COVID impacts and ongoing trends in the materials stream made a major impact on the North Carolina state e-scrap program last year.

Lithium-ion battery recyclers are moving forward with new facilities, with Li-Cycle bringing a plant on-line and Blue Whale Materials announcing plans for five plants in the U.S. and Europe.

Recycled-plastic decking manufacturers are responding to strong markets for their products by expanding production capacity, including UFP buying reclaimer Cedar Poly and Fiberon breaking ground on a facility in Tennessee.

While many industry leaders praised the recent passage of a Colorado bill establishing extended producer responsibility for printed paper and packaging, others are calling for Gov. Jared Polis to veto it.

The co-founders of Polycarbin met in medical school, on track to become plastic surgeons. That's a point of irony now, they said, as their lab plastics recycling business continues to grow.

While many industry leaders praised the recent passage of a Colorado bill establishing extended producer responsibility for printed paper and packaging, others are calling for Gov. Jared Polis to veto it.

The value of curbside recyclables dropped again in the first quarter of 2022, according to a newly released bale study. But pricing remained higher than what was seen during the same period last year.

A California bill would create an extended producer responsibility program for batteries and battery-embedded products.

As aspirations for a circular economy continue to gain traction, some financial index providers are urging investors to take notice of what they call an emerging opportunity.

More than two dozen researchers and e-scrap experts from nine countries are calling for a global extended producer responsibility system that ensures European producers take care of e-scrap after it's exported.