Back to Top

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].

Dow execs talk PE production during bleak earnings call

Published: July 30, 2025
Updated:
by

Despite a three-year downturn, Dow and others are starting up vast new capacity for virgin PE resin, exacerbating the disadvantage for recycled HDPE. | Richard Frazier/Shutterstock

Despite being entrenched in what the CEO described as “one of the longest downturns our industry has experienced,” chemical and polymer company Dow has started up new virgin PE resin capacity geared toward packaging for food and for health and hygiene, executives said during a quarterly investor call.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

New report explores the future of CPG packaging goals

Published: July 23, 2025
Updated:
by
recycling plastics packaging

As brand owners face the realities of their 2025 voluntary sustainability targets, report author Jim Owen of RaboResearch predicts that recycled-content goals will become more pragmatic and lean more heavily on legislation. | Photka/Shutterstock

A new report from RaboResearch explores the factors behind brand owners’ retreat from 2025 packaging recycled content goals – and provides a look at the path ahead. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

Analysis shines spotlight on New Jersey bag ban

Published: July 16, 2025
Updated:
by
Reusable plastic bags on a table.

Analysis from a Closed Loop consortium studied numerous state-level methods for reducing bag waste and informed considerations for policymakers. | The Image Party/Shutterstock

A new report on state-level single-use bag laws indicates that New Jersey’s ban has had numerous effects, both positive and negative.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

Unifi pushes for textile recycling progress

Published: July 16, 2025
Updated:
by

Despite gains made in recycled content, textile manufacturing faces unique challenges, a Unifi executive said during a recent APR podcast. | Photo Courtesy of Unifi

Editor’s Note: Mark your calendar for the 2026 Textile Recovery Summit, Feb. 23-25 in Chula Vista, California.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , , |

PET Recycling Coalition doubles down on thermoforms

Published: July 9, 2025
Updated:
by
Pile of empty plastic packaging containers.

Despite making gains in PET recycling, the Coalition acknowledges that its goals require more industry support. | Konektus Photo/Shutterstock

Since forming in 2022, the PET Recycling Coalition has worked to increase PET bottle recycling rates and access to curbside recycling for non-bottle materials, including thermoforms.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , , |

EPA withdraws proposed rules aimed at chemical recycling

Published: July 8, 2025
Updated:
by

Federal rules attempting to regulate new recycling processes and potential contaminants continued a back-and-forth that has lasted at least five years. | John Hanson Pye/Shutterstock

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn rules first proposed by the Biden administration that addressed chemical recycling and had attracted significant industry opposition.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

Malaysia’s import ban ‘very much up in the air’

Published: July 2, 2025
Updated:
by

Although a total ban on U.S. scrap plastic took hold July 1, a sell-side source said Malaysian stakeholders are working to provide nuance so the new regulations tighten the focus to more problematic e-plastics. | Robert Harding/Shutterstock

On July 1, Malaysia implemented new regulations that include an apparent ban on U.S.-sourced imports of scrap plastic, causing confusion and consternation both domestically and in Southeast Asia. And although commodity brokers indicated that the changes were disrupting supply chains ahead of implementation, they added that relief could be seen soon. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , , |

Bottle cap design: No need to ‘reinvent the wheel’

Published: June 25, 2025
Updated:
by

State-level initiatives have suggested PET closures and tethered caps, but these designs may introduce complications while attempting to provide a solution. | FotoDax/Shutterstock

Mono-material design often is the goal for packaging, but due to color and sortation nuances it may not be the best approach for beverage containers, according to a packaging design expert during a recent webinar.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

Proposed Canadian EPR changes could inform US plans

Published: June 25, 2025
Updated:
by

With Ontario two years into its 2023-2025 transition to a producer responsibility model for paper and packaging recycling, stakeholders have asked for more time and lower costs. | Maxim Studio/Shutterstock

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is looking to make adjustments to its signature law for extended producer responsibility in packaging, in response to producer feedback about costs and other program concerns.  Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , |

Coke bottler’s switch to clear PET provides lessons learned

Published: June 18, 2025
Updated:
by
Sprite bottles in store.

A case study from the Northeast Recycling Council details a regional bottler’s journey from green PET to clear. | Adnan Zain Kautsar/Shutterstock

A recent case study from the Northeast Recycling Council offers insights on transitioning packaging materials, gleaned from a regional Coca-Cola bottler that switched from green PET to clear for several of its products. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , , |