Avangard Innovative, which for years has managed commercial recycling streams and sold scrap to manufacturers, is gearing up to play a larger role in resin production. The Houston-based company will construct a $10 million facility for recycling polyethylene film into LDPE pellets to produce new film. The company announced the new plant on Monday, concurrent with the Plastics Recycling 2017...

China’s recent crackdown on imports of e-scrap and other materials has exposed smuggling operations, led to dozens of arrests and resulted in the confiscation of more than 22,000 tons of material. Three weeks in, the effort often translated into English as “National Sword 2017” is being regarded as an updated iteration of Chinese customs policies that have had major recycling...

Most people agree electronics should be recycled rather than thrown away, but consensus quickly evaporates when discussing how the costs should be paid. "Figuring out how to pay for recycling electronics is difficult," said Sarah Murray, coordinator of Wisconsin's E-Cycle program, during a recent webinar. "Our goal is generally to have it be more toward the consumer of the electronics...

China's recent crackdown on scrap imports has exposed smuggling operations, led to dozens of arrests and resulted in the confiscation of more than 22,000 tons of material. Three weeks in, the effort often translated into English as "National Sword 2017" is being regarded as an updated iteration of Chinese customs policies that have had major recycling repercussions in recent years,...

Wood-alternative manufacturer Trex closed 2016 with record sales and earnings, but the company doesn't plan any significant changes to its downsized recycled polyethylene pellet business. Overall, Winchester, Va.-based Trex posted $480 million in net sales in 2016, a 9 percent increase over 2015, company officials announced in a Feb. 21 conference call. The publicly traded company saw 13 percent sales...

Connecticut's governor proposes to double the state's 5-cent deposit, while legislation advancing in Iowa's legislature aims to kill the deposit program altogether. Boosting deposits Connecticut's carbonated beverage container deposit would double and generate substantially more revenue for the state, under the governor's proposed budget. According to the budget document, the deposit would double from 5 cents to 10 cents beginning...

In a departure from the beverage giant's long-standing position, Coca-Cola has announced its support for a container deposit program in the United Kingdom. In a statement last week, the company described conversations with experts and polling results, which convinced company officials "that the time is right to trial new interventions such as a well-designed deposit scheme for drinks containers, starting...

China's recent crackdown on scrap material imports has exposed smuggling operations, led to dozens of arrests and resulted in the confiscation of more than 22,000 tons of material. Three weeks in, the effort often translated into English as "National Sword 2017" is being regarded as an updated iteration of Chinese customs policies that have had major recycling repercussions in recent...

A proposal to give Connecticut's environmental agency the authority to create stewardship programs for a range of products has drawn substantial opposition from key recycling industry stakeholders. House Bill 7067 would authorize the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to create extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs as the agency's commissioner sees fit. He or she would identify which goods are...

A Department of Homeland Security-sponsored campaign now counts ERI among its educators. ERI has joined the Stop. Think. Connect. Campaign, which is in its seventh year of providing tips and resources to fight cyber crime by encouraging stronger security measures among the public. The campaign was created by a coalition of private companies, nonprofits and government organizations and is led...