With fewer available drivers comes less available trucking supply, leading to higher prices and potential disruptions in trucking availability for those in the recycling industry. | Vitpho/Shutterstock
A driver shortage that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to create challenges for moving recyclables this year, analysts say.
New rules took effect Jan. 1, 2021, and scrap plastic traders are already describing a chaotic situation for shipments around the world. | al clark/Shutterstock
U.K. regulators will relax restrictions on scrap plastic storage, in response to what they’re calling “disruption” caused by changes to the Basel Convention.
The new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing and support facility is sited adjacent to Trex’s existing Virginia campus. | Vojatz/Shutterstock
A major end user of recovered PE film has completed a multi-year $200 million investment by opening a new facility in Virginia. The expansion is part of a strategy to increase production capacity by 70%.
Scrap plastic traders are facing challenges from increased freight rates and cancellations of bookings by shipping lines as Basel regulations are implemented. | Mariusz Bugno/Shutterstock
Industry experts say overseas buyers are struggling to source scrap plastic after new restrictions on the global trade of recovered plastic began taking effect.
Prices for recovered plastics increased across the board during the past month, with natural high-density polyethylene bales notching another record.
A leader with AMP Robotics says artificial intelligence has changed how robotics can be incorporated into recycling facilities. | Courtesy of AMP Robotics.
A recycling facility operator and a robotics company say artificial intelligence is providing materials recovery firms with much-needed data to analyze changes in the recycling stream. That’s in addition to sortation improvements.
Approvals were given to two technologies to recycle post-consumer PET bottles into new food and drink packaging. | alenka2194/Shutterstock
A European authority gave the thumbs up to using Starlinger and EREMA technologies to recycle post-consumer PET for use in food and drink packaging.
Most food waste consists of meats, vegetables, fruit and bakery products, according to a recent Denkstatt report.
The need to reduce food waste has escalated as an issue during COVID-19. In response to current realities, consumers have raced to grocery stores to stockpile food, often buying in surplus. Now, we’re seeing food’s perishability firsthand.
