The U.S. PET bottle recycling rate dropped from 30.1 percent to 28.4 percent in 2016, a number that is emblematic of several concerning trends hitting the sector.
Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].The U.S. PET bottle recycling rate dropped from 30.1 percent to 28.4 percent in 2016, a number that is emblematic of several concerning trends hitting the sector.
Roche Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington.
Municipal programs in the Pacific Northwest continue to feel the impacts of China’s import restrictions, and multiple local programs are halting acceptance of plastics and other materials in response.
Great potential exists for increased film recovery in North America, where the residential film recovery rate sits at about 4 percent. Experts have identified key sectors that would be effective targets for coordinated investment.
The upstream impacts of China’s import restrictions have been increasingly covered in national and local press, raising the level of public consciousness about where recyclables ultimately end up and how that could all change.
Film, expanded polystyrene and pouches are among the materials and products California officials say could be subject to mandatory packaging management rules.
Government officials have confirmed they are monitoring China’s import policy changes and are joining industry associations in seeking clarification from Chinese authorities.
Future funding levels for the U.S. EPA are one step closer to certainty after lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives approved government spending outlined in a dozen agency-specific budget bills this month.
CalRecycle last week convened stakeholders to continue to discuss the possibility of requiring producers to play a role in the end-of-life management of packaging materials.
Restaurant owners and EPS industry stakeholders have sued New York City over its plans to ban foam polystyrene from use in food-service establishments. It’s the latest move in a deja vu cycle that has gone on for more than four years.
The world’s largest retailer underreported the number of containers it distributed over a three-year period in California, leading to $7.2 million in unpaid deposits to the state. The balance was paid in full late last year after it was revealed during an audit.