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Author Archives: Jared Paben

About Jared Paben

Jared Paben Associate Editor Jared Paben has worked for Resource Recycling since December 2014. Most of his earlier career was spent as a reporter for the daily newspaper in Bellingham, Wash., but he also has experience working for the Oregon volunteerism commission and for Oregon nonprofits serving low-income populations. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Converter taps tech to use lower-grade RPET feedstock

Published: January 10, 2023
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PET bottle laying across PET flakes.

D&W Fine Pack has used RPET for roughly a decade, and is now ramping up its use of post-consumer resins in response to growing demand. | Aykut Erdogdu/Shutterstock

A multi-million-dollar equipment investment is enabling D&W Fine Pack to recycle post-consumer PET flakes into 100% recycled content food packaging. An executive at the company described the project and the benefits it will bring.

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Pyrolysis company nets $150M to drive its growth

Published: January 10, 2023
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Nexus Circular uses a pyrolysis technology to process scrap plastics into an oil that plastics producers can use to make new polyolefins. | Courtesy of Nexus Circular

Atlanta-based Nexus Circular has received a $150 million investment from a diversified global company, which will become its new owner. Continue Reading

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Amazon and Oceana spar over retailer’s plastic footprint

Published: January 3, 2023
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Amazon Prime plastic bubble shipping mailer.

Environmental group Oceana estimates Amazon produced 709 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2021. | oasisamuel/Shutterstock

Amazon recently disclosed data on its plastic packaging footprint and sustainability efforts. But where the online giant sees progress, an environmental group sees cherry-picked numbers.

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European panel approves PET recycling technologies

Published: January 3, 2023
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EFSA approved packaging from Greiner Packaging.

Greiner Packaging was one of several companies to get the go-ahead from the European Food Safety Authority to recycle post-consumer PET into 100% recycled-content food and drink packaging. | Courtesy of Greiner

A scientific review panel has given the green light to several different technologies to recycle post-consumer PET and polyolefins into 100% recycled-content food and drink packaging.

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FTC to hear from plastic industry on Green Guides update

Published: December 16, 2022
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Federal Trade Commission building with sign above door.

The commission voted 4-0 to publish a notice in the Federal Register to begin a 60-day public comment period. That notice is expected to be published in mid-January of 2023.  | DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock

Companies making deceptive sustainability claims distort the market for environmentally friendly products and “hurt honest companies who are bearing the costs of green business practices,” the chair of the FTC said this week.

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US PET bottle recovery rate increases 1.5 percentage points

Published: December 14, 2022
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PET bottles for recycling.

The increase marks the end of a years-long slide in the country’s PET bottle recovery rate, which had been falling since 2017. | New Africa/Shutterstock

The U.S. PET bottle recovery rate made a notable jump last year, reaching 28.6%, according to an industry report published today. 

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Deinking, decontamination innovations announced

Published: December 13, 2022
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Keycycle deinking showing label, flake and pellet

The Keycycle deinking technology. | Courtesy of EREMA

A technology to use supercritical carbon dioxide to decontaminate scrap plastics received a big financial boost, and major equipment suppliers made some scrap deinking announcements. The following are recent mechanical recycling technology announcements.  

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Amcor signs PCR offtake deal with ExxonMobil

Published: December 6, 2022
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Amcor and ExxonMobil leaders sign an agreement.

Michael Zamora, senior vice president of Product Solutions at ExxonMobil, and Ron Delia, CEO at Amcor, signed the agreement, through which ExxonMobil will sell increasing amounts of recycled resin each year to Amcor. | Courtesy of Amcor

One of the world’s largest packaging producers, Amcor, has signed a deal to buy huge amounts of chemically recycled resin from one of the world’s largest plastics producers, ExxonMobil. 

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Study: Recycling accounts for tiny share of plastic’s total GHGs

Published: December 6, 2022
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Plastic bottles at a production plant.

The REMADE Institute-funded research found that, over the course of their full life cycles, several common polymers account for about 1.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. | rochariberio/Shuttestock

By the time plastic products reach their end of life, the bulk of their climate damage has already been done, according to a study that reaffirms greenhouse gasses tied to plastics are mostly generated in prime resin production, shipping and molding. 

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