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].
PET bottle labels can be problematic to the plastics recycling process, but a PET bottle label innovation recently received a letter confirming its compatibility. | Ho Su A Bi/Shutterstock
Testing has shown that a label for PET bottles and several tube packages are compatible with current plastics recycling processes.
The new California law requires that plastic bottles covered by the bottle deposit program contain at least 15% post-consumer resin by 2022. | hedgehog94/Shutterstock
California’s decision to require post-consumer resin in drink bottles could inspire other states, particularly in the Northeast, to pursue similar laws, according to an industry leader.
A committee in Oregon envisions a uniform statewide “accepted recyclables list,” as well as “truth-in-labeling” requirements, which would require packaging to have accurate labeling indicating whether it should be recycled, composted or disposed of in the trash. | emmavgerard/Shutterstock
A multi-stakeholder group in Oregon is urging state leaders to implement an extended producer responsibility program for printed paper and packaging. In Washington, officials are developing recommendations to reduce plastic packaging waste.
Stony Brook University is one New York school receiving funding to research recycling-related topics. | Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock
The state of New York will inject nearly $12 million into academia to study and improve the recycling system. Continue Reading
Global Plastics, Inc. (GPI) received a loan from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). | ESB Professional/Shutterstock
A PET processor will use a $2 million low-interest loan from California’s recycling agency to buy sheet extrusion line equipment and refinance onerous debt.
During the second quarter of 2020, CARE held the recycling rate steady at 19.8% in California. | optimarc/Shutterstock
California’s carpet recycling program achieved a substantial increase in the recycling rate last year, but the number still fell short of a target in state law.
A solvent-based recycling process successfully de-inks LDPE film samples, and an equipment provider releases an updated line of melt filter products for compounding.
Federal funding has been announced for research looking into sorting scrap plastic and using enzymes to clean material, among other recycling-related efforts. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
Research focused on improving scrap plastics sortation received funding from the REMADE Institute. Meanwhile, the organization will provide up to $35 million for its next round of grants, with priority placed on plastics.
California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.
Merlin Plastics currently produces non-food-contact recycled HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE and PP, as well as RPET approved for use in food and drink packaging. | Courtesy of NOVA Chemicals.
NOVA Chemicals will provide financing to Merlin Plastics to help the reclaimer produce food-contact recycled HDPE. Then, NOVA will buy up to 30 million pounds of the PCR per year.