The task force will include elected officials at the federal, state and local level, as well as recycling industry representatives. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
Four members of Congress this week unveiled a workgroup to boost plastics recycling through technology investments and more. It’s the latest of several recent moves at the national level to address plastics recovery.
The recently introduced RECOVER Act provides funds to support recycling infrastructure, programs and education. | Yi Chen Chiang/Shutterstock
Legislation before Congress provides up to $500 million in matching grants to state and local governments to support recycling.
News about an upcoming facility to process post-consumer film captured clicks in November. | Image courtesy of PreZero US
A mix of stories covering new recycling facilities, end market demand, legislation and the national recycling rate attracted our readers’ interest last month.
Plastic-sorting robots are just the latest upgrade for Recology’s San Francisco MRF. | Courtesy of Recology.
A West Coast operator installed four artificial intelligence units at its high-tech San Francisco materials recovery facility (MRF). A company manager explained how the machinery is working in conjunction with optical sorters to boost recovery and reduce contamination in PET and HDPE.
Indorama has stated it will invest more than $1 billion in recycling over the next five years. | RecycleMan/Shutterstock
Indorama Ventures, the world’s biggest prime PET producer, has acquired another U.S. plastics recycling company, this time on the West Coast.
Post-consumer plastic makes up about 0.5% of Indorama’s resin offerings. | Joyce Blessthink/Shutterstock
Virgin resin producers Borealis and Indorama have made ambitious recycled plastic commitments, but post-consumer plastic still makes up a tiny fraction of what they sell.
A story about recycling innovations at K show captured clicks in October. | Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann
Technology stories drew readers’ interest last month, along with articles about a TV news investigation and the Association of Plastic Recyclers meeting.
A number of technologies were recently approved for recycling plastic for use in food and drink packaging. | monticello/Shutterstock
A panel determined that recycling technologies from Bandera, Erema, Poly Recycling and Starlinger produce RPET that’s safe for use in food and drink packaging.
A university investigates how ABS is affected by multiple 3D printing and recycling cycles, and a cross-industry group evaluates the recyclability of barrier film technologies.
In 2017, the U.S. recycled 3 million tons of plastic, down 5.1% from 2015, according to the EPA.
The U.S. plastics recycling rate fell to its lowest level in half a decade, recently released figures show.