Day one of the virtual APR meeting featured discussions on market trends and more. | Vitaliy Kyrychuk/Shutterstock
Although they can’t meet in person, plastics recycling stakeholders this week are still coming together for the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) members meeting, being held online for the first time.
Connecticut will begin a phased-in deposit program resumption on May 20. | monticello/Shutterstock
Connecticut retailers will begin accepting deposit containers on a limited basis this week and will ramp up to full service early next month. COVID-19 disruptions to deposit programs continue in other states.
Eight out of the 10 states with container redemption systems have enacted temporary measures limiting deposit returns in some way. | Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock
Stay-at-home orders are hitting container deposit systems hard, leading to significant declines in the volumes of high-quality PET and other recyclables moving to material processors.
British Columbia residents recently gained access to the Return-It Express program, through which they can bag their containers and drop them off at one of 60 depots. | Courtesy of Encorp Pacific
The majority of beverage containers in British Columbia had their deposit values increase from 5 cents to 10 cents at the start of this month, creating more consistency in the provincial redemption program.
Jenna Jambeck was the keynote at this year’s Resource Recycling Conference and Trade Show, held in late summer. | Resource Recycling Conference/Brian Adams Photography
The statistic has taken on almost household familiarity: 91% of plastic ever created has not been recycled, and a massive amount has become litter. Jenna Jambeck, a lead researcher behind that number, recently spoke about solutions to the pollution problem.
In 2017, the Oregon program doubled its deposit value from 5 cents per container to 10 cents. | Courtesy of OBRC.
Oregon’s container deposit system achieved an 81% redemption rate last year, significantly higher than the previous full-year figure. The increase comes after the deposit value doubled.
The longest-running container deposit program in the country expects to hit its highest redemption rate in years, shortly after the program doubled its deposit to 10 cents.
On Monday, RePlanet shut down completely and terminated its entire workforce throughout California. | Arne Beruldsen/Shutterstock
RePlanet, once the largest operator of facilities redeeming containers covered by the California Redemption Value (CRV) program, has shuttered. The move will significantly reduce consumer recycling access.
Proposed legislation would include measures to reduce plastic pollution and remove certain single-use products from use. | LLoughran/Shutterstock
Lawmakers are bringing plastics recycling to the federal level with a legislative proposal that includes a national bottle bill and extended producer responsibility.
