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Author Archives: Antoinette Smith

About Antoinette Smith

Antoinette Smith started working for Resource Recycling in June 2024 after spending several years covering commodity plastics and supply chains, with a special focus on economic impacts. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Republic Services unveils Indianapolis polymer complex

Published: March 19, 2025
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The hauler has been pre-buying post-consumer bales from across the Midwest for several months for the complex, which features a Polymer Center and the Blue Polymers resin production plant. | Photo courtesy Republic Services

Republic Services officially opened its Indianapolis plastics recycling complex this week, marking the hauler’s entry into the recycled plastic resin market and continuing its expansion from supplying bales to processing and converting the plastics reclaimed within. Continue Reading

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PP bale prices continue northward trek

Published: March 19, 2025
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Polypropylene bale pricing has risen to levels not seen since August 2022, largely attributed to increasing demand for use in food-contact packaging. | Retan/Shutterstock

Post-consumer PP bale pricing has continued to rise in March, reflecting trends in recycled content adoption and potentially encouraging MRFs to sort for the polymer.  Continue Reading

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3R Technology working on first US e-plastics site

Published: March 12, 2025
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3R’s U.S. facility plans to offer a domestic processing option for portions of the e-scrap stream that are increasingly difficult to export. | Photo courtesy Basel Action Network

3R Technology California is getting ready to open up shop at its first U.S. location in the Southern California city of Riverbank. The company processes e-plastics into clean, separated flake to help keep e-plastics in the U.S.  Continue Reading

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Materials traceability tools add PCR accountability, trust

Published: March 12, 2025
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Traceability tools can act as a scorecard, providing proof that recycling works and helping counter an often one-sided narrative in consumer media outlets. | 9dream Studio/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Learn more about traceability technology and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland.  Continue Reading

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Nova commissioning first US film recycling plant

Published: March 5, 2025
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Partners Novolex and Nova Chemicals are proactively working to increase feedstock supply for the new Indiana facility, which can process 140 million pounds a year of LLDPE film. | Antoinette Smith/Resource Recycling

Editor’s note: Learn more about accelerating film recycling and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland.  Continue Reading

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PureCycle maintains price expectations for its R-PP resin

Published: March 5, 2025
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Closeup of plastic resins of various colors.

The company’s flagship plant in Ironton, Ohio, is experiencing fewer and less serious issues, amid rapidly growing interest in the chemically recycled resin. | XXL Photo/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Learn more about food-grade recycled PP and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. 

Continue Reading

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Chemical recycling projects receive backing

Published: February 26, 2025
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PET bales stacked for recycling.

Three companies announced funding and other progress toward building chemical recycling capacity. | Menzl Guenter/Shutterstock

Several companies recently announced progress toward chemical recycling capacity, including a developing method to recycle PET that could require much less energy. Continue Reading

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Price spread between color, natural HDPE at record high

Published: February 26, 2025
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The price spread between the two grades of HDPE bales stood at 85.07 cents per pound for February, according to RecyclingMarkets.net data, the highest level the index has tracked in seven years. | Jared Paben/Resource Recycling

The price spread between natural and color HDPE reached a record high in February, as natural bales pricing increased while mixed-color bales remained near historic lows.  Continue Reading

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RPET imports raise industry concerns

Published: February 20, 2025
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Cargo containers stacked at a logistics hub.

Scrap PET imports rose faster than overall scrap plastic imports did last year, continuing what has been an emerging challenge for the domestic plastics recycling industry. | S Oleg/Shutterstock

Domestic RPET market participants have struggled to compete with inexpensive imported material for nearly two years. But the lack of a specific Harmonized Tariff System code obscures the scale of the issue even as PET’s share of scrap imports surpassed 50%.  Continue Reading

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Durable goods companies offer construction outlooks

Published: February 20, 2025
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Executives at Advanced Drainage Systems, Mohawk Industries and Azek shared expectations for 2025 housing and construction activity during recent investor calls. | Mega Pixel/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Learn more about durable goods and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland.  Continue Reading

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