Two industry groups have released reports examining plastic packaging recycling in Europe and where it’s headed. Europe saw across-the-board increases in PET collection and recycling last year, according to Petcore Europe. The continent reached 59.8 percent PET container diversion in 2016, up from 57 percent two years earlier. Collection volume grew by 7 percent since 2014 to hit nearly 1.88...

The federal tax bill that passed Congress this week retains tax incentives and exemptions that could boost the recycling sector. The final bill text was released on Friday, Dec. 15, after several days of negotiations to secure key votes in the House and Senate. The chambers previously approved their own tax bills, both of which contained provisions lauded by groups...

A key unknown during the Congressional tax negotiations was the fate of tax-exempt private activity bonds, which are frequently utilized in the solid waste and recycling industry. They are retained in the final tax bill. Provisions related to the bonds were eliminated in the House proposal but retained in the Senate version. Under the revised bill released on Friday, Dec....

Multiple industry associations have renewed calls for China to reconsider its import restrictions in the weeks leading up to the country’s planned ban on certain recovered materials entering the country. The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) sent remarks to the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the...

The federal tax bill before Congress this week retains tax incentives and exemptions that could boost the recycling sector. The final bill text was released on Friday, Dec. 15, after several days of negotiations to secure key votes in the House and Senate. The chambers previously approved their own tax bills, both of which contained provisions lauded by groups as...

A key unknown during the Congressional tax negotiations was the fate of tax-exempt private activity bonds, which are frequently utilized in the solid waste and recycling industry. It now appears they'll be retained. Provisions related to the bonds were eliminated in the House proposal but retained in the Senate version. Under the revised bill released on Friday, Dec. 15, tax...

Pratt Industries plans to break ground on a sizable recycled containerboard mill in the Midwest next year, a move that’s part of the company’s vertical integration strategy. To be sited in Wapakoneta, Ohio, the facility will have an initial capacity to produce roughly 181,000 tons per year of recycled linerboard and corrugated medium, according to project documents the company submitted...

A Midwest e-scrap processor has expanded into a larger facility based on recent growth, particularly on the reuse side of the business. Lafayette, Ind.-based Oscar Winski Company has moved its electronics recycling division, OWCe, into an expanded space alongside the company’s logistics operation. The company has operated for more than 100 years as a scrap metal processor and launched the...

China is unprepared to effectively roll out and enforce its planned Jan. 1 ban on imports of certain recyclables, according to recycling leaders who recently traveled to the country in search of answers. Chinese regulators are still struggling to determine what constitutes waste versus a usable resource, and the very agency tasked with inspecting incoming loads is unable to answer...

There is growing chatter that China’s ban on imports of many recovered plastics will grow the country’s demand for virgin resins. In late November, markets publication S&P Global Platt’s reported on the annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association meeting, an industry conference attended by many virgin polymer producers. CEOs of three petrochemical companies told the publication the Chinese scrap ban...