GM expands its bottle recycling program, and a fight is brewing among plastics stakeholders in Europe over disposable cutlery. From bottles to coats: General Motors has collected and recycled 2 million bottles from residents of Flint, Mich. The bottles are turned into engine covers, air filters and coats for the homeless as part of GM's Do Your Part recycling initiative....

An analysis of the environmental benefits of recycling and a story about redemption fraud caught readers' attention last month. The list below shows the five most-viewed Resource Recycling online stories during August. 1 | A look at recycling's role in fight against climate change Curbside recycling can put additional collection trucks on the road. But the recycling process ultimately brings environmental...

Last week's Resource Recycling Conference brought together the industry's top decision-makers for three days of discussion and connection in New Orleans. Resource Recycling's Jared Paben took it all in with camera in hand. The slideshow below offers a collection of photos from the week. Hover over a photo to bring up arrows that allow you to advance through the sequence.

California's recycling goal is under scrutiny, and a major Canadian city is getting out of the collection business. California dreamin'? California has experienced a setback in its goal to recycle 75 percent of material by 2020. As reported by Mother Jones, the state's recycling rate dropped to 47 percent in 2015 and the amount of material that went to landfill increased...

An improvement in virgin feedstocks allows better performance in recycled-content HDPE products, and two companies cooperate to supply a continuous PET-to-textile-fibers line. Improved HDPE: Total Refining & Chemicals has developed an enhanced virgin HDPE meant to be compounded with recycled plastic because it is able to over-compensate for any deficiencies in the recycled resin. Beveragedaily.com reports on the advancement, which...

U.K. residents panic over contamination rates, and where you recycle that bottle differs greatly among countries. U.K.: Several media reports on a rise of contamination among curbside recyclables has caused an uproar in the U.K. The BBC, among others, reported an 84 percent increase in recyclables that were rejected due to contamination, but according to MRW, the increase only accounts...

Officials in one Michigan county are calling their new curbside program a success, and a large Canadian city bans plastic bags. Cart improvement: Residents in Emmet County, Michigan have been using curbside recycling carts now for just one month, but officials are already pleased with the results. The amount of material collected in July 2016 is up 25 percent from...

The Irish celebrate impressive e-scrap and appliance recycling rates, and more communities in the U.K. are offering curbside e-scrap collection. Ireland: The City of Wexford is celebrating the amount of electronics and electrical appliances it recycled in 2015. The New Ross Standard says Wexford residents recycled more than 1,500 tons, which equates to recovery of around 11 electric items per...

Olympic medals rise from the e-scrap stream, and a new smartphone from Samsung sports a screen that's super-spendy to service. Scrap and field: At the 2020 Summer Olympics, the gold, silver and bronze medals could be made out of materials harvested from used electronics. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, organizers of the Tokyo games hope to get the precious...

This week crowds of people in the municipal recycling and solid waste industry are in Indianapolis for Wastecon, a conference produced by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). The event also stands as an apt time to gain perspective from David Biderman, who became CEO and executive director of SWANA in May 2015. Resource Recycling asked him about...