When it made landfall on Aug. 25, Hurricane Harvey became the wettest tropical cyclone to ever hit the U.S., dumping more than five feet of water on Houston. The resulting floods have impacted the recycling industry in multiple ways, driving up prices for virgin plastics, hampering freight systems and halting curbside collections.
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.
Recycling processors report that early September pricing for recovered plastic packaging rose slightly over August levels.
U.S. recycling leaders who are closely tied to export markets say China’s proposed import prohibition on recovered plastic and other materials could drive changes all the way back to the curb.
Two large operations involved in PET recovery in Southern California will receive assistance from a state agency in expanding or bringing facilities on-line.
The future of recovered materials exports to China remains hazy, but the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) made a few things clear after a recent trip to Hong Kong and Beijing.
In the first month of 2017, the volume of exported material jumped over 35 percent compared with the same period last year.
It’s election season, and one hot-button issue is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which aims to significantly boost trading relationships between the U.S. and other countries. In the plastics recycling industry, however, opinions vary on whether the treaty would be good for business.
A campaign aimed at curbing criminal activity could cause headaches for those legally sending recyclable materials across the Pacific Ocean.
A manufacturer has been recognized for its process that uses 100 percent post-consumer plastics from e-scrap, as well as packaging and textiles, sourced from recycling companies across the U.S.