A European analysis shows 9 million metric tons of discarded plastic was collected for sorting, out of 30 million produced in 2021. | Muhammad Azman/Shutterstock
European recyclers are struggling to get enough material, even as exports of plastics decline and values rise.
Three new lawsuits target reusable bags in California. | The Last Beach Cleanup
If most community recycling programs don’t accept PE bags but some grocery stores do, are the bags legally considered recyclable?
Aquafil’s Woodland, Calif. facility will be closed after a short period of operation. | Courtesy of Aquafil
Shortly after opening its Northern California carpet recycling plant, Aquafil is working to close the facility and consolidate processing equipment elsewhere.
Polycarbin partners with area recyclers to process collected lab plastics, then Polycarbin brings the recycled plastic to several different contract manufacturers that mold it into lab products. | Courtesy of Polycarbin
The co-founders of Polycarbin met in medical school, on track to become plastic surgeons. That’s a point of irony now, they said, as their lab plastics recycling business continues to grow.
As of Dec. 31, TerraCycle US has over 150 brand-sponsored national recycling programs in 48 states. | photo gonzo/Shutterstock
TerraCycle US continued to rake in more money from companies paying it to operate mail-in recycling programs, but it incurred steeper losses doing the actual recycling of plastic and other materials.
Plastics recycling is drawing mainstream media attention in the wake of recent data showing low and declining recycling rates in the U.S. | lary_bird/Shutterstock
A recent report on plastic recycling rates from The Last Beach Clean Up and Beyond Plastics has attracted the attention of several large news outlets and the mainstream public, but industry leaders said the data is misleading and counter-productive.
Broken down by scrap type, a study found that bottles, non-bottle rigid plastics and other plastics all saw declines individually in 2020. | TeuNg StyLe/Shutterstock
The U.S. is processing more of its scrap plastic domestically, but the overall weight of plastic recycled in 2020 dropped just under 6% from 2019, according to an annual industry report.
GreenLabs Recycling recently hit 100,000 pounds of plastic recycled since it began collecting material in 2019. | Courtesy of GreenLabs Recycling
More than 20 million plastic pipette tip boxes are shipped to the greater Boston area each year, and the vast majority are not recycled. GreenLabs Recycling is working to change that.
Seven facility operators across the U.S. will receive grant funds to boost PP sortation and collection. | CalypsoArt/Shutterstock
The Recycling Partnership has delivered financial assistance to seven more U.S. materials recovery facilities through its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition.
Cyclyx International’s 10 to 90 effort will include takeback programs, education, rewards and engagement tools to boost local plastics recycling rates. | Roman Zaiets/Shutterstock
A consortium that aims to source and prepare low-value scrap plastics for chemical recycling has launched a public outreach and incentive campaign.