Marissa Heffernan started working for Resource Recycling in January 2022 after spending several years as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Southwest Washington. She can be contacted at [email protected].
The United Nations Environment Assembly on March 2 voted to start a process that would create a global plastics pollution treaty, bringing a final treaty forward for a vote in 2024. | Doug McLean/Shutterstock
A recent U.N. agreement to create a treaty on plastic pollution has brought recycling, waste and producer responsibility issues into the mainstream discussion.
Braskem’s new PP offerings contain 25% post-consumer content and are suitable for a variety of applications. | rafapress/Shutterstock
Polyolefins producer Braskem is bringing more post-consumer content to its portfolio.
Container deposit systems have benefits for municipalities, but MRFs are likely to see revenues decline as valuable PET and aluminum are removed from their material stream. | Myibean/Shutterstock
Though container deposit systems typically help lift recovery rates for covered materials, the programs also usually reduce tonnages of high-quality PET and aluminum going to sorting facilities. A new study helps to quantify those potential impacts.
Set to open in 2024, Rumpke’s 200,000-square-foot MRF will be built on 25 acres the company purchased almost a decade ago. | Courtesy of Rumpke
Rumpke Waste and Recycling’s new $50 million materials recovery facility is designed to adapt, with plans for the Columbus, Ohio site putting a specific focus on PET.
EFS-plastics will open a second facility to expand recycling capacity while keeping the company’s carbon footprint as low as possible. | Courtesy of EFS-plastics
Driven by demand for polypropylene and polyethylene, plastics recycler EFS-plastics is opening a processing site in Lethbridge, Alberta.
As part of the settlement, Keurig cannot label, market, advertise or otherwise represent the cups as recyclable without a qualifying statement that the materials are not recycled in many communities. | zimmytws/Shutterstock
Keurig Green Mountain reached a class-action settlement with a consumer who sued over coffee pod recyclability claims, agreeing to pay $10 million and add language indicating the plastic cups are “not recycled in many communities.”
European company Fortum developed a post-consumer plastic chair to showcase how recycled plastic compounds can be used for more technical and challenging products. | Courtesy of Fortum
Several companies have announced progress toward recycled-content goals and new products made from recycled plastics. Here’s a roundup of recent developments.
Star Plastics has made a $5 million investment in a pair of twin-screw extruders to boost capacity. | Courtesy of Star Plastics
Recycling and compounding company Star Plastics installed the first of two additional extruders at its West Virginia plant to expand its capacity and product offerings.
Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act was signed into law in August 2021, creating a 12-person task force to research and evaluate recyclability claims. | Yanqiang Dai/Shutterstock
For several years, lawmakers across the U.S. have been drafting policy to address concerns about ocean plastic. In Oregon, a key recycling labeling task force elected a representative from an ocean environmental group as vice chair.
Shipping company CMA CGM didn’t specify exactly which categories of plastic scrap or waste the prohibition would apply to. | EQRoy/Shutterstock
CMA CGM Group, the third-largest ocean shipping company in the world, announced it will no longer carry post-use plastics on its ships as of June 1.