In the first quarter of 2023, Malaysia took in less than half the scrap plastic it did one year earlier; meanwhile, Bangladesh received just over four times as much. | Chenxueting/Shutterstock
U.S. companies exported 10% less scrap plastic during the first quarter of 2023 than they did a year earlier, and there were some dramatic changes in where material was flowing. Continue Reading
More honesty in recyclability labeling could save brands the trouble of going to court – without costing them much in sales. | Ivan Alex Burchak/Shutterstock
After Keurig Green Mountain reached a class-action settlement in a case concerning the company’s K-Cup recyclability claims, the plaintiffs anticipated the brand owner would end up paying consumers $1.25 million.
The city of Tuscon plans to use ByFusion’s blocks to expand a women’s shelter, among other projects. | Courtesy of ByFusion
A company that turns hard-to-recycle plastics into construction-grade building blocks signed a four-year contract with the city of Tucson to expand drop-off collection and further develop local manufacturing.
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Prices for bales of natural HDPE, color HDPE and PP have all continued increasing over the past month, though other plastics have seen values stay relatively flat. 
The customized facility will eventually become Verdeco’s headquarters. | Korn9/Shutterstock
Equipment is being installed in Verdeco’s new operation in South Carolina, putting the PET recycling firm on track to bring an additional 90 million pounds of capacity on-line this summer.
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Researchers found that one UK facility discharged somewhere between 59 and 1,184 metric tons of microplastics in a single year. | Microgen/Shutterstock
Research from the UK found that plastic recycling facilities are discharging microplastics into water systems and suggested both further research and stronger wastewater filtration systems to address the pollution. Continue Reading
The Circular Action Alliance will serve to coordinate producer responsibility efforts around the recovery of plastics and other forms of packaging, as well as paper, in Colorado. | Konektus Photo/Shutterstock
In a big step toward implementing one of the nation’s first extended producer responsibility programs for packaging, Colorado selected Circular Action Alliance as its producer responsibility organization. Continue Reading
LyondellBasell announced progress on its production of recycled polymers, and Sonoco announced it used 10% recycled content in its plastic packaging last year. | Madam F/Shutterstock
Two major companies, plastics producer LyondellBasell and packaging manufacturer Sonoco, recently published sustainability reports. The following are their plastics recycling takeaways. Continue Reading
Big names in food and other consumer goods are making big moves to use less virgin plastic. | Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock
Several large brands have recently upped their use of recycled plastics and updated their goals accordingly. Continue Reading
Remarks from industry groups focused on such topics as uniformity of standards, using data to back policy and recognition of the ever-changing recycling landscape. | G0d4ather/Shutterstock
The Federal Trade Commission requested comments on its revisions to the Green Guides and got 850 responses, with many calling for a crackdown on deceptive claims and better definitions of key terms. Continue Reading