The SPI Resin Identification Code (RIC), now the property of ASTM, an international standards organization, was created in 1988 to help recycling stakeholders know which plastic was being used for containers. Required on certain containers in 39 states in the U.S., the RIC names six resins without defining them and provides a seventh number for all others.
Following the price hikes in March and April, the market in China for recovered plastic material has declined since the second half of May both in pricing and demand.
In mid-July, a landmark pilot effort sorted out plastic bottles and other recyclables from waste generated by attendees of a string of classic rock concerts held at Boston’s beloved Fenway Park.
This story originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of Plastics Recycling Update.
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Conrad MacKerron
In the last two years, there has been a positive shift by previously recalcitrant brands to accept the importance of packaging recycling as part of total product life cycle and to commit to increasing packaging recyclability.
The PET package has come a long way since the founding of the National Association for PET Container Resources in October of 1987.
Working with the ever-changing stream of packaging innovations is a constant challenge for the plastics recycling industry.
During the past year, the national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars rose steadily by 68 percent, from 8.6 cents per pound in March 2016 to the current 14.5 cents per pound.
The national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars has been increasing steadily since January. On Jan. 3, the national average price was 10.8 cents per pound. It has moved up 40 percent to the current 15.1 cents per pound.
Clarissa Morawski
Single-use packaging is easy to spot. A short walk along a beach, anywhere in the world, will reveal the consequences of our throwaway culture as each tide brings in a fresh layer of debris, most of it single-use plastics.
