An area of Ontario has been able to significantly cut down on tonnages of recovered glass it sends to disposal, thanks to equipment upgrades made possible through the Continuous Improvement Fund. In 2014, Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) funding was used to help the Regional Municipality of Niagara (Niagara Region) make an investment of roughly 250,000 Canadian dollars (around $192,000) in...

The first half of the year showed few upticks in volume or price for exported recyclables. In June, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 355.43 million pounds, a decrease of 14.9 percent from May 2016 export levels. When matched against June 2015 levels, the volume of plastic scrap exports in the month was...

David Steiner is OK feeling the wrath of some recycling professionals – as long it leads to better business. "We believe the recycling industry needs to change and it is changing," the Waste Management CEO said in the keynote address at this week's Resource Recycling Conference in New Orleans. "Our leadership position led to criticism, but if it leads to...

The 2016 Resource Recycling Conference took a direct look at some of the toughest issues facing recycling, but sector leaders also made it clear that by working together, materials diversion can remain vibrant. The conference's opening plenary session was called "Curbside Enthusiasm" and featured speakers representing a range of players in the recycling chain. One of the top takeaways was...

Exported recovered plastics recently saw prices increase 12 percent year-over-year. Volumes, however, remain down. In June, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 355.43 million pounds, a decrease of 14.9 percent from May 2016 export levels. When matched against June 2015 levels, the volume of plastic scrap exports in the month was down by...

Industry exports saw a jump in volume of nearly 4 percent from April 2016, but totals are off significantly from a year ago. In May, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 417.46 million pounds, an increase of 3.9 percent from April 2016 export levels. When matched against May 2015 levels, however, the volume...

Price and volume totals for the exports of most materials continue to lag levels from a year ago. In May, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 417.46 million pounds, an increase of 3.9 percent from April 2016 export levels. When matched against May 2015 levels, however, the volume of plastic scrap exports in...

The leader of Vadxx Energy says his company is close to starting up a plant capable of consuming 25,000 tons of plastic material annually. Vadxx CEO Jim Garrett said in an interview the company has completed construction of a roughly $20 million facility in Akron, Ohio that will take in plastics that would otherwise head to landfill. The company will...

Sector export figures for January 2016 show a drop of just under 4 percent when compared with January 2015 levels. In January, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 265.79 million pounds, a decrease of 13.0 percent from export levels for the previous month, December 2015. When matched against January 2015 levels, the volume...

You can say this about the leaders of Oregon-based Agilyx: They don't shy away from a challenge. Several years ago the company launched with plans to create oil from low-value, post-consumer plastics, something no other company had managed to cost-effectively achieve. Now, with global petroleum prices in a prolonged slump, the theoretical price advantage of oil created from alternative sources...