The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently honored a team at the University of Pittsburgh and an R&D company called Aronax Technologies Spain for their work improving the mechanical recyclability of  flexible packaging for food. The awards were part of what's called the Circular Materials Challenge. “The technical innovations developed by our winners are exactly what is needed to begin to address...

Both dry and wet de-labeling systems are helping CarbonLite's new PET recycling facility overcome challenges from problematic bottle labels. CarbonLite's $62 million, 250,000-square-foot PET recycling facility in Dallas began operation in September. It's the second site for the company, which has for years operated a similar-sized plant in Riverside, Calif., near Los Angeles. A year ago, Plastics Recycling Update reported...

For two decades, Call2Recycle reported year-over-year increases in batteries collected for recycling. That winning streak came to an end last year, with a variety of factors contributing to a slight drop. The North American battery stewardship group reported nearly 14 million pounds of single-use and rechargeable batteries were collected in the U.S. and Canada for recycling last year. That weight...

The largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, Camp Lejeune covers 246 square miles and is home to about 170,000 residents, both military and civilian. It has stores, restaurants, schools, a library and more. In short, it’s a city, and cities generate garbage and recyclables. The Camp Lejeune Qualified Recycling Program (QRP) works to divert material from the on-base...

Credit: Parilov/Shutterstock Attorneys have asked a federal judge to temporarily halt Apple's iPhone battery recycling program, claiming the company could be destroying critical evidence in a lawsuit. The filing is part of Harvey v. Apple Inc., one of dozens of lawsuits filed against the company in the wake of the iPhone-throttling controversy. Apple in late December released a statement acknowledging...

Credit: lightrain/Shutterstock Four e-scrap companies have issued statements after being tagged by the Basel Action Network for allegedly exporting scrap printers and LCD monitors. Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN) released a report last week identifying the following companies as being involved in the "chain of export," meaning they at some point handled devices that were eventually exported: ARC Broward IT...

Credit: Jordan Adkins/Shutterstock Organized criminals have laundered scrap electronics through North Korea before they were shipped to China for recycling, according to a news report. Citing Chinese court records, Reuters reports some gangs were involved in laundering imported scrap phones and computers via the Hermit Kingdom. They would ship them from Hong Kong to a North Korean port, where they...

Two brand owners recently made pledges to boost recycled content and improve the recyclability of their packaging. One of them, a bottled water brand, committed to using 100 percent rPET containers. French food and beverage giant Danone announced that its evian brand of bottled water will use 100 percent recycled content PET bottles by 2025. The brand's bottles are currently...

Facing falling customer demand, an end user of recycled PET will lay off 100 employees at its North Carolina factory. Absolute Plastics, which makes recycled-content thermoformed packaging, notified state government on Jan. 11 it will let go employees at its Wilson, N.C. plant. Absolute Plastics is owned by rePlanet Holdings, an integrated recycling-packaging company. The company's collection arm, called rePlanet,...

The world's largest restaurant operator will increase recycling access at its food outlets and make packaging changes to lessen environmental impacts. McDonald's on Jan. 16 announced a goal of providing front-of-house recycling service at all its restaurants by 2025. More than 37,000 McDonald's locations are operating in 100-plus countries, and the vast majority - more than 90 percent - are...