The city of Boise rolled out the EnergyBag program in 2018. | Aleksandr Grechanyuk/Shutterstock
The Hefty EnergyBag program is collecting but not currently processing hard-to-recycle plastics in Boise, Idaho. The program’s downstream processor suspended EnergyBag processing earlier this year to install new equipment.
PreZero Polymers’ Jurupa Valley, Calif. campus, which is set to open early next year, will process post-consumer film. | Image courtesy of PreZero US
A joint venture is set to launch two U.S. processing plants for hard-to-recycle plastics in 2020, bringing new outlets for lower-grade materials. Investments in the projects will total at least $90 million. Continue Reading
The development of a new domestic e-plastics outlet comes at a time of market turbulence for the low-value materials. | KPixMining/Shutterstock
An Indiana plastics processing operation will consume roughly 40 million pounds of plastic from e-scrap and other products annually. Brightmark Energy plans to start up the facility in mid-2020.
Green Impact Plastics will build a PET thermoform processing facility in California after reclaimer rPlanet Earth agreed to buy its output. | Courtesy of Green Impact Plastics
A Mexican company that developed a system to process post-consumer PET thermoforms will open a $7 million plant in the Los Angeles area. It’s now on the hunt for thermoform bales. Continue Reading
California reclaimer Circular Polymers will ship densified polyester carpet fiber to Eastman for chemical recycling. | Courtesy of Circular Polymers
Densified PET fiber from post-consumer carpet will ride railcars from California to Tennessee, where chemical giant Eastman will feed it into a gasification process. Continue Reading
Verdex’s technology can be used to process a variety of polymers. | Courtesy of Verdex Technologies
A company has developed a technology for spinning contaminated post-consumer plastic into extremely thin fibers used to make filters, wipes and other products.
UBQ currently operates in Israel but is eyeing Virginia as a possible location for a large-scale facility. | Courtesy of UBQ Materials
A nascent company that uses the non-recycled waste stream as feedstock is looking to site a processing plant in the U.S.
Most of TerraCycle’s revenue comes from four separate operating segments. | Poungsaed Studio/Shutterstock
A company that focuses on hard-to-recycle plastic materials says new partnerships with brand owners and increased sales of mail-in recycling boxes drove better financial results during the first half of 2019.
Some readers challenged the environmental benefit of Arqlite’s plastic gravel product. | Via Arqlite’s Instagram page.
A startup won money and media attention for its recycled plastic gravel, but some readers are concerned the product could cause more environmental harm than simply landfilling the scrap plastic.
IBM has a goal to recover more PET from highly contaminated streams. | Credit: Wall Street Journal video.
Three different chemistry-based processes for recovering plastics have recently grabbed attention, illustrating the wide range of stakeholders working to find solutions beyond mechanical recycling.