Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
In court recently, former CarbonLite CEO Leon Farahnik’s attorneys elaborated on the financial conditions that led to the company’s bankruptcy. | Bragin Alexey / Shutterstock
Companies owed money by CarbonLite say the PET reclaimer’s failure came amid “gross financial mismanagement,” and they want an in-depth investigation. CarbonLite’s lawyers pinned the closure on a lack of brand owner support and other factors.
Legislation awaiting the governor’s signature would classify mixed plastics that are generated in California and exported from the U.S. as “disposal” rather than “recycling.” | Sumrit Tesrumphun/Shutterstock
California lawmakers have approved a bill that would no longer allow scrap plastic that is exported to be considered recycled. The legislation now heads to the governor for final consideration.
A pilot project at a facility in Denmark is being backed by a number of packaging and recycling stakeholders. | Nordroden / Shutterstock
A European materials recovery facility will install sorting detection equipment to identify digital watermarks on plastic packaging.
The Plastic Odyssey project has been in the works for five years and is planning to launch late this year. | Courtesy of Plastic Odyssey
Plastic Odyssey, a project that will demonstrate open-source plastics recycling equipment and business models in countries without developed waste management infrastructure, is preparing to embark on a trip around the globe.
With the expansion, the facility will total more than 645,000 square feet. | Courtesy of Swedish Plastic Recycling
A Swedish plastics sortation firm is set to double its capacity and eventually add reclamation equipment on-site. Swedish Plastic Recycling says it will be able to process all plastic packaging collected through residential systems in the country.
Akoya Capital Partners, a Chicago-based investment company, is the new owner of Star Plastics. | fizkes / Shutterstock
Processor and compounder Star Plastics has been acquired by a private equity firm. Company founder Doug Ritchie said the partnership will help Star expand its product line.
Since its launch in 2020, the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has issued a total of $4.2 million in funding. | Allexxandar / Shutterstock
The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has awarded another round of grant funding, allowing more local recycling programs to provide curbside polypropylene collection.
EverestLabs High Recovery Robot Cells performed 104 picks per minute compared to 70 on the company’s Delta system. | Courtesy of EverestLabs
EverestLabs released a robotic sorting system that the company says can perform more picks and fit in a wider range of sortation settings than what has previously been available to processors.
The bill taxing virgin resin is just one of several pieces of plastics recycling-related legislation in Congress and statehouses this year. | Kurt Pacaud / Shutterstock
A national virgin resin surcharge would help improve the economics of using post-consumer plastic, according to a proposal introduced in Congress this month.
Google’s report noted headwinds to plastics recovery including unfavorable economics for recycled resins compared with virgin resins. | maciej nicgorski / Shutterstock
A report from Google lays out how mechanical and chemical recycling, a virgin plastic production tax, consumer incentives and more can increase plastics recovery over the next two decades.