Switching to compostable food-service packaging can dramatically increase food scrap diversion rates, but only if it's coupled with sufficient infrastructure and instruction. That was a chief takeaway from a study the Foodservice Packaging Institute released Jan. 19. Successful food-service composting programs largely boil down to simplicity, the report suggests. Consumers tend to compost more when they can quickly understand where...

The City of Columbus, Ohio recently received an indicator of current recycling market struggles, when its yard debris and recycling hauler quoted a price nearly 50 percent higher for the city's next municipal collection contract. Rising collection costs are a familiar story around the country, and the notably higher figures submitted by Rumpke Waste & Recycling in Columbus offer a prime...

An industry training and awareness program focused on vehicle safety kicked off Monday, just weeks after a report showed that occupational deaths among collectors were on the rise in 2015. The Safety Stand Down on Vehicle Backing is the latest in a recurring safety series led by the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA). Each week-long episode pinpoints a specific...

E-scrap generation grew 63 percent in east and Southeast Asian countries in five years, a comprehensive study has found. Some nations are ill-equipped to handle that increase. Why the substantial rise e-scrap volumes? "Regional E-waste Monitor: East and Southeast Asia," authored by researchers at United Nations University, found that the biggest contributor is simply more electronics being produced and more...

Two Indiana recycling companies have received state grants to expand recovery programs for what are often considered hard-to-recycle plastic materials. Indianapolis-based East-Terra Plastics will receive $250,000 for its role in building a statewide agricultural plastics recovery system. The ag plastics category covers a host of products, notably plastic film that farmers use to protect crops, and numerous types of plastic...

Washington, D.C. is taking steps toward its newly adopted goal of decreasing the amount of material it sends to disposal. One hurdle was completed last week with the release of the District's first solid waste diversion report. The District's citywide residential diversion rate was nearly 21 percent during the 2015 fiscal year, according to the report. That rate includes waste...