Colin Staub was a reporter and associate editor at Resource Recycling until August 2025.
In communities around the country, recycling programs are limiting the materials they collect, altering service hours or shutting down altogether. | Oksana Shturo/Shutterstock
Recycling programs nationwide have curtailed service due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially hampering the supply of scrap plastics moving to reclaimers in the weeks to come.
The federal government and states that have issued “stay-at-home” orders have decided recycling businesses are “essential.” | youkatan/Shutterstock
In the states that have issued stay-at-home orders, companies engaged in recycling processing or plastic product manufacturing are not subject to forced shutdowns.
North American plastics recycling companies are working to prevent the spread of coronavirus within their operations. | joshimerbin/Shutterstock
The global escalation of COVID-19 is leading reclaimers to enact new safety regulations, while on a wider scale it impacts some collection programs, reduces Asian scrap plastics demand, constrains global shipping, dents stock prices and threatens an economic recession.
The U.S. in 2019 shipped 9.7 million pounds of recovered PET to South Korea. | Mariusz Bugno/Shutterstock
A large market for U.S. scrap plastic is planning measures to reduce PET imports and increase domestic recycling.
Boise’s EnergyBag program has explored a number of alternative processing options while awaiting Renewlogy’s upgrades. | Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
A program collecting hard-to-recycle plastics in Idaho’s largest city has been without a solid market for about a year since downstream outlet Renewlogy stopped accepting loads. After an equipment supply delay due to the coronavirus, the city now says this will continue at least through the summer.
Mitsubishi described the acquisition as part of its plan to implement a variety of sustainability initiatives by 2030. | IgorGolovniov/Shutterstock
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has purchased two European plastics recycling companies focusing on engineered plastics, bringing supply of these recycled resins in-house.
CarbonLite’s upcoming Florida facility will source 100 million or more pounds of post-consumer PET from the surrounding region. | Nixx Photography/Shutterstock
A PET bottle reclaimer will construct an $80 million plant in Florida. The project is in its early stages.
APR’s Demand Champions campaign has generated more than 30 million pounds of demand for post-consumer resin since it launched in 2017. | Mr_Mrs_Marcha/Shutterstock
More companies are committing to use recycled plastic as part of an industry association push that now has more than 40 members signed on.
A recent Greenpeace report noted companies are increasingly calling a wider variety of products “recyclable.” | Marko Rupena/Shutterstock
Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace USA released its findings that products made from plastics Nos. 3-7 are being billed as widely recyclable despite low MRF acceptance nationwide.
