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Author Archives: Marissa Heffernan

About Marissa Heffernan

Marissa HeffernanMarissa 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].

HDPE toothpaste tube recyclability claim questioned

Published: September 26, 2023
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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

Polymer company to revive bioplastics line

Published: September 26, 2023
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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

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Indorama Ventures boosts RPET production

Published: September 13, 2023
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Indorama company building in Jarkarta, Indonesia.

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

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AI-powered study will examine PP recycling streams

Published: September 12, 2023
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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

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Panasonic, Logitech release details on PCR use

Published: September 12, 2023
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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

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First draft of global plastics agreement released

Published: September 6, 2023
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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

Panelists: Tensions between EPR and plastics waning

Published: September 6, 2023
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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

Data shows largely stagnant bottle return rates

Published: August 29, 2023
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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