Experts in product stewardship for plastic items and other materials convened in Montreal last week to review the opportunities and challenges confronting current materials recovery initiatives. The attendees at the Conference on Canadian Stewardship were provided both sobering and optimistic assessments of changes in how makers of packaging and products are involved in recovering obsolete items, such as electronics, paint,...

Experts in product stewardship convened in Montreal last week to review the opportunities and challenges confronting current materials recovery initiatives. The attendees at the Conference on Canadian Stewardship were provided both sobering and optimistic assessments of changes in how makers of packaging and products are involved in recovering obsolete items, such as electronics, paint, motor oil and recyclables collected from...

This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Resource Recycling. Subscribe today for access to all print content.   With the volume of recovered plastics and other materials rising and with more large materials recovery facilities (MRFs) coming on-line, the use of optical systems to sort plastics by resin and color is becoming more common. Such demand and...

Robotics may come to play a large role in the MRF setting during the next decade, driven by their ability to provide high-quality output and raise bale values. But there are other important technology changes afoot in sortation lines, according to a processing expert. In a presentation at last week's annual Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania conference, Nat Egosi, CEO of...

Early reports from auctions of recyclable plastic and aluminum packaging for August show some prices moving up slightly, while others fell back. The value of PE scrap varies by grade. Bales of HDPE natural containers are being procured at about 29 cents per pound (truckload of bales picked up in the eastern U.S.), down about 6 percent from the previous...

As the weather heats up, sellers of recovered plastic and aluminum packaging are seeing flat to weaker pricing for their bales. Shippers of polyethylene and PET bottles say the value of recovered material remains flat. Materials recovery facility managers note that the price paid for natural HDPE bottles remains stuck at about 30 to 31 cents per pound (price paid...

Small collection facilities that run their recyclables through compactors before shipping them to larger processing centers can realize considerable cost savings, a Canadian organization has shown. The Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) in Ontario has provided partial funding for numerous compactors to be used in smaller communities. CIF is a joint industry-government initiative funded by brand owners as part of the...

Why are paper recycling prices at near-record levels? The answer boils down to uncertainties in the Chinese market and strong demand at home. The prevalent paper-price factor pointed to by many observers is the effort by Chinese custom officials to halt the inflow of recovered materials that contain high levels of non-recyclables is working. For example, Steve Wong, chairman of...

Operators of residential recycling programs report up-and-down pricing moves for recovered plastic and aluminum packaging. With temperatures improving and can volumes rising, buyers of baled aluminum cans were able to push prices at the start of June down by more than two cents per pound. Cans are now valued at about 68 cents per pound (truckload of bales picked up...

This story originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Plastics Recycling Update. Subscribe today for access to all print content.   With the volume of recovered plastics rising and with more large materials recovery facilities (MRFs) coming on-line, the use of optical systems to sort plastics by resin and color is becoming more common. Such demand and investment from processors...