Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Panelists said the playbook that increased renewable energy usage in the U.S. could be used to improve recycling, too. | PhilipR/Shutterstock
At a meeting of Oregon materials recovery stakeholders last week, two plastics recycling experts had a blunt message for attendees: Plastics recycling is in trouble. Continue Reading
The “Plastic Free Packaging Design Guide” focuses on how Google has moved toward fiber-based packaging and away from plastics in its consumer electronics products. | Tada Images/Shutterstock
Google this month published a comprehensive look at how the company has approached designing its packaging for minimal plastic use. In publicly detailing its methodology, the major corporation laid out a philosophy that “sustainability should be a collaborative endeavor, not a competitive one.” Continue Reading
Closed Loop Partners has made more than 80 investments over the past 10 years of existence and is poised to keep going. | Chones/Shutterstock
Closed Loop Partners has provided funding to more than 80 companies and municipalities over its decade in existence, a period of significant turbulence in the U.S. recycling sector. Continue Reading
The U.S. Plastics Pact reported that by the end of 2022, pact signatories had increased PCR use from 7% to 9.4%. | XXL Photo/Shutterstock
The U.S. Plastics Pact this week unveiled the goals its signatories will strive for during the next five years. Most of the goals build on the efforts over the past five years, and the group’s target date to hit 30% average recycled content has been extended from 2025 to 2030. Continue Reading
Matium both connects buyers and sellers and makes data reporting easier for users of the digital platform. | Ann-Moore/Shutterstock
Matium last month began the commercial launch of a platform that digitizes many aspects of the plastics recycling trading business. The company also received a recent funding boost from an economic development agency in Colorado.
Bic reported 62.1% recycled content in its plastic packaging in 2023, up from 54.7% in 2022 and 52.1% in 2021. | Arhelaos/Shutterstock
French manufacturer Bic used 62% recycled content in its plastic packaging last year, moving it closer to a 2025 goal. But the company has a ways to go to meet its goal for recycled content in its actual products, which include lighters, pens, razors and other consumer goods.
Senate Bill 1053 revises California’s bag ban to state that reusable bags provided at point of sale cannot be made from plastic film. | Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock
A bill that expands California’s bag ban to prohibit all plastic bags – even the reusable recycled-content bags that are a major driver of post-consumer film resin sales – is working its way through the California legislative system. Reclaimers and bag producers have come out against the bill. Continue Reading
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office recently extended a tariff exemption on shredder parts that wear down until the end of May 2025. | cybrain/Shutterstock
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has extended tariff exemptions that cover certain shredder components imported from China, drawing praise from the Recycled Materials Association. Continue Reading
ADS purchases over 1.1 billion pounds of resin annually from 525 suppliers, half of it recycled, making it the largest plastic recycling company in the U.S. | Courtesy of Advanced Drainage Systems
Advanced Drainage Systems, currently the largest plastics recycling company in the U.S., saw lower sales over the past year due to lower demand in the construction and agricultural markets in mid-2023. But the company still reported record profit, largely due to lower feedstock prices. Continue Reading
Nike, Target, Walmart and clothing manufacturer Polartec have been the biggest users of Unifi’s Repreve recycled polyester fabric.| Trong Nguyen/Shutterstock
More than 40 billion plastic bottles have been recycled into Unifi’s Repreve recycled polyester fabric over the past 17 years, the company announced this month, and a number of brands are leading the way in recycled fabric demand. Continue Reading