More than 100 government and corporate recycling leaders convened in Chattanooga, Tenn. to assess where the recycling industry stands in terms of data collection and analysis, and to generate recommendations on what new measurement steps need to be taken. A key analytical tool Over time, one data platform has emerged as the primary tool used by state data collectors. The...

Members of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) convened last week in conjunction with Plastics Recycling 2018 to talk about key issues affecting polymer recovery. The APR event, held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., had record attendance. The following topics were covered at the meeting: Global plastics protocol harmonization The association has a long...

Credit: Joao Estevao A. de Freitas The value of recovered circuit boards has risen in recent months, much to the delight of e-scrap reclaimers. Smelters and refiners are offering more for metal-containing boards because they are being paid more for their products. Gold recently moved to an 18-month high in price, at around $1,340 per ounce. At the same time,...

Data from the sale of recyclable plastic bottles and aluminum cans in early December suggest the value of recovered packaging will end the year in a slightly weak position. Buyers of truckloads of baled plastic containers on the East Coast are offering approximately 33 cents to 34 cents per pound for HDPE natural bottles. Pigmented PE bottles are going for...

Industry consolidation and soft metal and plastics markets resulted in a decline in membership by e-scrap processors in the last year in the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. E-Scrap News annually looks at ISRI’s membership rolls to find out how many pure-play North American e-scrap firms join the organization (we recognize that a good number of nonferrous scrap processors also...

Nearly 300 IT product refurbishing experts convened in New Orleans this week to consider industry trends and to address barriers to growth. The event was the 14th annual Electronics Reuse Conference, now operated by the consulting firm E-Reuse Services. The following is a rundown of conference session highlights. Microsoft provides an update A successful computer resale operation requires that the...

A confluence of factors has led logistics experts to predict that American firms, including those in the recycling industry, will experience higher over-the-road shipping costs in the next six months. The current truckload market is already the tightest in four years. The largest issue is a growing economy. Trucking lines continue to struggle with securing enough drivers to fill demand,...

A confluence of factors has led logistics experts to predict that American firms, including those in the recycling industry, will experience higher over-the-road shipping costs in the next six months. The current truckload market is already the tightest in four years. The largest issue is a growing economy. Trucking lines continue to struggle with securing enough drivers to fill demand,...

A confluence of factors has led logistics experts to predict that American firms, including those in the recycling industry, will experience higher over-the-road shipping costs in the next six months. The current truckload market is already the tightest in four years. The largest issue is a growing economy. Trucking lines continue to struggle with securing enough drivers to fill demand,...

This week's gathering of the Association of Plastic Recyclers saw strong attendance in Pittsburgh as it linked up with a conference held by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC). Attendees learned about a number of new initiatives and projects aimed at boosting plastics recycling and packaging sustainability. More than 400 executives came to Pennsylvania for the combined event. APR expands testing...