The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery released a revised informal draft of SB 54 regulations. | Michael Warwick/Shutterstock
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery released a revised draft of SB 54 regulations, two months after the governor rejected the first version of the extended producer responsibility for paper and packaging rules.
Using data including state litter studies, the bill moved farther along than previous efforts, lending optimism to its potential to pass in 2027. | Andrew Yahin/Shutterstock
A bipartisan bill in Texas to introduce a bottle deposit return system ran out of time for a state House vote, but supporters see cause for optimism after a strong showing during the recently concluded biennial legislative session.
A California initiative and a nationwide study examine the accessibility of film recycling programs, and a Canadian city begins collection. | Dmitry Markov152/Shutterstock
Most Americans have access to a store drop-off site for film plastics, according to a new study by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Continue Reading
A technology-focused panel at ReMA’s 2025 conference featured Blake Gordon of Georgia-Pacific Recycling, Lisa Kagan of Buddy and Geoff Aardsma of AMCS, and was moderated by Jennifer Betts of Magnar Metals. | Photo by Colin Staub / Resource Recycling
For Blake Gordon, general manager of digital trading at Georgia-Pacific Recycling, defining next-generation technology can be boiled down to a simple question: Does it simplify something that is unnecessarily complex? If so, it’s next-gen. Continue Reading
After a long runup, natural and colored HDPE grades saw sharp decreases in value once again in May, joined by drops in PET and PP prices. 
Following dramatic staffing cuts and an overall lack of clarity from federal officials, the future of an important program for recycled plastics remains a question mark. | StanislauV/Shutterstock
Amid sweeping federal staffing cuts, the future of a government program to assess processes to make food packaging from recycled plastics is unclear, sources told Plastics Recycling Update in recent interviews.
Trex’s recycled plastic processing operation in Arkansas began production late in the first quarter. | Photo Courtesy of Trex
Pressures from tariffs and consumer spending slowdowns have contributed to lower revenues year over year at Trex, Mohawk and Indorama, according to their recent first-quarter reports.
The safety-focused summit came after the latest federal data showed a backslide in waste and recycling industry safety. | Sirisak baokaew/Shutterstock
As recycling companies seek to improve workplace safety amid an industry-wide increase in on-the-job fatalities, experts at a recent industry summit advised managers to focus their attention on — and for top executives, even to attend — the regular pre-shift safety meetings.
A secondary sorting facility pulling deposit containers out of mixed plastic bales was awarded funding from the state of California. | Hiv360/Shutterstock
California’s state recycling agency will provide $10 million toward a facility sorting plastics with resin codes 2-7, additional multimillion dollar grants for several major MRF retrofits, and a handful of smaller awards for localities to install recycling collection containers. Continue Reading
Researchers with Google X’s Moonshot Factory are working with product designers to recycle plastics currently considered unrecyclable. | Artgray/Shutterstock
Google X and Dow Chemical are collaborating to develop an artificial intelligence sorting system capable of identifying film plastics and mixed materials, they announced at a conference in April.