Jared Paben outside of ORPET, a PET bottle recycling plant in St. Helens, Ore., in May 2023.
After nine years at Resource Recycling, publisher of Plastics Recycling Update, I have decided to leave to seize life’s next adventure. Continue Reading
Jared Paben outside of ORPET, a PET bottle recycling plant in St. Helens, Ore., in May 2023.
After nine years at Resource Recycling, publisher of Plastics Recycling Update, I have decided to leave to seize life’s next adventure. Continue Reading
Myplas USA brought its 170,000-square-foot mechanical recycling and pelletizing facility in Minnesota on-line, creating an outlet for flexible film. | Joyce Blessthink/Shutterstock
Reclaimer Myplas USA brought its Minnesota processing facility on-line this month, bringing an annual 90 million pounds of flexible film recycling capacity to the area. Continue Reading
Azek uses an average of 85% recycled content in its TimberTech Composite Decking. | Photo courtesy Azek
Recycled plastic end user Azek reported higher sales of its residential products in the 2023 fiscal year, a category that includes decking and trim made from recycled PE and PVC. The company also reported increasing its use of recycled plastic throughout 2023. Continue Reading
Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where U.S. e-scrap companies send a lot of their e-plastics. Several insiders recently shared their thoughts on how the industry will approach e-plastics export violations. | Nicola Pulham/Shutterstock
Chris Kaasmann sees a parallel between the electronics recycling industry’s requirement to start managing electronics plastics differently and the need for the planet to switch to renewable energy. Both need to happen, but in neither case can you simply flip a switch to realize universal change.
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A European Food Safety Authority panel reviewed over two dozen applications to recycle post-consumer PET into food and drink packaging during the past six months. | CalypsoArt/Shutterstock
A food safety scientific panel has approved the use of post-consumer PET recycling technologies from Bandera, Erema, Gneuss, NGR, Polymetrix, Starlinger and others. Continue Reading
The Film Drop-Off Directory is ending services after 20 years of operation. | Pavel Kubarkov/Shutterstock
A long-running comprehensive guide to public drop-off sites accepting plastic film has been taken down, leaving a gap in consumer-facing recycling information for bags and other flexible packaging. Continue Reading
During the first nine months of 2023, exports of scrap plastic from the U.S. to Mexico dropped 9% year over year. | Quiggyt4/Shutterstock
The U.S. continued to export less scrap plastic to the rest of the world, according to an analysis of trade data covering the first nine months of 2023. Continue Reading
The slow progress of the U.N. committee tasked with crafting a global plastics agreement has many frustrated, but others see sunshine on the horizon. | Courtesy of INC-3
As the third meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee wrapped up in Kenya, delegates once again expressed frustration about the slow progress toward an internationally binding resolution on plastic pollution. Continue Reading
Fall is bringing a rise in scrap plastics pricing, with both curbside PET and HDPE experiencing notable increases in November.
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Analysts at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimate that with full global cooperation, plastics use in products could be reduced by 30% compared to 2020 levels. | DeawSS/Shutterstock
Countries must work together to enact policies that reduce virgin plastic demand, support design for recyclability, bolster recycling systems and improve collection.
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