Marissa Heffernan started working for Resource Recycling in January 2022 after spending several years as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Southwest Washington. After developing a special focus on recycling policy, they are also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now. Heffernan can be contacted at [email protected].
Richmond officials found in 2020 that the warehouses exhibited fire hazards and lacked sprinkler systems. | Courtesy of city of Richmond
The multi-day blaze at a site storing processed recycled plastics has raised concerns about asbestos, toxic substances and why there was so much plastic kept there in the first place.
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As the California legislature passes a handful of bills covering a number of hot-button issues, stakeholders in the state are optimistic about the road to a circular economy. | Jonathan Lenz/Shutterstock
Another busy legislative season is winding down in California. Several recycling-related bills made it to the governor’s desk this year, dealing with the right to repair, extended producer responsibility and the state’s deposit return system. Others didn’t make it to the finish line. Continue Reading
The reusable bottles will be marked by laser after each use, then recycled once it reaches the end of its life. | Courtesy of ALPLA and TÖNISSTEINER
Packaging company ALPLA collaborated with German mineral water company TÖNISSTEINER Sprudel to create a reusable PET bottle made of recycled material. Continue Reading
The same glycolysis technology that will be installed at revalyu’s upcoming location has already been used to process 6 billion bottles in India. | Courtesy of Revalyu
An established chemical recycling company broke ground on its first facility in the U.S. The upcoming plant will be capable of recycling 200 million pounds of post-consumer PET each year. Continue Reading
On top of its significant PCR use in 2023, ADS also broke ground on its Energy and Technology Center. | ADS
Advanced Drainage Systems continues to be a heavyweight in the recycled plastic arena, buying 540 million pounds of recycled material in 2023 and consuming a quarter of the pigmented HDPE bottles recovered in the United States. Continue Reading
As part of a broader package of regulations, Quebec recently unveiled requirements that agricultural manufacturers fund recycling efforts for their products. | AgriRECUP photo
The province of Quebec is rolling out a plan to divert more agricultural plastics through an extended producer responsibility program. Continue Reading
The Association of Plastics Recyclers’ Global Design Catalog provides information on plastic recycling guidelines all over the world. | WeStudio/Shutterstock
The Association of Plastic Recyclers’ Global Design Catalog just got a facelift, bringing its design recommendations in line with the most recent recyclability requirements. Continue Reading
Study authors evaluated three categories of chemical recycling technology and found that the “purification” category yielded the highest PCR return. | Vitte Yevhen/Shutterstock
As with many emerging technologies, chemical recycling goes by a variety of names, including “advanced” and “molecular” recycling. A study from Closed Loop Partners dug into the differences. Continue Reading
Truth in Advertising argues that although Colgate-Palmolive’s 100% HDPE tubes are technically recyclable, in practice they end up in landfills. | George W. Bailey/Shutterstock
The 100% HDPE toothpaste tubes used by some brands and marketed as recyclable are under fire from a consumer watchdog group, with brands denying allegations of deceptive marketing. Continue Reading
The technology behind Terraloy earned Teknor Apex the Bioproduct Innovation of the Year Award in 2015. | Teknor Apex
In response to increasing market demand, Teknor Apex is relaunching Terraloy, a previously discontinued line of recycled, bio-derived and biodegradable compounds. Continue Reading