Global brand owner Unilever is now using about 75,000 metric tons of post-consumer plastic in its packaging each year. | Konektus Photo/Shutterstock
Global companies such as Keurig Dr Pepper, Dow and Mars recently announced their intentions to bolster the use of PCR. The following is a roundup of several notable news items:
In the U.S., dozens of brand owners, retailers, government agencies and nonprofit groups have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. | Nagy-Bagoly Arpad/Shutterstock
A program called U.S. Plastics Pact, associated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will pursue strategies to eliminate unnecessary packaging, increase recyclability, and ensure packaging contains recycled plastic. It has more than 60 industry backers.
PepsiCo’s Naked juice brand is one the company is moving toward 100% RPET packaging. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
PepsiCo spent about $200 million of its “Green Bond” to purchase recycled PET plastic over the past few years, according to the company.
CarbonLite’s 270,000-square-foot Reading, Pa. facility will eventually have the annual capacity to process 140 million pounds of post-consumer PET. | Courtesy of CarbonLite.
A major PET reclaimer has entered the polyolefins recycling business. The company also recently began production at a large facility in Pennsylvania.
Analysts say that new Chinese import regulations covering recycled pellets have created challenges for exporters of the material. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
In the U.S., the plastics recycling market has been largely dictated by pandemic-related collection and demand realities. Overseas, a recent Chinese move to restrict recycled plastic pellet imports is posing trade challenges.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (left) with Sean Whiteley, Revolution’s CEO, at an event announcing the film processor’s expansion. | Lyndsay D. Photography
Revolution, a polyethylene reclaimer and recycled-plastic products manufacturer, is investing in its Arkansas site to boost its ability to produce recycled-content films.
The price of natural high-density polyethylene sorted at municipal recycling facilities surpassed 61 cents per pound for the first time.
In addition to the draft strategy, the EPA plans to release a list of national recycling goals this fall. | Kristi Blokhin/Shutterstock
A draft of the U.S. EPA’s National Recycling Strategy was published last week. The plan aims to foster a “stronger, more resilient and cost-effective” recycling system.
There are now only a few types of scrap plastic shipments not subject to the new Basel criteria. | Go_Legacy/Shutterstock
Experts with the U.S. EPA say there are a number of potential outcomes from upcoming shifts in global rules governing scrap plastic shipments. Under one possibility, trade in scrap plastic will no longer be allowed between the U.S. and most other countries.
The Recycling Partnership recently released “Accelerating Recycling,” a policy document outlining a proposal that includes fees paid by brands and packaging producers. | photka/Shutterstock
Two major industry groups are promoting packaging fees on product makers to support recycling infrastructure development, a shift one recycling facility operator described as a “historical moment.”