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Category: Top stories

Eastman, Indorama pin hopes on pent-up demand

Published: November 18, 2025
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PET water bottle necks.

Tennessee-based Eastman and Thailand’s Indorama Ventures painted bearish pictures of the PET landscape, to different degrees. | Tezzstock / Shutterstock

Key takeaways

  • Eastman PepsiCo offtake volumes delayed into 2026
  • Kingsport facility “stretching” capacity amid Texas delay
  • Indorama expects polyester weakness to continue into 2026

Tennessee-headquartered Eastman expects to meet contractual volume requirements with capacity expansions at its flagship PET recycling plant in Kingsport while deciding how to proceed with a second US facility, CEO Mark Costa said during a recent quarterly earnings call.  Continue Reading

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Emerging US EPR programs spark harmonization talks

Published: November 18, 2025
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Producers and municipalities look for guidance as EPR programs pass from state to state. | Studiocho / Shutterstock

Extended producer responsibility legislation has rapidly expanded across the United States over the past two years, with seven states enacting packaging-focused laws that now cover approximately 20% of the nation’s population. Continue Reading

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Film bales prices soften, PET firms

Published: November 18, 2025
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The national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars rose slightly for November, now averaging 5.28 cents/lb, compared to 4.50 cents/lb this time last month. Regional contracts are still yielding in the 4-7 cents range. One year ago this grade was trading at an average 16.41 cents/lb. Continue Reading

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Israeli startup to pilot PVC recycling in Ohio 

Published: November 12, 2025
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The Plastic Back process separates carbon and chlorine from discarded PVC, and the pilot plant will be sited at Freepoint Eco-Systems’ site in Hebron, Ohio. | Photo courtesy Plastic Back

Plastic Back, an Israeli startup, is taking a major step toward solving one of the toughest challenges in plastics recycling: recovering value from mixed plastic waste that includes PVC. 

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EU recyclers warn Commission of industry collapse 

Published: November 12, 2025
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More than 100 recycling stakeholders urged the European Commission to address unfavorable market economics, a scenario that provides foresight into what may occur in North America. | NGCHIYUI / Shutterstock

More than 100 recyclers issued a call, coordinated by a Dutch consultancy, for the European Commission to take immediate action in addressing the causes of the current industry crisis – itself a window into what may await the North American recycling sector. 

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Food-grade PP makes inroads in Americas

Published: November 12, 2025
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In its pursuit to advance food-grade recycled PP, the NextLoopp initiative is finding progress slower in the States, but still moving forward. | Meaw_stocker / Shutterstock

The Americas branch of a European initiative to advance incorporation of food-grade PP resin has achieved several initial milestones in recent weeks, though progress is slower than in Europe, according to the group’s president.

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WM closure spotlights film recycling challenges

Published: November 4, 2025
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Stretch film on rolls at the manufacturer.

As the overall recycling sector struggles, plastic film stakeholders are bearing the brunt of the industry’s challenges. | Dmitry Markov152/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Some industry sources for this story were granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of market relationships. 

Key takeaways

  • Bale pricing resists supply/demand fundamentals
  • Cheap virgin resin proliferates while demand stumbles
  • Adoption of recycled content delayed amid uncertainty

Two weeks after the closure of WM’s plastic film recycling operations, market players have been left to process what the development means for the overall industry.

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Ellen MacArthur Foundation sets 2030 plastics agenda

Published: November 4, 2025
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Despite noting positive action, the foundation warns that the pace of change still falls far short of what’s needed, with 80% of the market yet to act meaningfully. | Meaw_stocker/Shutterstock

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has unveiled its Global Commitment 2025 Progress Report alongside the new 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business, a sweeping roadmap to transform how the world makes, uses and reuses plastics. Continue Reading

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Virgin PE producers maintain high run rates despite downturn

Published: November 4, 2025
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In recent quarterly investor calls, several major PE producers provided a survey of the current landscape for virgin resin and gave a glimpse at what the near future may hold. | Richard Frazier/Shutterstock

Key takeaways

  • Global production shifting to newer, more efficient plants
  • Outages, upstream add support for price increase hopes
  • Packaging sector ‘resilient’ despite changing consumer behaviors

For the past three years, virgin PE resin has caused severe headaches for North American recyclers who are unable to compete with pricing pushed down by vast oversupply amid a steady stream of new capacity amid lower-than-expected demand. Continue Reading

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