The U.S. Plastics Pact reported that by the end of 2022, pact signatories had increased PCR use from 7% to 9.4%. | XXL Photo/Shutterstock
The U.S. Plastics Pact this week unveiled the goals its signatories will strive for during the next five years. Most of the goals build on the efforts over the past five years, and the group’s target date to hit 30% average recycled content has been extended from 2025 to 2030. Continue Reading
Panelists discuss how collaboration can benefit all parties during the session “The New Era of Collaboration” at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in Grapevine, Texas. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
Collaboration between all parts of the plastic value chain is necessary to advance sustainability goals, and four companies at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference showed how they’re embodying that idea. Continue Reading
Color HDPE dropped 10% in value this month, while other plastic grades remained steady or saw slight increases. Continue Reading
Matium both connects buyers and sellers and makes data reporting easier for users of the digital platform. | Ann-Moore/Shutterstock
Matium last month began the commercial launch of a platform that digitizes many aspects of the plastics recycling trading business. The company also received a recent funding boost from an economic development agency in Colorado.
Bic reported 62.1% recycled content in its plastic packaging in 2023, up from 54.7% in 2022 and 52.1% in 2021. | Arhelaos/Shutterstock
French manufacturer Bic used 62% recycled content in its plastic packaging last year, moving it closer to a 2025 goal. But the company has a ways to go to meet its goal for recycled content in its actual products, which include lighters, pens, razors and other consumer goods.
Minnesota became the fifth U.S. state to pass extended producer responsibility for packaging. | IMG_191/Shutterstock
After months of collaboration and negotiation, stakeholders in Minnesota walked away with an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging that had elements both familiar and unique, and an overarching question: Is this the first state in a new wave of EPR or a continuation of early adopters?
Senate Bill 1053 revises California’s bag ban to state that reusable bags provided at point of sale cannot be made from plastic film. | Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock
A bill that expands California’s bag ban to prohibit all plastic bags – even the reusable recycled-content bags that are a major driver of post-consumer film resin sales – is working its way through the California legislative system. Reclaimers and bag producers have come out against the bill. Continue Reading
Emily Friedman, a recycled plastics senior editor at ICIS, expects steady growth in U.S. mechanical recycling capacity despite a slowdown on the announcement of greenfield facilities. | Zombiemaster/Shutterstock
After attending NPE 2024, ICIS’s Emily Friedman walked away thinking that producers of durables are showing interest in recycled resins, the plastics industry needs to add its voice to policy discussions, and there’s growth on the horizon for both mechanical and chemical recycling capacity. Continue Reading
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office recently extended a tariff exemption on shredder parts that wear down until the end of May 2025. | cybrain/Shutterstock
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has extended tariff exemptions that cover certain shredder components imported from China, drawing praise from the Recycled Materials Association. Continue Reading
ADS purchases over 1.1 billion pounds of resin annually from 525 suppliers, half of it recycled, making it the largest plastic recycling company in the U.S. | Courtesy of Advanced Drainage Systems
Advanced Drainage Systems, currently the largest plastics recycling company in the U.S., saw lower sales over the past year due to lower demand in the construction and agricultural markets in mid-2023. But the company still reported record profit, largely due to lower feedstock prices. Continue Reading