The city of Tuscon plans to use ByFusion’s blocks to expand a women’s shelter, among other projects. | Courtesy of ByFusion
A company that turns hard-to-recycle plastics into construction-grade building blocks signed a four-year contract with the city of Tucson to expand drop-off collection and further develop local manufacturing.
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The recently launched certification standard, SCS-103A, sets thresholds, ranging from 5% to 50%, for recycled content in various categories of products. | DC Studio/Shutterstock
Environmental and sustainability certifier SCS Global Services launched a recycled-content certification for the electrical and electronic equipment industries that verifies the total percentage of recycled materials in products. Continue Reading
Prices for bales of natural HDPE, color HDPE and PP have all continued increasing over the past month, though other plastics have seen values stay relatively flat. 
Collection trucks parked outside of Waste Expo in New Orleans last week. In sessions, leaders from various haulers and facility operators discussed recycling policy. | Dan Leif/Plastics Recycling Update
At Waste Expo last week, executives from several materials recovery facility operators and private-sector recyclers detailed concerns about material ownership and “stranded assets” as recycling policy evolves. At the same time, some MRF leaders voiced clear support for extended producer responsibility frameworks. Continue Reading
The customized facility will eventually become Verdeco’s headquarters. | Korn9/Shutterstock
Equipment is being installed in Verdeco’s new operation in South Carolina, putting the PET recycling firm on track to bring an additional 90 million pounds of capacity on-line this summer.
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Money from states and various recycling organizations is being put toward boosting plastics collection, MRF upgrades and several other projects. | MinskDesign/Shutterstock
Clear Path Recycling, Direct Pack Recycling, Wenplastics, the Ocean Legacy Foundation, Goodwill Industries/Hydroblox and a slew of other plastics recycling companies are among the recipients of recently awarded grants. Continue Reading
Researchers found that one UK facility discharged somewhere between 59 and 1,184 metric tons of microplastics in a single year. | Microgen/Shutterstock
Research from the UK found that plastic recycling facilities are discharging microplastics into water systems and suggested both further research and stronger wastewater filtration systems to address the pollution. Continue Reading
In April, readers were drawn to stories about expansions taking place in Illinois, Mexico and Nebraska. | Nixx Photography/Shutterstock
California’s PCR mandate compliance and the overall state of plastics recycling were among the topics that drew our readers’ interest last month.