A jewelry and bullion wholesaler and retailer is in talks to purchase Texas-based Elemetal Recycling, part of precious metals company Elemetal. If a deal is reached, DGSE Companies would acquire Elemetal's recycling operations, which include a 175,000-square-foot processing facility in Carrollton, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Elemetal Recycling, previously known as Echo Environmental, is a large-scale processor of circuit boards and...

A new report emphasizes improved collection and separation efforts - which lead to higher recycling rates - as a key way to prevent plastics from entering water bodies. In "The Next Wave: Investment Strategies for Plastic Free Seas," nonprofit organization Ocean Conservatory and a number of industry stakeholders recommend improvements along all stages of the waste management process. "Increasing the collection...

National politics have taken the spotlight over the past few months, but impactful decisions are being made at the state level as legislatures convene. Resource Recycling spoke with a handful of state recycling organization leaders across the country to gauge their experiences during this legislative season. Although specific bills vary widely by state, multiple organizations report feeling uncertainty regarding proposals...

Former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is the new leader of the U.S. EPA. Although he was confirmed by the Senate and took the reins Feb. 17, Pruitt's appointment has been criticized by a number of opponents, including hundreds of former agency staffers. Pruitt was confirmed on a 52-46 Senate vote last week to head the country's top environmental regulatory...

A community in Wyoming will end its e-scrap recycling program and instead send electronics to a local landfill -- even though a city ordinance prohibits disposal of those materials. The City Council of Casper, Wyo. voted last week to reject a contract for e-scrap recycling, citing what they saw as its high cost and relative unimportance. "It looks to me like we're...

A stockpile of CRT glass in the Midwest has caught the attention of the U.S. EPA and led state regulators to suspend an e-scrap company's license to accept the material. Recycletronics, an electronics recycling company based in Sioux City, Iowa, was forced to stop accepting CRT devices Jan. 17. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said it wouldn't renew...

Plastic products sold in California with "biodegradable" and "compostable" printed on their labels cost Walmart nearly $1 million in a settlement earlier this month. County district attorneys say the world's largest retailer ran afoul of a California law that bans products labeled "biodegradable" and requires those using the word "compostable" to meet ASTM compostability standards. Walmart is not the first...

An increasing number of grocery chains are recycling rigid plastic containers through back-of-store programs, providing a clean source of HDPE and PP for reclaimers. The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has tracked 25 national grocery chains -- or about 15,000 stores -- since launching its outreach project, which aims to promote back-of-house plastic recycling at grocery stores. The project started five years...

Nashville, Tenn. leaders have identified increased recycling as a key component of improving the city's livability. Under draft recommendations released last week, the capital of the Volunteer State would strive to raise its residential and commercial diversion rate to 35 percent in the next three years. The city would aim to hit 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by...

CarbonLite, a reclaimer producing food-grade recycled PET, will double its processing capacity this year with the construction of a $62 million facility in Dallas. The company already operates a major PET bottle recycling facility in the Los Angeles area. The largest buyers of its recycled PET pellets are Nestlé Waters North America and PepsiCo, which use them in new drink...