Proposed legislation would include measures to reduce plastic pollution and remove certain single-use products from use. | LLoughran/Shutterstock
Lawmakers are bringing plastics recycling to the federal level with a legislative proposal that includes a national bottle bill and extended producer responsibility.
Regulatory changes could prevent the U.S. from exporting mixed plastics to a number of countries. | rawf8/Shutterstock
Federal regulators are asking countries that are major buyers of U.S. recyclables to refrain from implementing new trade restrictions laid out in the Basel Convention, a treaty covering global scrap material shipments.
Trex uses millions of pounds of PE film annually. | artgray/Shutterstock
Already North America’s largest consumer of recovered film, Trex plans to use considerably more in the future, according to the company’s CEO.
The average blended value for recyclables at U.S. MRFs was recently calculated at around $35 per ton. | hiv360/Shutterstock
With overseas import restrictions, tariff impacts and domestic market volatility, an erratic business environment has become the norm for recycling operators around North America.
2017 brought the lowest volume of film recovered and sold since 2010. | taniascamera/Shutterstock
Non-bottle mixed plastics and film recycling have experienced their first major drops in a decade, two studies indicate. But amid the challenges, domestic use of both streams increased.
Calif. legislators have heard from a cadre of industry groups recently. | ZikG/Shutterstock
As a plastic packaging reduction bill moves forward in California, an industry group is recommending a per-item fee to fund recycling efforts.
This story has been updated.
A consumer of recovered PE film will spend about $200 million in the next couple of years to boost its production capacities.
Cargo ships on the water in California. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
The first six months of 2019 have been a news whirlwind for the plastics recycling sector, with continued export shakeups, major investment announcements, and bold strategy moves by both brands and processors.
Fernando Mercé, CEO of Nestlé Waters North America
The leader of one of the world’s largest bottled water businesses recently detailed the company’s recycling strategy, noting it supports deposit legislation and other steps to boost supply. Continue Reading