Eight out of the 10 states with container redemption systems have enacted temporary measures limiting deposit returns in some way. | Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock
Stay-at-home orders are hitting container deposit systems hard, leading to significant declines in the volumes of high-quality PET and other recyclables moving to material processors.
Indorama noted the company’s investments in recycling are influenced by the fact numerous brand owners are committing to incorporate more recycled plastic in their products. | barbacane/Shutterstock
Resin giant Indorama Ventures will more than triple its global RPET production capacity in the next few years, according to the company’s most recent annual report.
MRF executives have noted staffing and procedural changes to deal with the coronavirus.
As the coronavirus continues to spread, recycling facilities are increasing distance between employees, sanitizing common areas and, in at least one case, halting the practice of punching in and out on a time clock.
Laura Sullivan, a “Frontline” correspondent, investigates plastic waste dumping in Indonesia as part of the “Plastic Wars” episode.
Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed House Bill 2722, which requires manufacturers to use post-consumer content in plastic bottles. | Photo credit: Governor Inslee’s Office
Washington’s governor vetoed a bill mandating recycled content in beverage containers, citing concerns about the state’s fiscal future given the economic impacts of the coronavirus.
Direct Pack has acquired a Mexico-headquartered recycling operation with capacity to process 40 million pounds per year of PET. | Courtesy of Direct Pack.
U.S. plastic thermoform manufacturer Direct Pack Inc. has acquired a PET reclaimer and is now processing recovered thermoforms at a Mexico site.
Rolph Payet, executive secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, speaks at the Plastics Recycling Conference and Trade Show. | Plastics Recycling Conference/Brian Adams Photography
Scrap plastic exporters should closely monitor policy changes in the countries they sell to as the global community prepares to enact more aggressive shipment requirements, according to the top staff member for the Basel Convention.
The Closed Loop Partners investment will finance Reterra’s move into its recently acquired facility and will help fund equipment purchases. | Natee Meepian/Shutterstock
Closed Loop Partners will invest $2 million in a Houston chemical recycling company that processes PET residue generated by mechanical recycling operations.
Department of Energy grants are available to advance energy-efficient recycling processes. | cwales/Shutterstock
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $25 million for the development of efficiently recycled polymers and improved recycling processes.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers will endorse third-party PCR certification and the American Chemistry Council released principles for mass balance accounting of recycled content. | Praethip Docekalova/Shutterstock
Consumers may want products with recycled plastic, but how can they trust the items contain post-consumer material? Two industry groups have taken steps to answer that question.