China has issued its latest round of import permits for scrap paper and plastics, and approved volumes remain particularly low on the plastics side. Meanwhile, a separate data set shows stark year-over-year declines in imports during the first two months of 2018. The most recent permits, the 10th round this year from China, were issued Monday. They approve the import...

Many recycling associations are preparing for their biggest gatherings of the year, and three group leaders recently explained how China-related market disruptions will be tackled at their events. The state association representatives also put the current export turmoil in historical context. Although 2013's Green Fence campaign in China was a precursor to the current situation, for some groups, last summer’s...

Researchers have looked at how the costs of e-scrap processing stack up against virgin mining, and their findings indicate recycling is more efficient for some key metals. The analysis, completed by professors Jinhui Li and Xianlai Zeng of Tsinghua University in Beijing and professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Sydney, shows economic upsides in recovering gold and copper from...

Most e-scrap managers know not to shred mobile devices that contain lithium-ion batteries. But it turns out fires are a threat even when disassembly procedures are utilized. In a recent webinar hosted by the U.S. EPA, e-scrap facility operators joined representatives from industry groups and a regulatory agency to talk about the ongoing lithium-ion (LI) battery challenge and offer some...

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have come closer to directly impacting the plastics recycling industry. China’s Ministry of Commerce on April 4 issued a list of 106 U.S. products that could be subject to a 25 percent tariff on shipments into China. The list includes various forms of PE, PET, PVC, polycarbonate and a number of plastic products....

A major portion of the single-stream mix has fallen sharply from record high prices a year ago. Industry stakeholders recently opened up on the factors behind the shift, and how it’s impacting U.S. recycling operations. The national average for U.S. domestic OCC prices has dropped from about $160 per ton in March 2017 to $74 per ton currently. It fell...

North Carolina-based Plastic Revolutions is expanding to separate certain resins from mixed plastic bales, a response to growing supply as China's import policies take hold. Plastic Revolutions, located in Reidsville, N.C., has invested $600,000 and is adding 35 jobs in order to sort Nos. 1-7 plastic bales. Ed Handy, vice president and general manager of Plastic Revolutions, shared details about...

There’s a growing worry among MRF operators, and it has nothing to do with commodity markets: Lithium-ion batteries are causing fires and explosions at facilities nationwide. Although experts agree the issue has not been studied conclusively, operators report increasing instances of battery fires at recycling facilities across the country. The problem has grown so substantial that, during a presentation last...

Budget shortfalls are a reality for state programs nationwide, and in Maryland, the strain is increasingly being felt at the county level. The Maryland Recycling Network (MRN) recently held a webinar that featured Kitty McIlroy, project analyst for the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority (NWMDA), which manages electronics recycling contracts for a handful of Maryland jurisdictions. She said that despite...

India opened the door last week to imports of products that will be repaired and re-exported out the country, a move that could have significant implications for the electronics reuse sector. According to an order from India’s Director General of Foreign Trade, a new category of secondhand goods has been added to the country’s foreign trade policy. It allows the...