Colin Staub was a reporter at Resource Recycling from January 2017 to December 2021.
An industry-backed demonstration project is taking place at a former Far West Recycling facility in Portland, Ore. | Jared Paben / Resource Recycling, Inc.
Last week marked the start of a two-month effort to sort a variety of resins from loads of material otherwise bound for disposal. The goal is to develop a pool of data that can help guide future industry investments.
ByBlocks can be made from almost any combination of low-grade, contaminated scrap plastics, which don’t need to be washed or pre-processed before going into the ByFusion line. | Courtesy of ByFusion
ByFusion, an equipment supplier based in Los Angeles, is selling a modular system that processes low-grade mixed plastics into construction products.
The processing line at Circulus gives the company the ability to easily switch between processing LDPE, PP and HDPE, although its initial primary focus is on LDPE film. | Courtesy of Circulus
A film recycling company that recently opened its first facility in California aims to launch two additional plants in the U.S. next year, with more on the way in the future.
The Greenpeace lawsuit focuses on Walmart’s use of the How2Recycle label on certain of the company’s private label plastic packaging. | QualityHD/Shutterstock
A lawsuit alleging Walmart deceives customers about recyclability of its packaging has been reopened. Attorneys for Greenpeace expect their complaint, which was previously dismissed by a federal judge, will be allowed to move forward in its amended form.
A newly published study set out to explore the barriers and possible solutions to growing the use of recycled plastic in food-contact-suitable applications. | StanislauV/Shutterstock
Contaminating additives and declining recycling rates for food packaging are limiting growth in production of food-grade recycled resin, according to research from a consulting firm.
The U.S. exported 288.3 million pounds of scrap plastic during the third quarter, down 24% year over year. | 28 November Studio/Shutterstock
U.S. scrap plastic exports continued a precipitous year-over-year decline moving into the second half of the year, with several large destinations substantially reducing imports.
KW’s new PP wash line has a full capacity of 100 million pounds per year. | Credit: Scott Saunders
KW Plastics in the past month started up a polypropylene wash line that will increase its processing capacity by 100 million pounds per year. Company General Manager Scott Saunders said the line will boost efficiency.
The U.S. Secretary of State has indicated U.S. support for a global plastics pollution treaty. | Gerain0812/Shutterstock
The U.S. has signaled support for a worldwide agreement to reduce marine plastic pollution. Meanwhile, the EU is drafting stricter export rules, a watchdog group is mapping plastic dump sites, and researchers shared findings on the greenhouse gas impacts of virgin plastic shipments.
Per a court settlement, TerraCycle will implement label changes and a supply chain certification program. | Sebastian Duda/Shutterstock
A legal action alleging TerraCycle is misleading consumers about its recycling programs has been settled. TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said some of the settlement terms cover work the company was already carrying out internally, but one labeling change is new.
Data shows that in 2020 PET bottles notched a 26.6% collection rate in the U.S., down from 27.9% in 2019. | Torychemistry/Shutterstock
Demand for RPET increased 10% in 2020, but it was accompanied by a decrease in PET bottle collection, according to an annual report from the National Association for PET Container Resources.