For North America's largest garbage and recycling companies, 2017 overall was a good year in recycling. That being said, the fourth quarter was a bad one for the industry. Resource Recycling recently looked at financial results for Waste Management, Republic Services, Waste Connections and Advanced Disposal Services. A clear pattern emerged for 2017: A strong winter, spring and summer gave...

A $24 million operation designed to sort single-stream material, mixed waste and C&D debris has opened on the California coast. Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) has started up its new mixed-waste MRF, a 100,000-square-foot facility supplied by Bulk Handling Systems. The district is made up of the following nine member municipalities: Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Monterey County,...

The Association of Plastic Recyclers has added partners to a campaign designed to encourage the use of recycled-content products. APR's Demand Champions campaign recognizes companies that purchase and use recycled-content products. When first announced in October, the program focused on the use of recycled-plastic "work in progress" (WIP) durable goods: plastic pallets, crates, tote boxes, cans and pails, among other...

When it comes to scrap plastics exports, 2017 was a tale of two years, with China's import restrictions altering global patterns for the material. Full-year export numbers recently became available from the U.S. Census Bureau, allowing for some compelling analysis of 2017. Over the course of the year, the amount of recovered plastics the U.S. sent to China and Hong...

A $2 million below-market loan from the Closed Loop Fund is helping a Nebraska company retrofit its materials recovery facility to better target PET and HDPE. The project is the latest such equipment improvement for First Star Recycling. The Closed Loop Fund announced in January that it has invested in the Omaha-based company, which runs a single-stream MRF in the...

The Association of Plastic Recyclers has added partners to a campaign designed to encourage the use of recycled-content products. APR's Demand Champions campaign recognizes companies that purchase and use recycled-content products. When first announced in October, the program focused on the use of recycled-plastic "work in progress" (WIP) durable goods: plastic pallets, crates, tote boxes, cans and pails, among other...

Two chemical companies have unveiled a full-wrap shrink sleeve label that comes off during a whole bottle wash. The development is part of a wider industry trend around recycling-friendly PET label strategies. Parsippany, N.J.-based Sun Chemical and Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical collaborated to develop a PETG shrink-sleeve label with an adhesive that detaches during the bottle wash. The partners are...

Two recent surveys explored consumer expectations when it comes to the management of recovered electronics. One survey, commissioned by a new group called the Security Innovation Center (SIC), looked at the public's concerns about data security and privacy around used internet-connected devices. Another, from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), investigated how Apple's phone-throttling controversy has stimulated battery-replacement...

A TV collection debacle in one Pennsylvania township illustrates the problems the state electronics recycling program continues to face. Washington Township turned away truckloads of TVs just a week after reopening free e-scrap collections, according to the Public Opinion Online newspaper. The township was inundated with people and organizations looking to drop off CRTs. The township, which is in southern Pennsylvania and...

State lawmakers are considering a number of bills related to state electronics recycling programs this year, including two that create new extended producer responsibility laws.The following are a handful of e-scrap-related bills under consideration across the country: Arizona: SB 1369 in Arizona would establish an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for electronics in the Grand Canyon State. The bill is...