The number of deaths among refuse and recyclable materials collectors went up last year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33 people were killed in 2015. In the report from the federal agency, refuse and recyclable materials collection is the fifth most dangerous job in the U.S. In 2015, most of the deaths, 24, were in the private sector...

A nonprofit e-scrap recycling firm is shutting down at the end of the month due to low commodity prices and lack of business. Secure Recycling Services (SRS) is located in Dixon, Ill., about 100 miles west of Chicago. When SRS opened, it had 20 employees, mostly veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or people with disabilities, who were trained to disassemble electronics....

The state of Wisconsin is pleased with how its e-scrap program is going, but officials said in a recent report the program needs to be amended for the successes to continue. E-Cycle Wisconsin started in 2010. It is an extended producer responsibility law where manufacturers of TVs, computers, monitors and printers must register the brands sold in the state. The...

A new report predicts the IT asset disposition (ITAD) market will grow by an average of nearly 10 percent each year through 2022, an increase driven largely by mobile devices. The report by Research and Markets says the mobile device market will grow the fastest due to an increasing number of offices going mobile: More and more employees are using...

United Nations University (UNU) recently released a report on possible uses for CRT glass, but even the report authors want to see more research conducted. The study specifically addressed disposal and recycling options for CRT leaded glass and whether it can replace raw materials. But researchers found most of the options in the report weren't viable long term. "More than...

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is about more than just the latest TVs, smartphones and gadgets. This year’s event also showcased technologies in robotics, health care and plastics recycling. Canadian startup ReDeTec was one of the 10 semi-finalists in the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), a funding competition that happened at CES (one of the world's largest trade shows) in Las Vegas last week....

After several weeks spent considering a handful of candidates, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt has served as the Oklahoma attorney general since 2010. During his time in office, he has sued the EPA several times in an attempt to overturn federal regulations on coal, fracking and...

This story originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of Resource Recycling. Subscribe today for access to all print content. In the current era of low commodities pricing and lighter products filling curbside carts, recycling processing companies are having a harder and harder time making a profit. This phenomenon has materials recovery facilities (MRFs) thinking of ways to lower costs,...

The City of Los Angeles has approved commercial franchise hauling zones after more than two years of planning. Proponents say the change puts the nation's second largest city on the path to achieving a 90 percent diversion rate by 2025. The plan passed unanimously. "I applaud all of our City Council and community advocates who have remained steadfast on this...

The state of Vermont is celebrating, after declaring its universal recycling law successful. Act 148 includes a disposal ban on certain materials and requires universal recycling access. According to a recent status report, disposal decreased 5 percent from 2014 to 2015 and recycling and composting increased by 2 percent. The report also says food donations to the Vermont Foodbank grew...