Waste Management issued its September 2020 “Report on Recycling” to identify gaps in U.S. plastics recycling infrastructure, among other goals. | Natallia Boroda/Shutterstock
A recent report from the nation’s largest waste and recycling hauler reviews the current state of reclamation capacity for PET, HDPE and PP in the U.S.
Coca-Cola European Partners announced that all bottles produced in Norway, which are made from about 25% recycled plastic currently, will hit 100% during the first half of next year. | Jevanto Productions/Shutterstock
The primary Coca-Cola bottler in Europe will use 100% recycled PET containers in the Netherlands and Norway, committing to consume millions of pounds of additional recycled resin per year.
Interpol found that plastic waste fires, both accidental and deliberate, have increased since Chinese import restrictions took hold. | MOHAMED ABDULRAHEEM/Shutterstock
Improper management of scrap plastics in Southeast Asia and elsewhere has increased sharply in the wake of China’s National Sword policy, according to international law enforcement body Interpol.
California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.
Merlin Plastics currently produces non-food-contact recycled HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE and PP, as well as RPET approved for use in food and drink packaging. | Courtesy of NOVA Chemicals.
NOVA Chemicals will provide financing to Merlin Plastics to help the reclaimer produce food-contact recycled HDPE. Then, NOVA will buy up to 30 million pounds of the PCR per year.
Sales and profits were up for two major consumers of recycled plastic. | Orathai Mayoeh/Shutterstock
COVID-19 and the related economic slowdowns have bruised the bottom line of a major RPET consumer, but other recycled-plastic-product makers have reported economic gains.
Many in the U.S. may be unfamiliar with reverse vending machines, because only 10 of 50 states have deposit redemption programs. | Karen McFarland/Shutterstock
LDPE ring carriers are an important ingredient in Avangard Innovative’s “recipe” to make high quality PCR. | Courtesy of Avangard Innovative.
Plastics reclaimer Avangard Innovative will sell millions of pounds of PCR each year to six-pack carrier manufacturer Hi-Cone Worldwide, as the companies expand their existing business relationship.
The U.S. FDA recently approved a number of recycling technologies for converting PET into use for food and drink packaging. | RecycleMan/Shutterstock
The FDA gave Indorama Ventures the green light to use a depolymerization technology to produce RPET for food and drink packaging. The agency also gave nods for other PET, HDPE and PP recycling processes.
Myanmar Recycles has customized a wash line with more than a dozen different washing steps along the way. | Courtesy of Myanmar Recycles.
A film recycling company in Myanmar is among the first to take part in a global plastic credit system, which could direct financing from corporations to help the recycling firm expand its capacity.