Balcones Resources’ materials recovery facility (MRF) in Austin, Texas is one of a dozen recycling facilities now owned by newly launched company Circular Services. | Jared Paben / Plastics Recycling Update.
Last year’s launch of Circular Services created a new family of varied recycling companies, yet they’re all focused on a circular economy and are fueled with hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh capital.
D&W Fine Pack has used RPET for roughly a decade, and is now ramping up its use of post-consumer resins in response to growing demand. | Aykut Erdogdu/Shutterstock
A multi-million-dollar equipment investment is enabling D&W Fine Pack to recycle post-consumer PET flakes into 100% recycled content food packaging. An executive at the company described the project and the benefits it will bring.
Nexus Circular uses a pyrolysis technology to process scrap plastics into an oil that plastics producers can use to make new polyolefins. | Courtesy of Nexus Circular
Atlanta-based Nexus Circular has received a $150 million investment from a diversified global company, which will become its new owner. Continue Reading
The project, run by Return-It and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), resulted in about 94% usable plastic. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
In five months, Washington state residents in the greater Seattle area turned in over 25 tons of film to independent grocery stores as part of a pilot project. Continue Reading
Maine’s EPR draft rules will go to the Board of Environmental Protection to begin the formal rulemaking process in December 2023. | Yurii Prohonnyi/Shutterstock
Maine’s governor signed an extended producer responsibility law for packaging in 2021, and the state is now seeking stakeholder feedback to guide the rulemaking process.
A recycling technology company leader argues we should evaluate whether the outputs of molecular recycling technologies qualify as recycling, instead of applying labels to the processes themselves. | maciej nicgorski/Shutterstock
Environmental group Oceana estimates Amazon produced 709 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2021. | oasisamuel/Shutterstock
Amazon recently disclosed data on its plastic packaging footprint and sustainability efforts. But where the online giant sees progress, an environmental group sees cherry-picked numbers.
WWF found that 34% of members’ plastic footprint was recycled, 9% incinerated, 43% landfilled and 15% mismanaged. | Kraft74/Shutterstock
In 2021, major brands increased their use of PCR and cut back on “problematic plastics,” but the amount of plastic they put on the market grew by over 5%, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The Dec. 15 hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works brought four panelists together to answer questions from legislators. | Katherine Welles/Shutterstock
During a two-hour hearing, U.S. senators questioned industry experts about chemicals in plastics, marine plastic pollution and extended producer responsibility.