Nina Bellucci Butler speaks at the Resource Recycling Conference.
U.S. and Canadian end users could consume more of the recovered plastics generated domestically if prices and specifications meet their needs. But a handful of converging market trends are standing in the way of significant growth.
California lawmakers have approved a bill mandating that carpet stewards achieve a 24 percent recycling rate and discouraging the use of incineration. The legislation will now head to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
Future funding levels for the U.S. EPA are one step closer to certainty after lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives approved government spending outlined in a dozen agency-specific budget bills this month.
Plastic marine debris makes its way into the Arctic, and analysts predict how China’s proposed import ban could lead to a greater reliance on virgin plastics in Chinese manufacturing.
A type of caterpillar eats and breaks down polyethylene, and Tanzania asks new plastic product manufacturers to build recycling facilities.
Terrorist attacks in Brussels have prompted the cancellation of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe, and a report estimates a 25 percent jump in the number of plastics recycling facilities in Europe in the immediate future.
Rhode Island legislators have introduced a bill that requires brand owners to nearly double the recycling rate for packaging over the course of two years.
Indonesia considers following its fee on plastic bags with one on plastic beverage containers, and South African pickers could be hurt by a transition to extended producer responsibility for packaging.
Ontario has passed legislation ushering in full producer-paid recycling of packaging materials throughout the province of more than 13 million people.
California regulators are threatening to bring the hammer down on a carpet stewardship group, saying it has failed for years to grow carpet recycling.