The expansion will add up to 50 jobs to Padnos’ Wyoming, Mich. plastics recycling plant. | SevenMaps/Shutterstock
More ocean-bound plastics will be recycled in Michigan after Padnos decided to expand its plastics recycling plant, a $6.6 million project.
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Backers of bottle bill updates in Massachusetts and Vermont were able to progress legislative proposals that they say could be primed to pass in 2022. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
Over the past year, the recycling policy discussion nationwide has focused mainly on proposals that force producers to pay for packaging recovery. But significant activity around container deposits is also taking place, particularly in the Northeast.
PS packaging made the list of problematic materials.| Minh Mi Goi/Shutterstock
The U.S. Plastics Pact says PS and PVC packaging and other materials should be phased out in coming years. A curbside recycling operator called the potential elimination of PVC and PS packaging “two really big steps in the right direction,” though several groups criticized the Pact’s work. Continue Reading
A factory team working on the sorting process conveyor in Polindo’s aggregation center. | Courtesy of Circulate Capital
A partnership involving Circulate Capital, Bantam Materials and an Indonesian processor will help to recover PET from remote areas of the Asian nation and deliver it to grocery store shelves in Europe and America.
Eastman CEO Mark Costa at right, with Emmanuel Marcon at a recent meeting around the company’s investment. | Via Emmanuel Marcon Twitter, @EmmanuelMacron
Procter & Gamble, Danone, L’Oréal and other global brand owners have signed letters of intent to buy chemically recycled resin from a $1 billion plant Eastman is planning in France.
Prices for scrap PET containers increased by about 10% this month, and the decline in natural HDPE values leveled off.
A recent webinar brought together experts to cover the benefits and complications of recycled-content mandates.| Monticello/Shutterstock
Recycled-content laws are a tool for driving post-consumer resin demand. But what if producers are given too many outs, feedstock is in short supply, or the mandates actually result in greater environmental harm?
New Jersey is the latest state to look anew at recycled-content mandates as a way to force demand pull for recycled materials. | Real Window Creative/Shutterstock
New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation mandating recycled plastic be used in rigid containers, carryout bags and trash bags. Meanwhile, a West Coast advisory committee has recommended recycled-content requirements for plastic tubs, thermoforms and cups.
Keurig Canada said the company is continuing to work with municipalities and the recycling industry to increase K-Cup pod recycling acceptance. | ZikG/Shutterstock
Keurig Canada will pay millions of dollars in penalties and alter its coffee pod recyclability claims, as part of a legal settlement with Canadian regulators.
The bankruptcy of PET recycling firm CarbonLITE drew reader attention in 2021. | Courtesy of CarbonLITE
As the plastics recycling industry plunges into 2022, it can be useful to set the stage with a look at the biggest trends and developments of the past 12 months.