Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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.
In addition to signing a supply agreement, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Eastman said they will “collaborate on initiatives addressing the infrastructure needed to increase plastic recycling rates.” | Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock
Procter & Gamble plans to incorporate post-consumer plastic that’s produced using a chemical recycling process into certain packaging later this year, the company announced.
Novolex reported that the company’s percentage of post-consumer resin used in 2020 was flat compared with 2019.| RosaLin Zhen Zhen / Shutterstock
Novolex, a major recycler and producer of plastic bags, recently reported that the pandemic created a “challenging PCR environment” last year. But the company sees signs for demand on the horizon.
With the planned upgrade at an Omaha materials recovery facility (MRF), sorted and processed plastics will be converted into a plastic lumber. | jantsarik / Shutterstock
Firstar Fiber is receiving a loan from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste that will help the processor convert hard-to-recycle plastics into building materials, all within the confines of the sortation site.