A Chicago man who who provided a free polystyrene collection service has been forced to end operations. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, Ken Santowski used his trucking business to provide the service. He organized 10 public drop-off sites in Illinois's McHenry County, located just northwest of Chicago. He targeted areas that had no access to polystyrene recycling...

The New York City Department of Sanitation and Business Integrity Commission released a report last week recommending the City adopt a franchise-zoning system for commercial waste and recycling collection. The move still needs to be approved by the City Council, which is expected to happen. But even after that, the program would likely be years away. Under a franchise system,...

A recent survey revealed Massachusetts residents were committed to recycling but that they didn't have a firm grasp on what should be put in the bin. That research sparked a pilot program between three cities in Massachusetts and The Recycling Partnership to reduce confusion at the curb. "Contamination is money thrown away," said Keefe Harrison, executive director of The Recycling...

National parks welcome more than 300 million visitors each year, but less than half of those people actually separate their recyclables from their trash before leaving. That is one of the findings in the Subaru National Park Survey, conducted in partnership with National Parks Conservation Association. The research ties into this year's celebration of the centennial of the National Park...

An electronics manufacturers group is holding a contest to spur research into electronics and applicance recovery in the U.K.The initiative is being spearheaded by the Joint Trades Association and is making nearly $60,000 available for potential projects.Ideas must be applicable across the entire United Kingdom. They also must support the European Union goal of achieving a 65 percent e-scrap collection...

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is asking local governments and electronics recycling stakeholders whether appliances, toys and other items should be added to the jurisdiction's extended producer responsibility program.An online survey from the Saskatchewan Electronic Products Recycling Association specifically mentions internet modems and servers, e-readers, large and small appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators, coffeemakers and hairdryers. It even asks whether...

An industry group has determined the U.K.'s plastics recycling rate is around 33 percent. The report found that 3.6 million tons of plastic material was generated in 2013. Of that, about one-third was recycled and the rest, 2.4 million tons, was thrown into a landfill or burned for energy, which is not considered recycling. The research was undertaken by Waste...

A startup based in Richmond, Calif. is making polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) plastic out of organic material. While the innovative process is in the very early stages, the company hopes it makes a major impact on plastics packaging. PHA plastic was first developed in the 1980s. Traditionally, the feedstock for the material has been corn sugars or seed oil. However, Full Cycle...

Food processors, farms and municipalities all have felt pressures to send less organic material to landfills. They could eventually get help from a startup in California that is turning organics into biodegradable plastic. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) plastic was first developed in the 1980s. The fully biodegradable polymer is produced by bacteria, and traditionally, the feedstock for the material has been corn...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expanding its Energy Star Portfolio Manager, allowing the commercial and institutional sector to make more informed choices about materials management. Managers and owners of commercial buildings, including schools, stadiums and medical facilities, already use the portfolio manager to track things like energy consumption, water use and greenhouse gas emissions. Now, it can also be...