As of 2023, 61% of Mars packaging is designed to be recyclable, reusable or compostable, up from 57% in 2022 but significantly short of 100% by 2025, and the company used an average of 1.5% recycled content across its packaging portfolio, significantly short of 30% by 2025. | MarsMM/Shutterstock
Brand owner Mars says the design and infrastructure changes that are needed to meet its recycling goals are “taking longer than we anticipated” – and that it will miss certain goals it set for 2025.
The new recycling center in Ohio combines vast processing capacity with community outreach and education, company leadership said in an interview. | Courtesy of Rumpke
Understanding customer needs has shaped the new Rumpke Waste & Recycling facility in Columbus, Ohio, and will help increase incoming volumes, according to company leadership. Continue Reading
Eastman’s Kingsport, Tennessee plant uses methanolysis to chemically recycle PET. | Monticello/Shutterstock
In their latest earnings call, Eastman representatives said the company’s chemical recycling facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, is ramping up to 100% capacity and is gearing up to take in a “broader set” of uncommonly recycled plastics. Continue Reading
ADS bought a third of the total color HDPE bales in North America in fiscal 2024, and recycled plastics accounted for 50% of the company’s resin purchases in that time period. | Photo courtesy of ADS
Advanced Drainage Systems has reported flat consumption of recycled plastics over the past few years, but in fiscal 2024 the company increased the share of recycled materials to 50% of its total resin purchases, according to its most recent ESG report.
EverestLabs uses robotic arms, AI, machine learning and visioning systems to automate material sorting. | Courtesy of EverestLabs
To address recycled feedstock supply challenges, robotics and AI company EverestLabs says there’s a need to pivot to new technologies. Continue Reading
The Responsible Recycling Alliance is calling for California lawmakers to abandon Senate Bill 1053, which would expand the state’s bag ban to prohibit reusable bags made from 40% post-consumer resin. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Seeking to quash a regulatory change that would remove over 100 million pounds of North American post-consumer resin demand per year, EFS-Plastics, Merlin Plastics and PreZero US have joined together to advocate for retaining recycled-content reusable plastic bags in California’s bag regulations. Continue Reading
Grizzly Wood is made of 100% plastic waste, which limits color options but holds up well to the state’s harsh climate. | Courtesy of Alaska Plastic Recovery
A small company in Alaska is lending the state’s resourcefulness and ingenuity to creating composite lumber and addressing coastal plastics pollution. Continue Reading
The Biden administration’s “Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles and Priorities” strategy includes actions intended to reduce pollution from the production of plastics. | Poring Studio/Shutterstock
The Biden administration released a federal strategy aimed at reducing plastic pollution, drawing mixed responses from industry players. Continue Reading
International Recycling Group has secured a guarantee for up to $182.6 million in loans from the DOE, and is looking to proceed with its long-planned project, which incorporates plastic resin production and plastic waste as feedstock for furnaces used in steel manufacture. | TKCREDIT/Shutterstock
A Pennsylvania project from International Recycling Group has gained momentum, with a commitment for a multimillion-dollar loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. Continue Reading
Fabrizio Di Gregorio, technical director for Plastics Recyclers Europe, Roxanne Spiekerman, vice president of public affairs for PreZero US, and Lou Fenech, North America packaging sustainability manager for Mondelēz International, talked about challenges to recycling flexible packaging at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Big Wave Productions/Plastics Recycling Update
Increasing film recycling takes coordinated efforts by both brand owners and reclaimers – and it takes a true understanding that one sector can’t solve the issue alone, speakers said at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in March.