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Category: News

Plant pot maker plans new facility with PCR focus

Published: April 26, 2022
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Stacks of black plastic planting pots.

Michigan-based East Jordan Plastics recycles over 20 million pounds of horticultural containers each year. | apple2499/Shutterstock

East Jordan Plastics, one of the largest horticultural container manufacturers in North America, announced it will build a $44 million facility in Lyons, Ga.

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Film extruder moving into recycled plastic molding

Published: April 26, 2022
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Detail of map showing Berwick, Pa. and surrounding area.

The owner and president of US Premium Molders said Berwick was chosen for its easy access to the major interstates and proximity to the metropolitan markets. | SevenMaps/Shutterstock

US Premium Plastics is expanding into the injection molding business and recently signed a lease in Berwick, Pa.

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US plastic recycling numbers continue to fall

Published: April 26, 2022
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PET bottles collected for recycling.

Broken down by scrap type, a study found that bottles, non-bottle rigid plastics and other plastics all saw declines individually in 2020. | TeuNg StyLe/Shutterstock

The U.S. is processing more of its scrap plastic domestically, but the overall weight of plastic recycled in 2020 dropped just under 6% from 2019, according to an annual industry report.

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ExxonMobil, others roll out chemical recycling updates

Published: April 26, 2022
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Exxon Mobil corporate sign and landscaping.

Packaging companies recently announced they will purchase recycled resin produced through ExxonMobil’s chemical recycling technology. | Katherine Welles/Shutterstock

Multiple companies announced they will be increasing their use of chemically recycled plastics in pursuit of their recycled-content goals, and a consumer goods group said it supports chemical recycling.

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Diversity, equity and inclusion vital to future operations

Published: April 26, 2022
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Interviewing candidates waiting room.

A presenter at NERC’s Spring Conference encouraged recruitment managers to implement specific practices to reduce bias in hiring decisions.  | fizkes/Shutterstock

Diversity, equity and inclusion are no longer add-ons, but a necessary part of any serious company, panelists at the Northeast Recycling Council’s Spring 2022 Conference said.

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Southeast MRF upgrades improve plastics recovery

Published: April 26, 2022
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Machinex equipment inside the MRF.

Recycling equipment manufacturer Machinex provided improved sorting technologies for two Pratt single-stream MRFs. | Courtesy of Machinex

Pratt Industries may be primarily focused on recycling fiber into cardboard boxes, but with higher scrap plastics prices, the company also saw a business opportunity in boosting PET and HDPE bottle sorting.

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Ahead of mandate, beverage brands disclose RPET stats

Published: April 20, 2022
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Bottle return at a reverse vending machine.

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) on April 14 released 2021 data on virgin and recycled plastic usage in beverage containers covered by the state’s deposit law. | Pazargic Liviu/Shutterstock

This story has been corrected.

Numbers for 2021 show some big beverage brands were ahead of the game when it comes to complying with California’s recycled-content law, including BlueTriton Brands, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo. Others remained far short of the targets set by the state.

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California’s PCR crunch ‘just the beginning’

Published: April 20, 2022
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Empty PET bottles for recycling.

To meet California’s 15% PCR rate by 2022, U.S. reclaimers need an aggregate additional output of 800,000 tons of food-grade post-consumer PET and PE.  | monticello/Shutterstock

A report from Independent Commodity Intelligence Services found that there’s not enough post-consumer resin in the U.S. market to meet California’s mandates, and there are more state mandates coming on-line soon. 

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Q&A: Seizing the moment on recycling policy

Published: April 20, 2022
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EPR bills, proposed in a number of states, aim to improve curbside collection and more. | Jared Paben

Last year, Maine and Oregon each passed major pieces of recycling legislation that incorporated elements of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, a strategy in which producers are mandated to fund packaging recovery in those states. Continue Reading