The commission voted 4-0 to publish a notice in the Federal Register to begin a 60-day public comment period. That notice is expected to be published in mid-January of 2023. | DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock
Companies making deceptive sustainability claims distort the market for environmentally friendly products and “hurt honest companies who are bearing the costs of green business practices,” the chair of the FTC said this week.
The increase marks the end of a years-long slide in the country’s PET bottle recovery rate, which had been falling since 2017. | New Africa/Shutterstock
The U.S. PET bottle recovery rate made a notable jump last year, reaching 28.6%, according to an industry report published today.
The meeting was the first to work on drafting the text of the Global Plastics Treaty, which is intended to be a legally binding document addressing plastic pollution across the value chain. | Courtesy of UNEP
Mixed reactions followed the first meeting on a Global Plastics Treaty, with some complaints about “industry interference.”
Amcor’s 2022 sustainability report also noted that 74% of Amcor’s total production by weight is now designed to be recycled and it has made a 33% reduction in material sent to disposal over the past three years. | 360b/Shutterstock
After several years of gains in recycled content usage, Amcor is setting a new recycled content goal of 30% by 2030, tripling its previous target.
Although the majority of companies continued to decrease virgin plastic use, collective use of plastic packaging increased by 4.3% from 2020 to 2021. | Zety Akhzar/Shutterstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s latest report showed that major packaging companies doubled their collective PCR percentage from 2018 to 2021. However, pandemic-related commerce trends also helped accelerate virgin plastic consumption.
As of 2021 there were more than 40 companies working to develop or manage chemical recycling projects in the United States. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
Mechanical recycling should take priority over chemical recycling, but there will need to be several technical solutions to the world’s plastic problem, argued panelists on a recent Product Stewardship Institute webinar.
As part of its effort to harmonize legislation and industry practices, APR has urged the Federal Trade Commission to update its so-called “Green Guides.” | DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock
A federal bottle bill, more extended producer responsibility bills and pressure on single-use plastics are all in the future of plastics legislation, industry policy experts predicted.
Members of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) convened in Austin, Texas in early November. | Jill Smith/APR
The five finalists are Netherlands-based Blue Plastics, Austrian GAW Technologies and U.K. companies Impact Recycling, Mura Technology and Nextek. | Tiffy Studio/Shutterstock
Circular Solutions for Flexibles announced the five finalists in the running for its $3 million Alliance Prize for film recycling.
The managing editor of Plastics Recycling Update shines a light on the flawed conclusions reached in Greenpeace’s recent recyclability report. | Chones/Shutterstock