Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
The 2018 spending bill approved by lawmakers and signed by the president last week contains good news for the U.S. EPA and its recycling-related programs: The agency avoided significant budget cuts that were proposed last year.
Prime plastic developments have occurred in the past two weeks, and they carry the potential to impact recycled resin prices.
Leaders across the pond have announced they will roll out a deposit program covering certain plastic, glass and metal beverage containers.
Li Ganjie, China’s minister of environmental protection
China’s top environmental official has quantified the reduction in scrap materials flowing into the country as a result of recent restrictions. He also spoke publicly about the market fallout and the criticism China has received for enacting its reforms.
Last year presented an upheaval in the global recovered plastics market, and the impacts continue to roll in. Three experts recently shared their thoughts on the specific causes of the volatility.
Officials in China have announced an enforcement campaign to implement the country’s new import restrictions.
Chinese recycling executives see a promising outlook for Asian companies looking to invest in the U.S. as a result of China’s import restrictions.
Extended producer responsibility rose to the forefront of debate in Connecticut as a strategy to reduce packaging waste in line with state mandates. A committee tasked with advising lawmakers during the coming legislative session recently split on the strategy, but the majority advised against it.
Two recently released reports provide snapshots of film and non-bottle rigid plastics recycling. The material types have seen collection gains but processing challenges.
During a plenary session at the Plastics Recycling Conference last week, major exporters opened up about alternative markets, quality improvements, and operational and contractual changes they’ve made in response to China’s import restrictions.