This story has been corrected.
California legislation requiring 20 percent recycled content in PET bottles failed. Meanwhile, state lawmakers passed a number of other plastic and recycling-related bills before adjourning.
Articles about theft convictions and the environmental upsides of plastics recycling landed on last month’s most-read list, joined by always-popular updates on international trade.
A Thai policy restricting the import of scrap plastics has proved effective. U.S. scrap plastic exports to the country dropped by 94 percent after the ban took hold.
Plastics recycling companies are seeing higher freight costs amid a tight trucking market, and the logistical challenges are predicted to increase in the coming years.
Policymakers and companies have taken recent action on single-use plastic bags. One major corporation’s decision to phase out bags has been cited as evidence of changing retailer mindsets.
The U.S. and China have fired their latest salvo in their ongoing trade war, and this time tariffs have been applied to recovered plastics and a number of other U.S. recyclables.
Fiberon, a major end user for recovered PE, will be purchased by a publicly traded company that owns prominent home and security product brands.
Recycled plastic yarn manufacturer Unifi saw an increase in sales last year, including stronger demand for its recycled flake and chip. But higher PET bale prices cut into profits.
Governments in Southeast Asia are following through on promises to heavily restrict scrap imports.
Researchers have calculated substantial upsides from making products out of recycled PET, HDPE and PP instead of prime plastics.