Polywood uses HDPE, primarily milk jugs and detergent bottles, to produce various types of outdoor furniture. | vermontalm/Shutterstock
Polywood, a manufacturer of outdoor furniture made from recycled HDPE, will invest nearly $43 million to increase its Syracuse, Ind. production capacity.
Last year, 1.77 billion pounds of PET bottles were collected and sold to reclaimers. | Picsfive/Shutterstock
The U.S. PET bottle recycling rate declined by a percentage point to 27.9% in 2019, though the amount of RPET used to make new bottles increased.
Atlanta-based Nexus Fuels signed an agreement to supply pyrolysis liquid derived from scrap plastics to Shell. | Courtesy of Shell.
The world’s largest PET producer will put massive sums of money into boosting RPET production capacity, and petrochemical companies recently described new chemical recycling collaborations.
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The legislation ensures pyrolysis plants and other chemical recycling facilities are regulated as manufacturers, rather than solid waste operations. | Cascade Creatives/Shutterstock
Pennsylvania’s governor signed legislation that eases the regulatory environment for facilities that use certain technologies to process scrap plastics.
News that Sonoco is closing a Yakima, Wash. facility that uses recovered PET drew attention last month. | Iurii N/Shutterstock
Articles about the U.S. plastics recycling rate, as well as the country’s contributions to ocean litter, drew our readers’ attention last month.
The Yakima, Wash. facility uses recovered PET to produce thermoform packaging for produce. | Iurii N/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
Sonoco is planning to shutter a West Coast thermoforming operation that uses recycled PET, with layoffs scheduled to start Dec. 20.
Amcor sees the greatest opportunity for use of PCR in its PET and HDPE rigid packaging portfolio. | Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
Amcor, one of the largest packaging producers in the world, used nearly 84,000 metric tons of PCR during the 2020 fiscal year, according to its sustainability report.
An employment lawyer recently said there isn’t a clear answer yet on whether non-healthcare employers can force employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, but there are some indications they’ll be allowed to. | Rohane Hamilton/Shutterstock
As the country gets closer to coronavirus vaccine approvals and distribution, recycling business managers may soon face a thorny question: whether to force employees to take the vaccine.
Braskem works with both mechanical and chemical recycling processors to produce its PCR. | StanislauV/Shutterstock
Polyolefins giant Braskem has set its sights on expanding post-consumer resin production as part of the company’s new sustainability commitments.
Recently released data shows the U.S. plastics recycling rate held steady at 8.5% in 2018. | nelladel/Shutterstock
The U.S. recycling and composting rate declined significantly in 2018, but certain materials fared better than others, according to figures from the federal government. The drop was partially due to a change in how the rate was calculated.