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].
Indorama is just under half of the way to achieving its 2025 post-consumer PET target, with billion-dollar investments planned in order to reach the finish line. | Cahyadi Sugi/Shutterstock
Chemical company Indorama Ventures plans to invest $150 million in three PET recycling plants in India to boost its production of RPET. Continue Reading
The research team hopes that a better accounting of PP moving through materials recovery facilities will help build a circular economy for the material. | Pixel B/Shutterstock
Closed Loop Partners, NextGen Consortium and AI developer Greyparrot plan to study the composition of polypropylene in recycling streams using artificial intelligence. Continue Reading
Comply Loop lets clients evaluate their adherence to EPR requirements in multiple countries. | Kenishirotie/Shutterstock
Three big names in data management and circular logistics have joined forces to create Comply Loop, a one-stop shop for extended producer responsibility compliance.
Panasonic reported using over 42,000 tons of recycled plastic from 2020-22, and Logitech reported that almost 58% of its products include PCR. | Hernan E. Schmidt/Shutterstock
Two global electronics companies, Panasonic and Logitech, recently released reports on their current recycled plastic use and their goals for the coming years. Continue Reading
Stakeholders and involved parties will continue to debate the precise language of the agreement. | Nexus 7/Shutterstock
The first working draft of the United Nations’ global plastics agreement lays out the broad strokes of what is intended to be a legally binding way to manage plastic pollution on land and in the oceans. Continue Reading
Anja Brandon, associate director of U.S. plastics policy at the Ocean Conservancy, speaks during the “Plastic Tensions Within Extended Producer Responsibility” session at the 2023 Resource Recycling Conference in Orlando, Fla. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
Resource Recycling Conference attendees may have been expecting a boxing ring when stakeholders got on stage to talk about plastic and extended producer responsibility, but instead they got a message of hope, progress and civil disagreement on film, chemical recycling and labeling. Continue Reading
Of the nine states for which data is available, only two showed meaningful increases in their container redemption rates. | Poring Studio/Shutterstock
Most states with deposit return systems saw static or reduced bottle redemption rates in 2022, according to a deposit advocacy organization. Continue Reading
Plastics recycler MBA Polymers UK is adding a fourth facility in the face of higher customer demand. | Courtesy of MBA Polymers UK
A fourth facility for MBA Polymers UK will give the plastics recycler a 35% capacity boost once it comes on-line in September. Continue Reading
Researchers at The Circulate Initiative identified several common challenges that cities face when dealing with plastic waste. | Mohamed Abdulraheem/Shutterstock
Research recently undertaken by several groups dug into how individual cities in ocean plastic hot spots are approaching materials management. Continue Reading
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste argues that consistent specifications for quality material will help drive investment in sorting and collection technology. | Fabrika Simf/Shutterstock
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste suggested the recycling industry in the European Union develop target specifications for processed materials to ease the transition to a circular economy. Continue Reading