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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently honored a team at the University of Pittsburgh and an R&D company called Aronax Technologies Spain for their work improving the mechanical recyclability of flexible packaging for food.
Lower prices for recovered polyethylene films have helped drive higher profits for composite lumber product manufacturer Trex.
Great potential exists for increased film recovery in North America, where the residential film recovery rate sits at about 4 percent. Experts have identified key sectors that would be effective targets for coordinated investment.
Anti-incineration activists are criticizing an industry program that diverts traditionally non-recycled plastics away from landfill and into energy-recovery facilities. In response, project backer Dow Chemical Co. has defended the program’s utility.
A polymer modifier technology was used compatibilize different resins in multilayer packaging so they could be recycled into new garbage bags. Those bags were then used by volunteers to clean plastics from coastlines.
Nina Bellucci Butler speaks at the Resource Recycling Conference.
U.S. and Canadian end users could consume more of the recovered plastics generated domestically if prices and specifications meet their needs. But a handful of converging market trends are standing in the way of significant growth.
In its first full year of operation, British Columbia’s printed paper and packaging recycling program notched a 77 percent recovery rate, beating the target set by the government.
Roberta Barbieri, PepsiCo
A beverage giant wants to increase recycling rates so it can use more recycled content in its packaging, and the company recently joined The Recycling Partnership to further push toward that goal.
Kelly Semrau, SC Johnson
For years, the plastics recycling sector has aimed to keep plastic film out of curbside bins and carts, in an effort to both keep the material clean and avoid the well-documented problems bags and other items cause at recycling facilities.
Meal kits delivered straight to your doorstep are marketed as providing fresh, healthful food in a convenient way. But they also contain a lot of non-recyclable packaging, much of which carries problematic labeling.