Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
A local producer of 100% recycled PET water bottles is bringing in-state bottle processing capacity to Hawaii. | Courtesy of Waiākea Water
Waiākea Inc., a producer of 100% recycled PET bottles for water sourced from an active volcano, is installing bottle-to-bottle processing equipment at its Hilo, Hawaii facility with a planned capacity of 52 million pounds per year. Continue Reading
Nine large companies that are part of World Wildlife Fund’s ReSource: Plastic project reported that they increased their average use of recycled plastic from 10.2% in 2021 to 12.0% in 2022. | David Gyung/Shutterstock
Some of the largest brand owners slightly increased the amount of recycled plastic they used globally in 2022. And in the U.S., end market demand for RPET grew notably last year, even as bottle collection slipped. Continue Reading
Cyclyx has made a final investment decision on its planned Houston facility. | Courtesy of LyondellBasell
A chemical recycling-focused joint venture says it is one step closer to building a Houston facility that will source scrap plastic and prepare it for chemical and mechanical recycling. Continue Reading
Azek uses an average of 85% recycled content in its TimberTech Composite Decking. | Photo courtesy Azek
Recycled plastic end user Azek reported higher sales of its residential products in the 2023 fiscal year, a category that includes decking and trim made from recycled PE and PVC. The company also reported increasing its use of recycled plastic throughout 2023. Continue Reading
The Film Drop-Off Directory is ending services after 20 years of operation. | Pavel Kubarkov/Shutterstock
A long-running comprehensive guide to public drop-off sites accepting plastic film has been taken down, leaving a gap in consumer-facing recycling information for bags and other flexible packaging. Continue Reading
Analysts at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimate that with full global cooperation, plastics use in products could be reduced by 30% compared to 2020 levels. | DeawSS/Shutterstock
Countries must work together to enact policies that reduce virgin plastic demand, support design for recyclability, bolster recycling systems and improve collection.
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An industry-backed demonstration project is taking place at a former Far West Recycling facility in Portland, Ore. | Jared Paben / Resource Recycling, Inc.
Last week marked the start of a two-month effort to sort a variety of resins from loads of material otherwise bound for disposal. The goal is to develop a pool of data that can help guide future industry investments.
ByBlocks can be made from almost any combination of low-grade, contaminated scrap plastics, which don’t need to be washed or pre-processed before going into the ByFusion line. | Courtesy of ByFusion
ByFusion, an equipment supplier based in Los Angeles, is selling a modular system that processes low-grade mixed plastics into construction products.
The processing line at Circulus gives the company the ability to easily switch between processing LDPE, PP and HDPE, although its initial primary focus is on LDPE film. | Courtesy of Circulus
A film recycling company that recently opened its first facility in California aims to launch two additional plants in the U.S. next year, with more on the way in the future.
The Greenpeace lawsuit focuses on Walmart’s use of the How2Recycle label on certain of the company’s private label plastic packaging. | QualityHD/Shutterstock
A lawsuit alleging Walmart deceives customers about recyclability of its packaging has been reopened. Attorneys for Greenpeace expect their complaint, which was previously dismissed by a federal judge, will be allowed to move forward in its amended form.