Waste Management issued its September 2020 “Report on Recycling” to identify gaps in U.S. plastics recycling infrastructure, among other goals. | Natallia Boroda/Shutterstock
A recent report from the nation’s largest waste and recycling hauler reviews the current state of reclamation capacity for PET, HDPE and PP in the U.S.
Coca-Cola European Partners announced that all bottles produced in Norway, which are made from about 25% recycled plastic currently, will hit 100% during the first half of next year. | Jevanto Productions/Shutterstock
The primary Coca-Cola bottler in Europe will use 100% recycled PET containers in the Netherlands and Norway, committing to consume millions of pounds of additional recycled resin per year.
Interpol found that plastic waste fires, both accidental and deliberate, have increased since Chinese import restrictions took hold. | MOHAMED ABDULRAHEEM/Shutterstock
Improper management of scrap plastics in Southeast Asia and elsewhere has increased sharply in the wake of China’s National Sword policy, according to international law enforcement body Interpol.
A solvent-based recycling process successfully de-inks LDPE film samples, and an equipment provider releases an updated line of melt filter products for compounding.
Federal funding has been announced for research looking into sorting scrap plastic and using enzymes to clean material, among other recycling-related efforts. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
Research focused on improving scrap plastics sortation received funding from the REMADE Institute. Meanwhile, the organization will provide up to $35 million for its next round of grants, with priority placed on plastics.
Senate Bill 54 would have tasked state regulators with developing and adopting rules requiring all single-use packaging and “priority single-use products” sold in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. | SerPhoto/Shutterstock
For the second straight year, a California proposal that had broad recyclability goals did not make it through the legislature.
California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.
Merlin Plastics currently produces non-food-contact recycled HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE and PP, as well as RPET approved for use in food and drink packaging. | Courtesy of NOVA Chemicals.
NOVA Chemicals will provide financing to Merlin Plastics to help the reclaimer produce food-contact recycled HDPE. Then, NOVA will buy up to 30 million pounds of the PCR per year.
A number of new label technologies will improve the ability to process scrap PET bottles. | DedMityay/Shutterstock
Two pressure-sensitive labels and one shrink-sleeve label recently received recognition from the Association of Plastic Recyclers because they were proven not to interfere with the PET recycling process.
Sales and profits were up for two major consumers of recycled plastic. | Orathai Mayoeh/Shutterstock
COVID-19 and the related economic slowdowns have bruised the bottom line of a major RPET consumer, but other recycled-plastic-product makers have reported economic gains.