Colin Staub was a reporter and associate editor at Resource Recycling until August 2025.
U.S. exports of recovered plastic were up slightly in January 2021 compared to the previous year. | anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock
Exports of U.S. scrap plastic increased in January 2021 compared with 2020, despite new Basel Convention regulations on plastic shipments.
Owl Electronic Recycling operates a wash line handling e-plastics at its Pennsylvania facility. | Courtesy of Owl Electronic Recycling
Pennsylvania company Owl Electronic Recycling installed e-plastics sortation equipment in response to China’s scrap plastic import ban. That’s proved beneficial for the latest market disruption restricting the scrap plastic trade.
CarbonLite operates recycling facilities that bring in PET bales from deposit and curbside sources.
PET recycling firm CarbonLite and a subsidiary this week filed for bankruptcy, indicating the company plans to reorganize and continue operating. A company leader said market strife and COVID-19 impacts led to the decision.
The REMADE Institute issued funding to projects exploring a variety of plastics recycling technologies. | Olivier Le Queinec/Shutterstock
A federal initiative focused on energy efficiency in U.S. manufacturing recently selected more than a dozen plastics recycling projects to support. They include efforts advancing PET recovery, mixed-plastics processing, chemical recycling and more.
Indorama noted it has recycling expansion projects in the works that will grow the company’s PET recycling capacity by roughly 600,000 metric tons per year. | Pavel Kapysh/Shutterstock
Global resin producer Indorama Ventures plans to continue its expansion in the PET recycling sector this year, the company recently announced in financial filings.
PreZero framed the acquisition as a way to guarantee a viable end market for the post-consumer resin it produces. | REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock
PreZero US, a growing mixed-plastics recycling company, has entered the end use sector with its acquisition of Roplast Industries, a longtime processor and bag manufacturer.
A number of environmental groups wrote to shipping lines urging them to stop carrying scrap plastics. | Jordi Prats/Shutterstock
Activists have contacted the world’s largest shipping lines, asking them to stop carrying loads that violate new Basel Convention regulations covering the global scrap plastic trade.
Film supplier INDEVCO Plastics announced its launch of industrial films and bags that use up to 50% recycled resin, including both post-consumer and post-industrial content. | Mabeline72/Shutterstock
Two film suppliers recently expanded their offerings with recycled-content films. Meanwhile, an Australian project began producing a concrete-alternative from post-consumer flexible packaging.
Massachusetts is the latest state to propose extended producer responsibility for packaging, the largest component of the residential recycling stream. | Thanatos Media/Shutterstock
An expansive packaging stewardship proposal was recently introduced in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, a bill providing state assistance to bolster recycling markets has cleared both legislative chambers in Maryland.
BoMET is one of a number of North American companies that saw that opportunity and are investing to expand their e-plastics processing capacity. | Courtesy of BoMET Polymer Solutions
BoMET Polymer Solutions is actively sourcing e-plastics from electronics recycling firms for the company’s Ontario processing facility, where it produces pellets and regrind for sale to manufacturers.