The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued its first Global Plastics Outlook report. | 360b/Shutterstock
A global body estimates production of recycled plastics has quadrupled over the past two-plus decades, but recycled resins still make up only 6% of total plastic production.
European company Fortum developed a post-consumer plastic chair to showcase how recycled plastic compounds can be used for more technical and challenging products. | Courtesy of Fortum
Several companies have announced progress toward recycled-content goals and new products made from recycled plastics. Here’s a roundup of recent developments.
Using an FDA-approved additive, ReCon^2 has developed a method for verifying recycled content claims. | Courtesy of ReCon^2
Rising prices for post-consumer resin also bring a greater incentive for shady suppliers to cheat. A U.K. nonprofit is commercializing a technology that will detect lies about recycled plastic use.
Volatile pricing in resin markets has presented challenges for Advanced Drainage Systems over the past year. | Chris Tennant/Shutterstock
Using recycled plastic is good business for Advanced Drainage Systems, but recent reports and interviews make clear that it’s not always painless.
February has brought substantial price increases for curbside PET and PP, with both up by double-digit percentages.
Shipping company CMA CGM didn’t specify exactly which categories of plastic scrap or waste the prohibition would apply to. | EQRoy/Shutterstock
CMA CGM Group, the third-largest ocean shipping company in the world, announced it will no longer carry post-use plastics on its ships as of June 1.
Evergreen has spent a total of $200 million on three recent acquisitions and an expansion to the company’s original Clyde, Ohio location. | Courtesy of Evergreen
To meet growing demand, PET reclaimer Evergreen recently bought a pair of facilities and added another extruder to an expansion project.
In the draft bill, deposits are set at at least 10 cents for containers under 24 fluid ounces and 15 cents for containers larger than that. | Veja/Shutterstock
West Coast lawmakers plan to introduce a national container deposit bill that one advocate says has a better chance of passing than past proposals because of wide “industry engagement.”
The details of what’s being called the “Houston Recycling Collaboration” have yet to be worked out, but an agreement has set the process in motion to divert residential plastic scrap for chemical recycling. | Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock
LyondellBasell and ExxonMobil were among the companies that signed an agreement to advance chemical recycling for household plastic scrap in Houston.
Executives pose at a ceremony for a new PET recycling plant backed by packaging company ALPLA and Coca-Cola FEMSA in Cunduacán, Mexico. | Copyright: ALPLA
RPET capacity is expanding in North America, with two companies announcing new facilities or machinery that will add up to 110 million pounds of RPET to the market.