The U.S. exported about 737 million pounds of scrap plastic over the course of the first three quarters of 2022. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
U.S. companies exported about 22% less scrap plastic during the first nine months of this year, continuing a trend of decreased overseas shipments.
The partnership between the two companies will help LyondellBasell work toward its goal of marketing 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030. | Courtesy of LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell will buy food-grade post-consumer natural HDPE from Envision Plastics and incorporate that PCR into various blends for sale to packaging producers.
KC Recycling is heavily involved in recycling lead batteries, which are roughly 4-5% polypropylene by weight. | Courtesy of KC Recycling
A British Columbia recycling company has struck a supply deal allowing true closed-loop recycling of polypropylene from lead batteries.
The European Commission is expected to announce the revisions of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive the week of Nov. 28. | VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
Online delivery packaging, takeaway cups and plastic drink bottles could see new targets for reuse and recycled content under proposals from the European Commission.
Waste Management (WM) has committed to investing more than $800 million to enhance recycling infrastructure, including $56 million to upgrade three Pacific Northwest materials recovery facilities (MRFs). | Pavel Kubarkov/Shutterstock
Dow and Waste Management are partnering on a pilot program that will give some Chicago residents the option of recycling plastic films curbside.
Amcor’s 2022 sustainability report also noted that 74% of Amcor’s total production by weight is now designed to be recycled and it has made a 33% reduction in material sent to disposal over the past three years. | 360b/Shutterstock
After several years of gains in recycled content usage, Amcor is setting a new recycled content goal of 30% by 2030, tripling its previous target.
Although the majority of companies continued to decrease virgin plastic use, collective use of plastic packaging increased by 4.3% from 2020 to 2021. | Zety Akhzar/Shutterstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s latest report showed that major packaging companies doubled their collective PCR percentage from 2018 to 2021. However, pandemic-related commerce trends also helped accelerate virgin plastic consumption.
Global consulting firm McKinsey & Company views secondary sortation facilities and high prices for PCR as potential avenues for preventing non-bottle plastics from going to landfill. | TY Lim/Shutterstock
Plastics producers rolling out chemical recycling technologies can access new feedstock streams by helping to finance secondary sortation facilities, according to a McKinsey study.
As of 2021 there were more than 40 companies working to develop or manage chemical recycling projects in the United States. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
Mechanical recycling should take priority over chemical recycling, but there will need to be several technical solutions to the world’s plastic problem, argued panelists on a recent Product Stewardship Institute webinar.