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Author Archives: Colin Staub

About Colin Staub

Colin-StaubColin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Vinyl industry reports flat recycling figures

Published: December 11, 2024
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The Vinyl Sustainability Council reported an annual estimated North American PVC recycling figure of 1.1 billion pounds, which includes both post-industrial and post-consumer. | Warin Keawchookul/Shutterstock

Plastics recycling firms continue to process about 958 million pounds of post-industrial PVC and 142 million pounds of post-consumer, non-packaging PVC each year, together accounting for an estimated 27% of annual North American PVC waste generation, the Vinyl Sustainability Council said this week. Continue Reading

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Strategies MRFs, brands use to add materials to the bin

Published: December 4, 2024
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Amy Uong, second from right, speaks during ‘Saying Yes in the Land of No,’ a session held during the Resource Recycling Conference in Kentucky last month. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling, Inc.

Faced with challenges moving recycled materials in recent years, MRFs and curbside recycling programs have occasionally opted to stop accepting certain materials, particularly experimental or harder-to-market packaging types.

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Study: E-plastics additives present in home goods

Published: December 4, 2024
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E-plastics / Jared Paben

The study found flame retardants in some black plastic kitchen utensils that contained recycled resin. | Jared Paben/Resource Recycling

A recent study has focused public attention on household products containing plastic that the authors suggest was recovered from electronics, raising safety concerns about chemicals contained within the recycled content.

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Plastic exports see stability through third quarter

Published: November 20, 2024
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Export shipping containers

For the first nine months of 2024, recovered plastic exports remained steady year over year, marking a change from multiple years of annual declines in export volume. | Qingqing/Shutterstock

For the first nine months of 2024, recovered plastic exports remained steady year over year, marking a change from multiple years of annual declines in export volume. Continue Reading

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NY court sides with PepsiCo, dismisses plastics lawsuit

Published: November 6, 2024
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A judge ruled PepsiCo isn’t legally liable for the pollution its packaging can become, and that the responsibility rests solely with the person who improperly disposed of the product. | LuqmanLutfi Photography/Shutterstock

Under current New York law, PepsiCo can’t be held legally responsible for consumers improperly disposing of its packaging, a state supreme court judge has ruled. And now, a California court will test similar legal theories. Continue Reading

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ADS opens research center for recycled resin

Published: October 30, 2024
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The Ohio facility will help ADS explore new ways of using recycled resin, among other research work. | Photo courtesy ADS

One of the largest recycled plastics processors in the country has started up an engineering center in Ohio, where the company will research and test materials for use in its industrial water management products. Continue Reading

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Analysis: Undersupply of PCR is ‘stifling’ brand goals

Published: October 9, 2024
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PET bottle laying across PET flakes.

Bloomberg’s latest Circular Economy Company Ranking reported on corporate sustainability pledges, finding a theme of costs outweighing target progress. | Aykut Erdogdu/Shutterstock

A new report from Bloomberg’s market research division provides further evidence of brand owners struggling to meet stated recycled content goals due to a lack of available material and cost pressure.

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Groups share national recycling acceptance data

Published: September 25, 2024
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The Recycling Partnership and GreenBlue released new data highlighting recycling program acceptance data for 50 material types across the country. | Vladimir Badaev/Shutterstock

The Recycling Partnership and GreenBlue this week released new data highlighting recycling program acceptance rates for 50 different material types across the country – and they vowed to publish updated versions twice per year from now on. Continue Reading

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Trex expands film drop-off guide into searchable database

Published: September 25, 2024
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Last year, Trex sourced 328 million pounds of PE through all its channels, and it recently released a drop-off guide to help increase that volume. | Joyce Blessthink/Shutterstock

A major processor and end user of recycled PE film has rolled out a user-friendly guide showing film drop-off locations nationwide, seeking to bolster its feedstock source through consumer education. Continue Reading

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Greystone reports higher sales, lower feedstock cost

Published: September 18, 2024
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Plastic pallet maker Greystone Logistics has facilities in Iowa, Missouri and Indiana. | Courtesy of Greystone Logistics

A processor and end user of recycled PE benefited from lower recycled plastic prices and greater demand for the company’s pallets during the most recent fiscal year. Continue Reading

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