An increased bottle recycling rate was driven mainly by PET bottles. | Nixx Photography/Shutterstock
The U.S. plastic bottle recycling rate was 28.2% in 2021, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to an industry report released April 11.
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Private equity firm Mill Point Capital has purchased Nursery Supplies, Inc. from Lincolnshire Management. | Zoran Milosavljevic/Shutterstock
Nursery Supplies, Inc., which recycles tens of millions of pounds of plastic per year into plant pots and trays, has been sold by one private equity firm to another. Continue Reading
The Envases Universales facility in Apan, Hidalgo, Mexico. | Courtesy of Envases Universales
Packaging manufacturer Envases Universales is expanding its recycling facility in Central Mexico from an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons to 100,000 metric tons by the end of 2024. Continue Reading
ALPLA Group, Nextek and a variety of other plastics companies are making moves to get more PCR in products and on the market. | Courtesy of Cocofloss
Companies are adding more PCR to toothbrushes, electric bikes and other products as the recycled plastics industry seeks to drive market demand and shore up supply chains. Continue Reading
In March, readers were drawn to a roundup of FDA letters for recycling technologies to produce PCR for food and drink packaging. | Ladnongkhun/Shutterstock
A roundup of FDA letters of no-objection, coverage of the Biden administration’s position on a global plastics agreement and more drew our readers’ attention in March.
Residents in the Omaha, Neb. area can participate in a program to divert plastics not accepted in the normal curbside stream. | Courtesy of Hefty
Firstar Fiber’s in-house plastic-to-lumber operation is up and running, turning materials collected in orange bags at the curb into plastic composite lumber. The operation also recently survived a fire scare. Continue Reading
Increasingly, companies and industry groups are focusing their efforts on recycling carpet. | Optimarc/Shutterstock
The California carpet recycling rate rose by about 5 percentage points last year, reaching a record high of 33%. Meanwhile, carpet manufacturer Shaw reached a deal to recycle about 2 million pounds of production scrap a year. Continue Reading
Environmentalists are chalking up two victories as one bill is squashed and another presses onward. | Kittiwat Chaitoep/Shutterstock
A polystyrene ban is moving on to the Illinois Senate. Meanwhile, a bill extending the timeline for a pilot chemical recycling facility failed to move out of the House in time. Continue Reading