Two university teams developed processes using electromagnetic waves and engineered wastewater bacteria to address plastic pollution. | Poring Studio/Shutterstock
University researchers have come up with two new methods to break down plastic waste – one for reuse and the other to rid wastewater of microplastics. Continue Reading
The guide directs users to various retail and other collection sites around the U.S. that accept film for drop-off recycling. | Mabeline72/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: Learn more about film recycling trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. Continue Reading
Curbside plastic grades either jumped up significantly in price or remained steady at the beginning of 2025.
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While overall workplace fatalities decreased in the U.S. in 2023, the waste and recycling industry was a troubling outlier. | Wave Break Media/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
Nine workers died in U.S. materials recovery facilities in 2023 and the death rate for refuse and recyclable material collectors jumped more than 80%, according to the latest annual numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue Reading
As 2024 wound to close, major plastic resin producers were hit with two similar recycling-related class-action lawsuits – the latest in a growing trend of pursuing legal means of recouping costs for plastic pollution. | Zolnierek/Shutterstock
ExxonMobil on Monday filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alleging that he and several environmental groups defamed the global oil and chemical company “for politics, publicity and private gain.” Continue Reading
With the addition of EPS bans in California and Oregon, the entire West Coast now has some level of restriction on the material. | Kittiwat Chaitoep/Shutterstock
As of the first of the year, restrictions on EPS foodware items in California and Oregon are officially in effect. Continue Reading
The combination of the two packaging giants aims to strengthen positioning in high-growth, high-value categories. | 360b/Shutterstock
Switzerland-headquartered packaging giant Amcor will acquire Indiana-based Berry Global in an $8.4 billion all-stock deal that’s expected to close in mid-2025, the companies announced Nov. 19, marking a continuing trend of consolidation in the packaging industry.
The data also indicated that RPET flake and pellet may have been imported as plastic scrap rather than resin, potentially skewing the data. | Monticello/Shutterstock
Recycling for U.S. PET bottles in 2023 gained 4 percentage points on the year to reach 33%, the highest rate since 1996, according to a report from the National Association for PET Container Resources industry group. Continue Reading
In the third quarter of 2024, the Northeast Recycling Council reported the blended value of a ton, not counting the negative impact of residuals, was $121.21, up 3% from the second quarter of the year. | Nickpeps/Shutterstock
Average commodity prices rose slightly in the third quarter of the year due to national and regional trends, though the growth appears to be cooling off, according to the latest report from the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading
Natural HDPE notched a double-digit percentage increase in value this month, but it was an outlier: All other major curbside plastic grades either fell or were unchanged in value.
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