As of 2023, 61% of Mars packaging is designed to be recyclable, reusable or compostable, up from 57% in 2022 but significantly short of 100% by 2025, and the company used an average of 1.5% recycled content across its packaging portfolio, significantly short of 30% by 2025. | MarsMM/Shutterstock
Brand owner Mars says the design and infrastructure changes that are needed to meet its recycling goals are “taking longer than we anticipated” – and that it will miss certain goals it set for 2025.
The new recycling center in Ohio combines vast processing capacity with community outreach and education, company leadership said in an interview. | Courtesy of Rumpke
Understanding customer needs has shaped the new Rumpke Waste & Recycling facility in Columbus, Ohio, and will help increase incoming volumes, according to company leadership. Continue Reading
Republic Services recovered 2.2 million tons of cardboard, metal, organics, paper and plastics in 2023. | Rhfletcher/Shutterstock
For a second consecutive year, waste hauler Republic Services recovered fewer tons of recyclable materials than in the previous year, according to the company’s 2023 ESG report. Continue Reading
Petroleum product brands have formed a producer responsibility organization in response to several extended producer responsibility laws. | Andrei Askirka/Shutterstock
Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Valvoline and other petroleum brand owners have formed the Lubricant Packaging Management Association to fulfill their obligations under packaging and household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility laws. Continue Reading
Eastman’s Kingsport, Tennessee plant uses methanolysis to chemically recycle PET. | Monticello/Shutterstock
In their latest earnings call, Eastman representatives said the company’s chemical recycling facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, is ramping up to 100% capacity and is gearing up to take in a “broader set” of uncommonly recycled plastics. Continue Reading
ADS bought a third of the total color HDPE bales in North America in fiscal 2024, and recycled plastics accounted for 50% of the company’s resin purchases in that time period. | Photo courtesy of ADS
Advanced Drainage Systems has reported flat consumption of recycled plastics over the past few years, but in fiscal 2024 the company increased the share of recycled materials to 50% of its total resin purchases, according to its most recent ESG report.
EverestLabs uses robotic arms, AI, machine learning and visioning systems to automate material sorting. | Courtesy of EverestLabs
To address recycled feedstock supply challenges, robotics and AI company EverestLabs says there’s a need to pivot to new technologies. Continue Reading
The Responsible Recycling Alliance is calling for California lawmakers to abandon Senate Bill 1053, which would expand the state’s bag ban to prohibit reusable bags made from 40% post-consumer resin. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Seeking to quash a regulatory change that would remove over 100 million pounds of North American post-consumer resin demand per year, EFS-Plastics, Merlin Plastics and PreZero US have joined together to advocate for retaining recycled-content reusable plastic bags in California’s bag regulations. Continue Reading
The recent upgrade of WM’s Germantown MRF in Wisconsin added 20% more capacity to one of the company’s largest facilities in the heart of a rapidly growing manufacturing corridor. | Courtesy of WM
With a nearly $39 million upgrade completed at one of its biggest MRFs, WM officials are looking to further refine automation capabilities as well as add volumes in the Midwest. Continue Reading