Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
The development of a new domestic e-plastics outlet comes at a time of market turbulence for the low-value materials. | KPixMining/Shutterstock
An Indiana plastics processing operation will consume roughly 40 million pounds of plastic from e-scrap and other products annually. Brightmark Energy plans to start up the facility in mid-2020.
In April, the Chinese government will enact new requirements for pellet imports. | Piyathep/Shutterstock
Officials in Beijing are set to enact new requirements around the purity of recycled pellets imported into China.
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Plastics Innovation Challenge will promote production of plastic products that are recyclable by design. | Jer123/Shutterstock
A U.S. Department of Energy initiative seeks to boost plastics recycling, setting a handful of goals to hit by 2030 and highlighting funding opportunities to advance technology.
In October, India’s imports of U.S. scrap plastics dropped to their lowest single-month volume since at least 2002. | November Studio/Shutterstock
Export figures continue to show the power of recycled plastic import restrictions in Southeast Asia. Countries that were previously the largest overseas markets have seen massive decreases in U.S. plastic imports since mid-2018.
The task force will include elected officials at the federal, state and local level, as well as recycling industry representatives. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
Four members of Congress this week unveiled a workgroup to boost plastics recycling through technology investments and more. It’s the latest of several recent moves at the national level to address plastics recovery.
Post-consumer plastic makes up about 0.5% of Indorama’s resin offerings. | Joyce Blessthink/Shutterstock
Virgin resin producers Borealis and Indorama have made ambitious recycled plastic commitments, but post-consumer plastic still makes up a tiny fraction of what they sell.
ABA President and CEO Katherine Lugar presented a major recycling funding initiative alongside leaders from beverage companies. | Photo credit: YouTube
Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo have pledged to put their money behind boosting processing technology and increasing curbside collection access. They’ll also introduce a uniform recycling message on their bottles next year.
Plastrac developed the ColorStream, which blends additives into resin at ground level, in response to a customer request. | Photo courtesy of Plastrac
Equipment supplier Plastrac recently released the ColorStream, a system that blends additives with pelletized base resins used in injection molding and extrusion processes. Continue Reading
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging is already in place in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec. | One Photo / Shutterstock
New Brunswick will require that manufacturers pay for the end-of-life collection and processing of the packaging materials they produce.
Scrap plastic exports fell to their lowest level in recent history, but domestic markets continue to be hungry for recycled resin, particularly natural HDPE. | BEST BACKGROUNDS/Shutterstock
Overseas appetite for post-consumer scrap plastic dwindled in the third quarter. But on the domestic side, the value of recovered natural HDPE has skyrocketed and RPET demand remains strong. Continue Reading