A branch of the European Union is calling on stakeholders to improve the repairability of electronics and ferret out devices designed to have short lifespans. The European Parliament on July 4 voted to approve a resolution calling on the European Commission, member countries and producers to take steps to improve repairability. “We must reinstate the reparability of all products put...

The illegal collection of e-scrap has resulted in fines for companies and individuals operating at two sites in Hong Kong's New Territories area. A court on July 4 and July 11 levied fines totaling 24,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $3,100), after authorities in December found four metric tons of printed circuit boards and more than 1,300 LCD monitors and CRT...

FCC Environmental Services will build a $20 million materials recovery facility in Houston to sort curbside recyclables for at least the next 15 years, under a deal that still requires final approval. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced his administration has selected the U.S. arm of Spanish company FCC Group to sort and market single-stream residential recyclables in the nation's fourth-largest...

Less than one-quarter of the fiber used last year by consumer products company Kimberly-Clark came from recycled sources, the lowest percentage in at least six years. The latest global sustainability report from the personal and health-care products giant states that 23.4 percent of the fiber used in 2016 was from recycled sources, down from 26.5 percent in 2015. Kimberly-Clark acquired...

A French company developing an enzymatic depolymerization process for PET has signed a deal to bring its technology from the lab to a pilot-scale facility. Carbios announced it signed a contract with TechnipFMC, a U.K.-headquartered company involved in the oil and gas extraction and processing sector. In a press release, TechnipFMC is described as also being involved in bio-sourced industries....

An international packaging producer has won an award for directly printing onto containers, eliminating the need for separate labels, liners and adhesives. The recycling-friendly technology from Plastipak Packaging recently won a silver DuPont Award for Packaging Innovation, according to a press release. Plastipak's PET and HDPE recycling affiliate, Dundee, Mich.-based Clean Tech, recycles roughly 250 million pounds per year of...

For compounders, buying cheaper regrind may be an attractive option, but the additional contamination can also mean higher processing costs. A case study shows how Aaron Industries reduced those costs and boosted throughputs by installing a continuous melt filter system. The Leominster, Mass.-based company is one of the largest plastics recycling firms and compounders in the Northeast, processing more than...

On average, popular phones, tablets and laptops are relatively easy to fix, but the market may be trending toward less repairable designs, a recent analysis found. International activist group Greenpeace and U.S.-based electronics repair organization iFixit teamed up to assess the repairability of 44 smartphones, tablets and laptops. The devices, from 17 different manufacturers, included best-selling models in 2015, 2016...

Some PET bottle resins tend to yellow more than others when recycled, especially those containing multiple layers. One expert has offered a solution: Incorporate them into a stream used for amber-colored plastics. “The goal is to find a way to allow clear, but problematic bottles, that yellow when recycled to benefit an amber recycling stream," Frank Schloss of Plastic Technologies,...

Meal kits delivered straight to your doorstep are marketed as providing fresh, healthful food in a convenient way. But they also contain a lot of non-recyclable packaging, much of which carries problematic labeling. Numerous companies have launched to sell the meal kits, which have all of the raw ingredients, including meats, vegetables and spices, to make a full meal. They’re...