As plastic packaging continues to evolve, so too will the testing protocols used to determine recyclability, according to the Association of Plastic Recyclers. "It's going to continue to be a focus in 2017 where we're totally updating and adding to our testing protocols," said Kara Pochiro, communications director for APR. The national trade association will also work to harmonize domestic...

Shareholders of Target and other giant brands will likely decide whether they want the businesses to stop using expanded polystyrene. Advocacy group As You Sow is asking Amazon, McDonald's, Target and Walmart -- all publicly traded companies -- to make plans to phase out the use of EPS. The requests come in the form of shareholder resolutions filed with Amazon, McDonald's and...

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), which operates the state's container deposit program, announced it will pursue a refillable glass bottle program in partnership with local craft brewers. With a staff of 275 employees and annual budget of $34 million, OBRC collects and processes all of the glass, aluminum and plastic beverage containers redeemed by consumers across the state. That puts...

A new materials recovery facility in San Diego is sorting single-stream material from commercial and multi-family sources. Fibers and films make up a substantial portion of those streams, necessitating a specially built sorting system. Capable of sorting 15 tons per hour, the MRF was designed and installed by CP Group on behalf of San Diego-based recycling services provider Resource Management...

Germany continues to post the highest recycling rate in Europe, and a few other countries experienced surges in their rates. Data released by European Union (EU) agency Eurostat showed Germany notched a 66.1 percent recycling rate in 2015, up from 65.6 percent the year before. Across the EU's 28 countries, the 2015 average recycling rate was 45 percent, according to Eurostat....

The Spanish word perdido translates to “lost,” so it’s fitting an advanced materials recovery facility has been built adjacent to Florida’s Perdido Landfill. The MRF is working to help the local community hold onto valuable commodities. Owned and operated by the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), the $10.6 million single-stream MRF is expected to sort 40,000 tons per year. The...

By examining both transmissive and reflective light from objects, the ColorPlus-R optical sorter is able to identify the color of opaque objects, including black plastics. The new offering from National Recovery Technologies (NRT) builds on technologies already offered in the ColorPlus. As with the earlier ColorPlus models, the ColorPlus-R also places material coming off the belt between the light source...

If you think materials collected at the curb represent a difficult mix of contaminated plastics, try pulling them off the beach and recycling them. But that's exactly the challenge TerraCycle and its partners have decided to confront in Europe. Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle is managing an entirely new supply chain, one that begins with environmental activists who collect litter from beaches and...

An innovative technique for recycling polyethylene pesticide and herbicide containers has moved from the lab to the plant. The European project Life Extruclean found a way to more quickly decontaminate plastics that have been in contact with solvents and other poisons. The approach involves using supercritical carbon dioxide during the extrusion phase to remove contaminants. That allows reclaimers to skip...

Industry experts will take to the stage next month in New Orleans to discuss a host of topics touching on the technical side of plastics recycling. At Plastics Recycling 2017, speakers will discuss ways materials recovery facilities (MRFs) can create cleaner bales for plastics reclaimers. That will be part of a concurrent session called "Sorting Through the Issues." Speakers during...