Baled clamshells in Ridwell’s Portland facility on Aug. 15, 2024, awaiting shipment to a downstream processor. | Marissa Heffernan/Resource Recycling.
As more consumers turn a skeptical eye to traditional recycling programs, Ridwell, a company that provides curbside collection of hard-to-recycle materials, is growing into numerous markets across the country. And the company is doing it with transparency in mind. Continue Reading
Although companies may be shifting to a broader carbon-footprint strategy, PCR production still needs to increase several times over, a recent RaboResearch report said | RecycleMan/Shutterstock
Brand owner targets for PCR content have helped drive demand for recycled plastics in the U.S. and Europe in recent years, but PCR production needs to increase as much as fivefold to meet those goals, according to a recent RaboResearch report. Continue Reading
Five large publicly traded North American haulers recently reported their second-quarter earnings. | LV Olga/Shutterstock
Rising commodity prices were a boon for major recycling operators in the second quarter of the year, and they’re now anticipating better full-year results than they initially expected.
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Although overall PCR usage dropped in 2023, Novolex’s paper segment reached its highest share of recycled content since 2020. | Photo Courtesy of Novolex
Packaging producer Novolex reported slightly lower post-consumer recycled content usage in its plastic products for 2023, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
Texas experienced its first major hurricane of the season in early July, with significant power outages, but peak storm season has yet to occur. | Vladimir-Martinov/Shutterstock
As the first major hurricane of the season hit Texas last week, MRFs and processors braced for disrupted services, flooding and power outages, which are familiar obstacles for Gulf Coast operators each June through November.
Bales of PET and natural HDPE containers are fetching higher prices, while color HDPE continues to slip downwards in value this month.
Matium both connects buyers and sellers and makes data reporting easier for users of the digital platform. | Ann-Moore/Shutterstock
Matium last month began the commercial launch of a platform that digitizes many aspects of the plastics recycling trading business. The company also received a recent funding boost from an economic development agency in Colorado.
Emily Friedman, a recycled plastics senior editor at ICIS, expects steady growth in U.S. mechanical recycling capacity despite a slowdown on the announcement of greenfield facilities. | Zombiemaster/Shutterstock
After attending NPE 2024, ICIS’s Emily Friedman walked away thinking that producers of durables are showing interest in recycled resins, the plastics industry needs to add its voice to policy discussions, and there’s growth on the horizon for both mechanical and chemical recycling capacity. Continue Reading
Shannon Gordon, the chief operating officer of Circular.Co., speaks about the growing trend of digital commodity trading at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Big Wave Productions/Plastics Recycling Update
Online buying, selling and trading is the future of recycled commodity sales – but we’re not in the future quite yet, digital platform providers said at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in March. Continue Reading
Emily Friedman of ICIS described several trends driving recycled resin markets in the U.S., during the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in Grapevine, Texas. | Big Wave Productions/Plastics Recycling Update
A long runup in recycled natural HDPE prices came to an end last summer, when prices plummeted to levels not seen since 2019. A market analyst with ICIS recently explained how this has become a trend in the plastics recycling market – and how the cycle is beginning again. Continue Reading