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].
Trex’s PE usage fell from 421 million pounds in 2021 to 409 million pounds in 2022, then to 328 million pounds in 2023. | HappyStockPhoto/Shutterstock
Composite decking company Trex used about 328 million pounds of recycled PE in its decking in 2023, a dip from years past. Continue Reading
Houston-based film recycler Circulus is set to be acquired by Dow. | Courtesy of Circulus
Dow plans to acquire mechanical recycler Circulus for an undisclosed amount, bringing a total capacity of about 55,000 short tons per year of processing volume under Dow’s umbrella. Continue Reading
S 2830 seeks to regulate many single-use plastic products, improve recycling access and commission studies on extended producer responsibility, organics and PS. | Natalia Bratslavsky/Shutterstock
A bill that combines a half-dozen environmental actions, touching on extended producer responsibility for several materials, plastic bans and access to both bulky plastic and organics recycling, has passed the Massachusetts Senate and gone onto the House for consideration. Continue Reading
Amazon aims to replace 100% of plastic air pillows in delivery packaging with paper filler by the end of the year. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Amazon will send 15 billion fewer plastic pillows into the waste stream after replacing 95% of its product protection system with paper in North America, the company recently announced. Continue Reading
To accommodate the upgrade, about 10,000 square feet were added to the existing CompuCycle facility, bringing it to 50,000 square feet. | Myibean/Shutterstock
Houston-based CompuCycle brought its planned plastic sorting line upgrade online, allowing it to process up to three tons of e-plastic per hour, including PS, ABS, PE and PP. Continue Reading
Of 147 companies ranked with stated recyclability goals, only 22 are on track to meet them. | Valeriya Bogdanova/Shutterstock
Most companies are likely to miss their recyclability goals and are using more plastic than before despite reduction goals, but there has been a shift to supporting extended producer responsibility policies, according to a recently released report card from the environmental activist group As You Sow. Continue Reading
The June 14 webinar “EPR in British Columbia: A Timeline of Success and Challenge Past, Present, Future” brought together nine speakers with long experience in extended producer responsibility in the province. | Vipada Kanajod/Shutterstock
How did a law intended to stop can-tabs litter in British Columbia lead to today’s expansive extended producer responsibility laws? Those involved in its evolution traced the path in a webinar hosted by the Coast Waste Management Association. Continue Reading
Panelists discuss how collaboration can benefit all parties during the session “The New Era of Collaboration” at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in Grapevine, Texas. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
Collaboration between all parts of the plastic value chain is necessary to advance sustainability goals, and four companies at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference showed how they’re embodying that idea. Continue Reading
Plastic bale wrap used to store livestock feed, such as silage, is collected for recycling through a Cleanfarms pilot program. | Photo courtesy of Cleanfarms
2023 was a record-breaking collection year for Canadian ag recycling nonprofit Cleanfarms.
Minnesota became the fifth U.S. state to pass extended producer responsibility for packaging. | IMG_191/Shutterstock
After months of collaboration and negotiation, stakeholders in Minnesota walked away with an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging that had elements both familiar and unique, and an overarching question: Is this the first state in a new wave of EPR or a continuation of early adopters?