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Canadian plastics recycling decreased in 2017

Published: September 11, 2019
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Canadian flag flying with building in background.

Less plastic was recycled in Canada in 2017 compared with the previous year. Frank Middendorf/Shutterstock

Canada recycled less plastic in 2017 than it did the year before, with decreases in recovery of films, non-bottle rigids and bottles, according to an annual industry report.

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Pepsi: Getting enough RPET requires better infrastructure

Published: September 11, 2019
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Pepsico has a 25% recycled content goal for the company’s plastic packaging. | LuqmanLutfi Photography/Shutterstock

It’s clear the current recycling system can’t deliver sufficient resin for brand owners to hit their increasingly ambitious recycled-content goals. A PepsiCo executive recently discussed that supply gap.

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Municipal sector grapples with plastic realities

Published: September 5, 2019
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Juri Freeman of Resource Recycling Systems (left) moderated a plastics-focused panel consisting of (from left to right) Michael Sangiacomo of Recology, Zeina El-Azzi of Brightmark Energy, Kate Bailey of Eco-Cycle and Tim Ponrathnam of Berry Global. | Resource Recycling Conference/Brian Adams Photography

Should some types of single-use plastic be banned? Or is infrastructure improvement a better answer to current plastic waste concerns? A varied group of industry leaders tackled those questions last week.

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CEO responds to concerns over impacts of plastic gravel

Published: August 21, 2019
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Some readers challenged the environmental benefit of Arqlite’s plastic gravel product. | Via Arqlite’s Instagram page.

A startup won money and media attention for its recycled plastic gravel, but some readers are concerned the product could cause more environmental harm than simply landfilling the scrap plastic. 

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Unifi: Cheap foreign polyester hurting US profits

Published: September 5, 2019
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Unifi identified a number of factors that accounted for lower profits last fiscal year. | Recycle Man/Shutterstock

A major U.S. consumer of RPET enjoyed higher sales figures but suffered significantly lower net income last fiscal year. One reason was cheap polyester imports from China and India.

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Indorama will invest to meet increased RPET demand

Published: September 5, 2019
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Indorama Ventures plans to make significant investments in its recycled PET production capabilities. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock

Citing the need to meet rising demand in the near future, plastics producer Indorama is investing $1 billion in its recycling division.

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State lawmakers give chemical recycling a boost

Published: August 21, 2019
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Ohio lawmakers recently passed a bill codifying a number of definitions related to chemical recycling. | Paul Brady Photography/Shutterstock

The sixth- and seventh-largest states in the country recently approved legislation that could help operators using pyrolysis and other technologies.

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