Months after China ramped up restrictions on scrap plastic imports, countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are initiating similar, if less extensive, policies as officials try to get a handle on massive increases in shipments and improper use of permits.
Global oil, gas and petrochemicals corporation ExxonMobil has joined The Recycling Partnership with a $1.5 million commitment.
A rendering of the future plant in Terneuzen, The Netherlands.
Stakeholders are getting closer to building a facility to recycle PS foam building insulation containing flame retardants.
A scientific panel in Europe has greenlighted a number of processes and technologies for recycling post-consumer plastics into food packaging.
Aligning recycling metrics with concepts such as sustainable materials management has been a challenge. But a researcher in Florida is offering intriguing possibilities in that area.
An Ontario group recently looked at market factors shaping the domestic plastics recycling industry in 2017, and it offered predictions about where things are headed.
Soaring volumes of scrap plastic and paper shipped to Vietnam have caused growing concern among local officials, who have logged numerous instances of customs violations in recent months.
Innovators in the resin realm often get a bad rap for prioritizing functionality over recyclability. But according to one bioplastics executive, end-of-life is still top-of-mind for many companies developing cutting-edge materials.
Major Vietnam shipping terminals will temporarily stop accepting imports of scrap plastic, citing an overload of the material that has caused backups and delays. The move is a significant development for the global recycled plastics industry, because Vietnam has accepted much more material since China cut off imports.
In an effort to reduce litter and increase recycling, more and more jurisdictions are turning to deposit return systems for the recovery of beverage containers. These systems require consumers to pay a small deposit at the point of purchase, and they get the deposit back when they return the empty container for recycling.