In the U.S., dozens of brand owners, retailers, government agencies and nonprofit groups have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. | Nagy-Bagoly Arpad/Shutterstock
A program called U.S. Plastics Pact, associated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will pursue strategies to eliminate unnecessary packaging, increase recyclability, and ensure packaging contains recycled plastic. It has more than 60 industry backers.
State and local governments are facing increasing pressure to reverse, delay or otherwise roll back environmentally beneficial waste-reduction policies, such as fees or bans on plastic bags, in the name of public health.
In 2019, Waste Management processed a record amount of recyclables: 15.5 million tons, up from 15.2 million tons in 2018. | Courtesy of Waste Management.
The largest hauler in North America processed a record amount of recyclables in 2019, and it invested more than $100 million to improve its recycling infrastructure, according to its latest sustainability report.
PepsiCo’s Naked juice brand is one the company is moving toward 100% RPET packaging. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
PepsiCo spent about $200 million of its “Green Bond” to purchase recycled PET plastic over the past few years, according to the company.
CarbonLite’s 270,000-square-foot Reading, Pa. facility will eventually have the annual capacity to process 140 million pounds of post-consumer PET. | Courtesy of CarbonLite.
A major PET reclaimer has entered the polyolefins recycling business. The company also recently began production at a large facility in Pennsylvania.
Analysts say that new Chinese import regulations covering recycled pellets have created challenges for exporters of the material. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
In the U.S., the plastics recycling market has been largely dictated by pandemic-related collection and demand realities. Overseas, a recent Chinese move to restrict recycled plastic pellet imports is posing trade challenges.
Virgin plastics producer SABIC will supply recycled resin derived from post-consumer mixed plastics for beauty products packaging. | Casimiro PT/Shutterstock
Three virgin plastics companies recently announced developments in the area of chemical recycling. The following are summaries of the news from Chevron Phillips Chemical, SABIC and BASF.
Pyrolysis equipment inside the Agilyx facility in Oregon. | Jared Paben/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (left) with Sean Whiteley, Revolution’s CEO, at an event announcing the film processor’s expansion. | Lyndsay D. Photography
Revolution, a polyethylene reclaimer and recycled-plastic products manufacturer, is investing in its Arkansas site to boost its ability to produce recycled-content films.
The price of natural high-density polyethylene sorted at municipal recycling facilities surpassed 61 cents per pound for the first time.