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].
Companies such as Prairie Robotics and AMCS Group are leveraging AI to craft more robust analytics, all the way down to the individual household level. | 9dream Studio/Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence is now well established in MRFs as a tool for sorting material and dramatically reducing contamination. Now, multiple companies are taking AI to an earlier stage of the recycling process by mounting cameras on collection trucks. Continue Reading
According to a recent report from the Argonne National Laboratory, LDPE and HDPE made with 5% pyrolysis oil emit a lower volume of greenhouse gases than their virgin counterparts. | Vikentiy Elizarov/Shutterstock
A life cycle analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory suggested that chemically recycling plastics entails lower greenhouse gas emissions than virgin production. Continue Reading
Topics at a recent discussion of EPR programs included collection, efficiency and harmony across jurisdictions. | mi_viri/Shutterstock
Producer responsibility organizations can help drive efficiency and harmonization in extended producer responsibility programs, stakeholders suggested at a recent conference. Continue Reading
Now that its medical waste recycling pilot has yielded “favorable results,” Casella Waste Systems is looking to broaden the project to include more healthcare facilities. | Courtesy of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)
As part of a pilot project to explore the recyclability of medical waste, Casella Waste Systems and medical company BD recycled 40,000 pounds of material, including syringes and needles. Continue Reading
Among several other sustainability moves, Kraft Heinz is shooting for 100% recycled packaging by 2025. | Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock
About 87% of Kraft Heinz’s packaging was recyclable, reusable or compostable in 2022, according to the company’s latest sustainability report. Continue Reading
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