Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Robotics from Glacier can be made to fit any belt width and can target more than 30 distinct materials. | Courtesy of Glacier
The co-founders of emerging sortation robotics supplier Glacier say their robots provide an immediate quality benefit with a small footprint: They can be placed anywhere a manual sorter would be stationed. Continue Reading
Alpek Polyester and BlueTriton Brands joined a lobbying effort to advocate for a national bottle bill. | New Africa/Shutterstock
Resin giants recently joined environmental groups in the nation’s Capitol to advocate for a national bottle bill, a coordinated push organized by the National Stewardship Action Council. Continue Reading
Rumpke’s new Columbus, Ohio MRF is key to a partnership with Eastman Chemical that will create an end market for opaque PET materials, among other hard-to-recycle products. | Courtesy of Rumpke
A partnership between midwest recycling processor Rumpke and resin giant Eastman Chemical will create an end market for opaque and otherwise hard-to-recycle PET materials, driven by state-of-the-art sortation capabilities at Rumpke’s Columbus, Ohio MRF.
The bill passed the state Senate 21-13 on Feb. 6 entirely on party lines, the House 76-56 on Feb. 15, and was chaptered into law on March 5. | Yurii-Prohonnyi/Shutterstock
Although there are no chemical recycling facilities currently operating in the Pine Tree State, any starting up in the future will be considered “chemical plastic processing” operations subject to solid waste facility permitting, and their process will not be considered “recycling,” lawmakers recently voted.
Pregis is using ExxonMobil’s Exxtend resin from its Baytown, Texas, facility in foam packaging. | Courtesy of Pregis
U.S. packaging supplier Pregis North America has begun producing a polyethylene foam that incorporates resin sourced from ExxonMobil’s chemical recycling operations. Continue Reading
Trex reported $1.1 billion in consolidated sales in 2023 and year-over-year residential sales increased by $35 million in 2023. | Vojtaz/Shutterstock
Trex, one of the largest polyethylene film recycling companies in the U.S., recorded higher sales in 2023, particularly towards the end of the year. Company leaders anticipate the sales growth will continue into 2024, translating to strong end market demand for recovered film. Continue Reading
Intertape Polymer Group released ExlFilmPlus PCR polyolefin shrink film, which contains at least 10% post-consumer resin and at least 25% post-industrial resin. | Courtesy of IPG
A Florida-headquartered global packaging company this month began selling a shrink film product made from 35% post-consumer resin and accepted in film drop-off collection programs. Continue Reading
Advanced Drainage Systems reported sales of $662.4 million in its third fiscal quarter, up 1.1% year over year. | Thapana Studio/Shutterstock
Advanced Drainage Systems, the largest plastics recycling company in North America, increased sales at the end of 2023 as it experienced rising demand for its water management products. Continue Reading
After launching in 2020, Sostenplas grew to one of the top five e-plastics processors in Europe. | Courtesy of Sostenplas
Driven by regulations that abruptly restricted global trade in plastics recovered from electronics, Spanish plastics processor Sostenplas has rapidly emerged as a major downstream for those polymers in Europe. The company’s CEO recently shared lessons the company has learned, with an eye toward helping U.S. companies seize a similar opportunity in North America. Continue Reading
Recovered plastic exports out of the U.S. have dropped dramatically in recent years, hitting a new low in 2023. | EG/Shutterstock
Recovered plastic exports out of the U.S. dropped slightly in 2023, bringing a record low for the fourth consecutive year. Continue Reading