective Feb. 4, then delayed them, creating a rapidly changing trade landscape that furthered uncertainty in the recycling and plastics industries. 

Rare earth element recycler REEcycle received a $5.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to advance its work in extracting elements critical to neodymium-iron-boron magnets — the key building blocks of renewable energy and national defense technologies. 

As the threat from wildfires in Southern California subsides thanks to heavy rains in the region, market participants said that so far the effect on RPET market has been minimal, though workers' lives were disrupted.

Editor’s note: Learn more about procurement trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. PCR procurement has changed over the years, though exactly how is difficult to put into words due to the nuances involved in getting post-consumer material into new products, said Crystal Bayliss, director of strategy and engagement...

Effective recycling programs rely heavily on human behavior, which can be very hard to change. But developing a targeted strategy to educate residents – whether in a small rural area or a bustling metropolis – is an integral part of this process.

Volumes of OCC and mixed paper are shifting with societal and economic trends, industry experts said during a paper industry update webinar presented by the Recycled Materials Association.

A recent report from a U.S. occupational safety unit found significant levels of mercury vapor throughout an Ohio e-scrap and lamp recycling facility, leading the team to provide recommendations for protecting worker health.

University researchers have come up with two new methods to break down plastic waste – one for reuse and the other to rid wastewater of microplastics.