Due to a combination of longtime flouting of contamination levels in paper bales being sold and shipped to Chinese consumers and internal economic and political pressures in the country, those same bales are increasingly being rejected by Chinese customs inspectors. According to some industry insiders, the rejection of paper bales began around six months ago, with some shipping containers filled...

Even though it has made significant environmental health and safety improvements over the last several years, persistent complaints regarding UNICOR's e-scrap processing operations have now prompted new federal legislation targeting the company. House Resolution 3634, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R — Michigan), would eliminate the mandatory source preference currently enjoyed by Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (the...

Florida has enacted a law intended to clamp down on metal thieves and brokers who do business with them. House Bill 885, which went into effect July 1, requires companies purchasing secondary metals to collect more detailed information on such transactions, including the name and address of the seller, the time and date of the purchase, as well as the...

Intercon Solutions, the e-scrap processor denied e-Stewards certification almost a year ago amid allegations of improper export of materials, has filed a suit against the Basel Action Network for defamation. The complaint names both BAN and its executive director, Jim Puckett, and says the Seattle-based non-profit organization “unlawfully placed the company in a false light” when it alleged Intercon Solutions...

Flooring, fiber and carpet manufacturer Mohawk Industries has announced a major expansion of its Summerville, Georgia manufacturing plant. Mohawk says the expansion will include equipment and processing line upgrades for bottle and container recycling. The goal is to improve fiber production by increasing efficiency at the plant. Additionally, the recycling, operations, construction and other elements of the expansion is expected...

The City of Philadelphia and a maker of food scrap disposers have launched a project meant to gauge how well the devices could divert organics from landfills in the city. The new initiative, dubbed "Clean Kitchen, Green Community," is a collaboration between Philadelphia's Streets Department and InSinkErator, a company that makes food scrap disposers, that will take the form of...

Federal Prison Industries, Inc., better known as UNICOR, is once again facing a lawsuit regarding worker safety and environmental standards at its electronics recycling operations. UNICOR, which operates an inmate work program at federal corrections facilities, has been processing electronic scrap for nearly two decades. The suits allege that improper material handling, storage, safety and general working conditions exposed inmates...

The number of R2 certified facilities is booming, according to the latest tally of facilities from R2 Solutions. As of this week, 215 facilities have been certified to R2, both in the U.S. and abroad. This translates into 140 companies with at least one certified facility. By contrast, 31 firms with 71 facilities have certified to e-Stewards. A closer examination...

PepsiCo has unveiled the two-year results of its Dream Machine project, which is intended to provide recycling receptacles in high-traffic public places, such as gas stations, retail stores, sports stadiums and others, while also providing consumers an incentive to not trash their recyclables while on the go. Launched on Earth Day of 2010, the Dream Machines are basically reverse vending...

The Basel Action Network has announced that, effective immediately, the e-Stewards standard will now include all the elements of the R2 standard. Requirements for the multi-stakeholder R2 standard have been incorporated into e-Stewards, meaning e-Stewards certifying bodies – currently AQA International, Orion Registrar and QMI-SAI Global – will audit for both the R2 and e-Stewards standards. The move is expected...