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Plastic exports drop 18% in first half of 2020

Published: August 12, 2020
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Cargo ship at port.

The U.S. exported 635 million pounds of scrap plastic during the first half of the year, down 18% year over year. | Halawi/Shutterstock

New trade figures show lower year-over-year exports of recovered plastic from January to June. The decline was largely driven by less material going to India.

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Oregon deposit return rate increased in 2019

Published: August 12, 2020
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Empty plastic bottles for recycling.

By material type, the percentage of plastic containers redeemed through the Oregon deposit program increased more than other materials in 2019. | Picsfive/Shutterstock

Consumers in Oregon last year returned 86% of all beverage containers covered under the state’s container deposit program, according to newly released figures.

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Scrap plastic exports plummet 47% this year

Published: August 7, 2019
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U.S. exporters shipped out 773 million pounds of scrap plastic in the first half of 2019. | aapsky/Shutterstock

Federal trade statistics released last week show U.S. export volumes for the first six months of 2019. Recycled plastics have seen a major drop when compared with figures from a year ago.

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Startup leverages cryptocurrency to push plastics recovery

Published: August 5, 2020
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A phone with the ZeLoop app on screen.

Users of the ZeLoop app will receive cryptocurrency for bringing materials to recycling collection sites. | Courtesy of ZeLoop.

A mobile app in beta testing seeks to reward users for properly recycling materials at drop-off locations. The company says an exchange of currency is vital to the process.

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Brightmark seeking 2.4 billion pounds of US mixed plastics

Published: August 5, 2020
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Sorted plastics at a recycling facility.

Brightmark is seeking over 1,000,000 tons of difficult-to-recycle plastics for chemical recycling. | hiv360/Shutterstock

A chemical recycling firm is on the hunt for a massive quantity of plastics Nos. 1-7, material the company plans to process at plastics-to-fuel facilities across the country.

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Brand owners report RPET usage progress

Published: July 22, 2020
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PET water bottles for recycling

Bottled water companies that use recycled plastic have recently made new investments and design choices. | iamshutter/Shutterstock

The company behind Crystal Geyser brand water opened a recycled PET plant in Southern California, and Nestlé Waters North America now averages 16.5% RPET in its U.S. containers. The following are details on recent water bottle announcements.

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Environmental group takes aim at chemical recycling

Published: July 29, 2020
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Scrap plastics baled for recycling.

Chemical recycling uses different processes to break plastics down into other chemicals, which can be used to make fuels, new plastics or many other products. | Vershinin89/Shutterstock

A report from activist organization GAIA claims processing strategies that have been heavily promoted by the polymer industry amount to a “greenwashing tactic” undermining efforts to ban single-use plastics.

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