As 2024 wound to close, major plastic resin producers were hit with two similar recycling-related class-action lawsuits – the latest in a growing trend of pursuing legal means of recouping costs for plastic pollution. | Zolnierek/Shutterstock
ExxonMobil on Monday filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alleging that he and several environmental groups defamed the global oil and chemical company “for politics, publicity and private gain.” Continue Reading
While overall workplace fatalities decreased in the U.S. in 2023, the waste and recycling industry was a troubling outlier. | Wave Break Media/Shutterstock
Nine workers died in U.S. materials recovery facilities in 2023 and the death rate for refuse and recyclable material collectors jumped more than 80%, according to the latest annual numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue Reading
With the addition of EPS bans in California and Oregon, the entire West Coast now has some level of restriction on the material. | Kittiwat Chaitoep/Shutterstock
As of the first of the year, restrictions on EPS foodware items in California and Oregon are officially in effect. Continue Reading
The combination of the two packaging giants aims to strengthen positioning in high-growth, high-value categories. | 360b/Shutterstock
Switzerland-headquartered packaging giant Amcor will acquire Indiana-based Berry Global in an $8.4 billion all-stock deal that’s expected to close in mid-2025, the companies announced Nov. 19, marking a continuing trend of consolidation in the packaging industry.
The data also indicated that RPET flake and pellet may have been imported as plastic scrap rather than resin, potentially skewing the data. | Monticello/Shutterstock
Recycling for U.S. PET bottles in 2023 gained 4 percentage points on the year to reach 33%, the highest rate since 1996, according to a report from the National Association for PET Container Resources industry group. Continue Reading
In the third quarter of 2024, the Northeast Recycling Council reported the blended value of a ton, not counting the negative impact of residuals, was $121.21, up 3% from the second quarter of the year. | Nickpeps/Shutterstock
Average commodity prices rose slightly in the third quarter of the year due to national and regional trends, though the growth appears to be cooling off, according to the latest report from the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading
Natural HDPE notched a double-digit percentage increase in value this month, but it was an outlier: All other major curbside plastic grades either fell or were unchanged in value.
Continue Reading
Under Maine’s EPR program, signed into law in 2021, producers directly reimburse municipalities for collection and recycling of materials. | Yurii Prohonnyi/Shutterstock
Maine approved rules for its extended producer responsibility law for packaging, three years after becoming the first state to pass packaging EPR. Continue Reading
Effects from proposed tariffs against Mexico and Canada could include market consolidation favoring larger firms that can absorb added costs. | Menzl_Guenter/Shutterstock
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series taking a closer look at the potential effects of threatened tariffs on recycled commodity markets. Read the previous installment here, on what trade flows are most likely to be affected. Continue Reading
The third iteration of Oregon’s program plan had more accurate cost estimates, after Circular Action Alliance carried out a costing survey over the summer. | Nadia Yong/Shutterstock
Oregon moved its rulemaking process ahead for its extended producer responsibility for packaging law set to roll out next summer, and Circular Action Alliance also released its third program plan draft. Continue Reading