The U.S. exported 102.3 million pounds of recovered plastic in February, with Malaysia as the top overseas destination. | MAGNIFIER/Shutterstock
U.S. exports of recovered plastic remained consistent in February, despite global trade policy changes that went into effect at the beginning of the year.
Speakers in a session last week came from two often-opposing sides of the packaging and recycling debate: Craig Cookson of ACC and Kate Bailey from Eco-Cycle. | Screenshot from the 2021 Plastics Recycling Conference.
Last week’s Plastics Recycling Conference, held online, featured eight sessions over two days. Here are some of the talking points that caught our team’s attention.
With the new facility, HydroBlox has increased its recycled plastic consumption to 1 million pounds per week. | Courtesy of HydroBlox
Stormwater drainage product manufacturer HydroBlox has moved into a larger space and significantly increased its plastics recycling capacity.
Eastman is now supplying its Tritan Renew brand recycled resin to Tupperware Brands Corporation, which is using it to produce containers. | Courtesy of Tupperware Brands Corporation.
Three virgin plastics producers expand their recycled-resin offerings, and a chemically recycled copolyester finds a home in Tupperware food and drink containers.
Prices for baled curbside plastics are up across the board this month, with natural HDPE notching another record high.
NERC’s Next Generation Scholarship Fund is just one of multiple conversations the group is having on the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. | Lightspring/Shutterstock
Leaders at the Northeast Recycling Council recently explained how they’ll use a new scholarship fund to help boost racial diversity in the next generation of recycling industry professionals.
Plastics recycling stakeholders will gather online this week for insight and networking. | DC Studio/Shutterstock
Hundreds of plastics recycling and sustainability professionals are taking part in this week’s virtual Plastics Recycling Conference, which is offering discussions on policy, markets and more at a time of sector uncertainty.
North Carolina will invest nearly half a million dollars in grants to 16 recyclables processors. | Nordroden/Shutterstock
North Carolina will help pay for projects to improve PP sorting, recover mixed-color bottle flakes, shred old curbside carts, collect laboratory plastics and more.
A 100,000-square-foot facility in Spain will have the capacity to process more than 50 million pounds of e-plastics per year. | sonsart/Shutterstock
Spanish plastics recycling operation Fosimpe will enter the mixed-plastics processing sector in the coming weeks, driven not only by the global regulatory environment but by greater public interest in domestic material processing.
Malaysian authorities recently approved a container of clean PE scrap for import from U.S.-based Sigma Recycling. | UNIKYLUCKK/Shutterstock
A high-profile scrap plastic shipment from the U.S. to Malaysia was accepted after the importing country’s government said it contained clean, sorted material. The situation demonstrates the complexities in interpreting new plastic shipping regulations.