China's new crackdown on illegal scrap plastics imports commanded our readers' clicks in February, followed by stories exploring PET recycling, ocean plastics and PCR demand. The list below shows our top stories last month in terms of unique page views. 1 | China announces ‘Sword’ crackdown on illegal scrap plastic imports A campaign aimed at curbing criminal activity could cause...

Major brands fund a recycling outreach campaign to thousands of students, and prices increase for recovered PET and HDPE. Problematic plastics: The Hefty Energy Bag program, which is collecting difficult-to-recycle plastics for use as a fuel in cement kilns, may be expanded. Plastics News reports the organizers of the program, which is currently limited to the Omaha, Neb. area, envision...

A woman is fined for trying to recycle cardboard, and a beer company creates sand from used bottles. New Zealand: Brewing company DB Export will begin turning its glass bottles into man-made sand that can be used for consumer and industrial purposes in lieu of natural beach sand. According to a press release, beach-dredged sand is used heavily in New...

Ironically, ending curbside glass collection increases a Tennessee city's glass recovery volumes, and a labor showdown in New York may be leading toward a MRF strike. Correcting the record: A recycling coordinator is working to quash rumors that Indiana University of Pennsylvania combines its collected recycling with garbage and disposes of it all together. The Penn student newspaper writes that...

Action Shred of Texas of Dallas; Corrigan Record Storage of Novi, Mich.; Mars of Olympia, Wash.; Ohio Mobile Shredding of Columbus, Ohio and Reisswolf Randstad I BV of Wognum, Netherlands have either achieved or renewed their NAID certifications for physical destruction of hard drives. Also, ER2-Electronic Responsible Recyclers of Mesa, Ariz.; Electronic Responsible Recyclers-ER2 of Memphis, Tenn. and GEEP Canada...

An analysis shows alarming ground contamination from e-scrap processing in the world's second most-populous country, and Hong Kong officials learn about e-scrap-related prosecutions. Hong Kong: Elected officials received an update on e-scrap regulations in Hong Kong, including enforcement figures for 2016 and producer responsibility rules that will go into effect at the end of 2017. A transcription of the report...

One city refuses to reinstate its electronics recycling program despite residents' frustration, and remote Alaska receives attention for e-scrap cleanups. Steadfast against recycling: Although residents expressed anger that the city will end its electronics recycling program, the City Council of Casper, Wyo. remained committed to sending the e-scrap into a local landfill. The Casper Star Tribune follows the story, describing...

A government insider says a U.K. bottle deposit is unlikely, and designers find a creative way to utilize discarded plastic bottles. Worldwide: New research shows that microplastics are more common in cosmetic products than previously believed. Recycling International reports on the research conducted by the United Nations Environmental Program and the Plastic Soup Foundation, which found that up to 100,000...

Students work to recycle PLA filament used in 3-D printing, and an Ohio plastics recycling company closes its doors after more than a decade. Bag fee foiled: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill prohibiting New York City from implementing a 5-cent fee for plastic bags. The New York Times reports on Cuomo's move, which followed a bitter...

One city may lower its diversion rate goals and abandon its single-stream collection plans, while another gets tough on apartment landlords. Curbside clothing collections: Several Minneapolis suburbs can now take advantage of curbside textiles recycling. Local NBC affiliate KARE 11 reports that Simple Recycling began this week accepting all manner of clothing for recycling in the communities of St. Louis...