Italian melt filter company Fimic has developed a filter technology to tackle a tough plastics stream: PVC from electrical cables. "Electric cables have always been a material particularly difficult to sort and recycle, not only for the characteristics of the material itself, which is very easy to degrade and needs to be processed with attention, but also for the high...

A research and development facility that recently opened in Europe aims to transform reclaimed plastics into higher-value applications.   Plastics recycling company Interseroh opened what it calls its Competence Centre for Recycled Plastics in northeastern Slovenia, a small central European country tucked between Austria, Croatia, Italy and Hungary. Interseroh is a division of German environmental services company Alba Group. The...

Unifi's new PET recycling plant uses advanced dry de-labeling equipment and a host of optical sorters to generate a clean feedstock for fiber manufacturing. The Reidsville, N.C. facility relies on sortation and washing equipment from two major recycling equipment companies, Bulk Handling Systems and Amut. The $28 million investment helps synthetic yarn manufacturer Unifi move further upstream to control feedstock...

Existing sortation equipment at materials recovery facilities could potentially be used to create bales of flexible film packaging, a study found. And an industry group is targeting the material with a grant program. Consulting and research firm Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) recently released the results of a project exploring flexible packaging sortation at materials recovery facilities (MRFs). The research, conducted...

An upcoming update to the RIOS certification will include stronger health and safety requirements and a greater focus on the global recycling industry. The Global Recycling Standards Organization, home of the RIOS standard (Recycling Industry Operating Standard) announced that licensed copies of RIOS:2016 will be sent to active members on Nov. 1. RIOS:2016 is a certification program covering the areas...

A bill in Michigan restricting local governments from imposing bans or fees on bags or containers has been gaining traction. A committee in the state's House of Representatives on Tuesday, Sept. 20 advanced Senate Bill 0853. The legislation, which previously passed the Senate, would prevent local governments in the Great Lakes State from banning or imposing fees on plastic bags or...

By tweaking existing equipment, materials recovery facilities could reduce the amount of flexible film packaging landing in their fiber bales, an industry study concluded. Additionally, while clean bales of flexible films are not yet a reality, equipment testing gave researchers hope high-quality bales of the material could be created in the future. Consulting and research firm Resource Recycling Systems (RRS)...

The National Recycling Coalition gave 10 organizational and individual awards this year, including one to a woman who played an instrumental role in reinvigorating the organization. The coalition has also elected a new slate of board members. The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) gave Meg Morris of Covanta Energy the 2016 Lifetime Achievement in Recycling award. A longtime board member who...

The repair site iFixit has offered kudos to Apple's newest phone for ease of battery access and criticism for the addition of tri-point screws. The electronics repair group recently executed a tear-down to determine how easy Apple's new mobile phone is to repair for resale. In iFixit's 1 to 10 scale (with 10 the easiest to repair), the latest iPhone...

An upcoming update to the RIOS certification will include stronger health and safety requirements and a greater focus on the global recycling industry. The Global Recycling Standards Organization, home of the RIOS standard (Recycling Industry Operating Standard) announced that licensed copies of RIOS:2016 will be sent to active members on Nov. 1. RIOS:2016 is a certification program covering the areas...