The U.S. recycling rate for HDPE bottles dropped slightly in 2015, while the rate for PP bottles increased noticeably. Counting all resins that are used to make bottles, the overall national plastic bottle recycling rate was 31.1 percent last year, down slightly from 31.7 percent in 2014. The recycling rate for HDPE bottles in 2015 was 34.4 percent, down from...

Montreal-based Loop Industries is working to commercialize its heatless, pressureless PET depolymerization technology after raising millions of dollars from investors earlier this year. The company has started buying equipment for a full-scale production facility capable of depolymerizing 3,000 metric tons per year of PET. The facility is scheduled to come on-line in the fourth quarter of 2017. Loop's technology uses...

A new compatibilizer boosts the properties of plastics made from mixed streams of PP and PE, according to DuPont. The chemical company announced what it's calling its Entira EP series of co-polymers, which can be used as an additive to boost the performance of recycled polyolefins up to a level on par with virgin resins. DuPont highlighted its applicability to...

The struggling maker of a PHA-based additive to boost the properties of recycled PVC has sold its plastics business. Massachusetts-based Metabolix will now focus on its crop yield technology. The company reported it sold its biopolymers business to CJ CheilJedang for $10 million. CJ CheilJedang is a South Korean company that makes food and pharmaceuticals and is involved in biotechnology....

North American reclaimers boosted recycling of PET thermoforms last year, despite difficulties the packaging has in the way of look-alike resins, contamination and labels. That's according to a newly released annual report from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). Each year, the industry groups survey the PET recycling environment. While the...

During a series of tests aimed at optimizing PET thermoform recycling, researchers made a key discovery: the mechanical dryer they used wasn't just drying out flakes. It was also beating them up, generating a huge amount of fines. That is one of the challenges standing in the way of a more efficient thermoform recycling process. U.K.-based nonprofit organization Waste and...

GreenMantra Technologies says its waxes, made from post-consumer plastics, can be used as additives to boost profitability for other reclaimers. Founded in 2011, the Brantford, Ontario-based company recycles post-consumer polyolefins into waxes using its proprietary catalyst and patented depolymerization process. The company now says testing shows its Ceranovus brand waxes serve as effective plastics-recycling additives, boosting extruder throughput or reducing...

Montreal-based Loop Industries is working to commercialize its heatless, pressureless PET depolymerization technology after raising millions of dollars from investors earlier this year. The company has started buying equipment for a full-scale production facility capable of depolymerizing 3,000 metric tons per year of PET. The facility is scheduled to come on-line in the fourth quarter of 2017. Loop's technology uses...

A move by the European Commission has allowed for the sale of a thermoplastic co-polyester in food-contact packaging. That plastic, called Akestra, can also be used with recycled PET to boost its properties. The European Commission on Sept. 14 added a key monomer in Akestra to its list of materials approved for food-contact packaging. Now, all components of Akestra are...

The largest garbage and recycling companies in North America say they saw significant revenue boosts from rising values for recovered materials. Waste Management, Republic Services and Waste Connections each reported higher recycling revenues, stemming largely from higher recovered material values. Waste Management and Republic both reported increases during the second quarter, as well. The following is a breakdown of revenues...