More than 2,000 plastics recycling professionals are in Nashville, Tenn. this week to better understand the impacts of brand owner goals, policy proposals, recycling technology developments and more.
To quickly grasp the struggles facing American curbside recycling programs, one can follow the money – or lack thereof. In July 2017, a ton of recyclables was worth over $90. In October 2019, it was worth $30. That’s according to new research from The Recycling Partnership.
Changes in U.S. recycling programs led the How2Recycle labeling initiative to downgrade recyclability classifications for non-bottle rigid PET containers and certain PP products, potentially impacting recovery of those materials.
A coalition of bag manufacturers is committing to use more recycled plastic in the coming years. Recycling stakeholders are reacting to the pledge, which will include both post-consumer and post-industrial resin.
A coalition of industry stakeholders will invest in recycling improvements in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, anticipating the projects will capture an additional 3 million pounds of PET per year.
A joint-venture plastics recovery facility in Maryland will suspend operations in the coming days, citing challenges in the post-consumer plastics industry and pointing to a need to upgrade its equipment.
When a vehicle enters the end-of-life stream, its metals will probably be recovered. But the plastics are likely headed to landfill, despite the fact that many of them are high-value, high-performance polymers.
This is just what the doctor (and the plastics reclaimer) ordered: a guide that lays out the value of resins recovered from hospitals.
PET-focused CarbonLite Industries and Verdeco Recycling recently exited the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), saying the group has “not embraced fundamental changes in our industry.”