News of Republic Services’ moves to vertically integrate in plastics was of interest to readers in 2022. | Courtesy of Republic Services
Examining the trends that pushed and pulled on the industry over the past year can help provide insight into the 12 months yet to come.
ACI Plastics’ new extruder (at left) and wash line (at right) at the Flint, Mich. recycling plant. | Courtesy of ACI Plastics
ACI Plastics is approaching the finish line on its film line.
The increase marks the end of a years-long slide in the country’s PET bottle recovery rate, which had been falling since 2017. | New Africa/Shutterstock
The U.S. PET bottle recovery rate made a notable jump last year, reaching 28.6%, according to an industry report published today.
Compared with recent months, December has brought stable prices across the range of scrap plastics, with PET and natural HDPE bale prices rising only slightly.
The meeting was the first to work on drafting the text of the Global Plastics Treaty, which is intended to be a legally binding document addressing plastic pollution across the value chain. | Courtesy of UNEP
Mixed reactions followed the first meeting on a Global Plastics Treaty, with some complaints about “industry interference.”
Michael Zamora, senior vice president of Product Solutions at ExxonMobil, and Ron Delia, CEO at Amcor, signed the agreement, through which ExxonMobil will sell increasing amounts of recycled resin each year to Amcor. | Courtesy of Amcor
One of the world’s largest packaging producers, Amcor, has signed a deal to buy huge amounts of chemically recycled resin from one of the world’s largest plastics producers, ExxonMobil.
The REMADE Institute-funded research found that, over the course of their full life cycles, several common polymers account for about 1.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. | rochariberio/Shuttestock
By the time plastic products reach their end of life, the bulk of their climate damage has already been done, according to a study that reaffirms greenhouse gasses tied to plastics are mostly generated in prime resin production, shipping and molding.
The partnership between the two companies will help LyondellBasell work toward its goal of marketing 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030. | Courtesy of LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell will buy food-grade post-consumer natural HDPE from Envision Plastics and incorporate that PCR into various blends for sale to packaging producers.
The European Commission is expected to announce the revisions of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive the week of Nov. 28. | VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
Online delivery packaging, takeaway cups and plastic drink bottles could see new targets for reuse and recycled content under proposals from the European Commission.
Amcor’s 2022 sustainability report also noted that 74% of Amcor’s total production by weight is now designed to be recycled and it has made a 33% reduction in material sent to disposal over the past three years. | 360b/Shutterstock
After several years of gains in recycled content usage, Amcor is setting a new recycled content goal of 30% by 2030, tripling its previous target.