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Category: News

Packaging EPR success requires a diverse coalition

Published: June 5, 2024
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Mixed plastics for sorting and recycling.

A May 28 webinar, “Coalition Building for Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging and Paper Products,” shared tips and tricks for passing EPR legislation with a strong group of supporters. | Marina-Onokhina/Shutterstock

Getting extended producer responsibility legislation passed takes a strong coalition, targeted education and a lot of meetings, those involved with the process in several states said during a recent webinar. 

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Complete plastic bag ban clears California Senate

Published: May 30, 2024
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A pile of colorful plastic bags.

Senate Bill 1053 revises California’s bag ban to state that reusable bags provided at point of sale cannot be made from plastic film. | Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock

A bill that expands California’s bag ban to prohibit all plastic bags – even the reusable recycled-content bags that are a major driver of post-consumer film resin sales – is working its way through the California legislative system. Reclaimers and bag producers have come out against the bill. Continue Reading

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Plastics made up 2% of recovery in Oregon in 2022

Published: May 30, 2024
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Landfill seen from above with equipment moving materials.

Oregon residents generated about 6.1 million tons of material in 2022, with 3.7 million tons going to landfills and incinerators and 2.4 million tons recovered. | Maksim Safaniuk/Shutterstock

The amount of material Oregonians disposed of in 2022 dropped significantly from the year before, largely due to fewer building-destroying wildfires, and about 2% of overall material was plastic.  Continue Reading

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ICIS expert’s takeaways from NPE 2024

Published: May 30, 2024
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Resin pellets spilling onto black background from tube.

Emily Friedman, a recycled plastics senior editor at ICIS, expects steady growth in U.S. mechanical recycling capacity despite a slowdown on the announcement of greenfield facilities. | Zombiemaster/Shutterstock

After attending NPE 2024, ICIS’s Emily Friedman walked away thinking that producers of durables are showing interest in recycled resins, the plastics industry needs to add its voice to policy discussions, and there’s growth on the horizon for both mechanical and chemical recycling capacity.  Continue Reading

Chinese shredder parts excluded from import tariffs

Published: May 30, 2024
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The U.S. Trade Representative’s office recently extended a tariff exemption on shredder parts that wear down until the end of May 2025. | cybrain/Shutterstock

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has extended tariff exemptions that cover certain shredder components imported from China, drawing praise from the Recycled Materials Association. Continue Reading

For ADS, low bale prices offset decrease in product sales

Published: May 21, 2024
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ADS purchases over 1.1 billion pounds of resin annually from 525 suppliers, half of it recycled, making it the largest plastic recycling company in the U.S. | Courtesy of Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, currently the largest plastics recycling company in the U.S., saw lower sales over the past year due to lower demand in the construction and agricultural markets in mid-2023. But the company still reported record profit, largely due to lower feedstock prices. Continue Reading

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Minnesota EPR program advances in budget bill

Published: May 21, 2024
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Court gavel resting on books and wooden desk.

Minnesota sent an EPR bill to its governor in a budget bill. | Rawf8/Shutterstock

Minnesota is officially the fifth U.S. state to pass extended producer responsibility for packaging after adding the program language into the 2024 Environment and Natural Resources Budget, which the governor signed. Continue Reading

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Entering the digital age of buying and selling

Published: May 21, 2024
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Shannon Gordon, the chief operating officer of Circular.Co., speaks about the growing trend of digital commodity trading at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Big Wave Productions/Plastics Recycling Update

Online buying, selling and trading is the future of recycled commodity sales – but we’re not in the future quite yet, digital platform providers said at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in March.  Continue Reading

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