In April, readers were drawn to stories about expansions taking place in Illinois, Mexico and Nebraska. | Nixx Photography/Shutterstock
California’s PCR mandate compliance and the overall state of plastics recycling were among the topics that drew our readers’ interest last month.
The list below shows our top stories published in April in terms of unique page views.
1 | Which brands hit or missed California’s PCR mandate
Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo and other big beverage brands achieved California’s mandate to use 15% PCR in their bottles last year, but the list of smaller brands that failed to hit the target – or even report data to the state – stretches over 500 companies long.
2 | US plastics recycling rebounds from pandemic lows
The U.S. plastic bottle recycling rate was 28.2% in 2021, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to an industry report released April 11.
3 | Nebraska plastic-to-lumber operation comes on-line
Firstar Fiber’s in-house plastic-to-lumber operation is up and running, turning materials collected in orange bags at the curb into plastic composite lumber. The operation also recently survived a fire scare.
4 | Central Mexico PET plant to add third line
Packaging manufacturer Envases Universales is expanding its recycling facility in Central Mexico from an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons to 100,000 metric tons by the end of 2024.
5 | Illinois chemical recycling plant moving forward
A partnership between Agilyx, Technip Energies and INEOS Styrolution is slated to bring up to 100 tons per day of polystyrene chemical recycling capacity to Illinois by 2025.
