The data also indicated that RPET flake and pellet may have been imported as plastic scrap rather than resin, potentially skewing the data. | Monticello/Shutterstock
Recycling for U.S. PET bottles in 2023 gained 4 percentage points on the year to reach 33%, the highest rate since 1996, according to a report from the National Association for PET Container Resources industry group. Continue Reading
Effects from proposed tariffs against Mexico and Canada could include market consolidation favoring larger firms that can absorb added costs. | Menzl_Guenter/Shutterstock
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series taking a closer look at the potential effects of threatened tariffs on recycled commodity markets. Read the previous installment here, on what trade flows are most likely to be affected. Continue Reading
The Coca‑Cola Company eliminated its goals around reusable packaging and virgin plastic reduction. | StudioPortoSabbia/Shutterstock
The Coca‑Cola Company has rolled back its voluntary sustainability goals, decreasing some and eliminating others, following the growing number of big brands announcing they will not meet often-ambitious 2025 or 2030 targets.
Amy Uong, second from right, speaks during ‘Saying Yes in the Land of No,’ a session held during the Resource Recycling Conference in Kentucky last month. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Faced with challenges moving recycled materials in recent years, MRFs and curbside recycling programs have occasionally opted to stop accepting certain materials, particularly experimental or harder-to-market packaging types.
During a Nov. 21 investor event, company executives discussed the $375 million grant for the new Texas recycling plant and gave updates on the France plant and expansion in end markets. | Photo Courtesy of Eastman
Executives from Tennessee-based Eastman signaled uncertainty with the future of a federal grant supporting construction of their second chemical recycling plant, and apprehension about a potential trade war with China, during the company’s Circular Economy Deep Dive investor meeting.
The beverage behemoth is among the latest major brands to report lackluster data on recycled content in its packaging. | Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock
Global beverage giant Coca-Cola is running behind in its 2030 targets for recycled content and collection, according to the company’s most recent environmental update. Continue Reading
The hauler will start accepting thermoformed packaging for produce and other items in parts of Ohio on Nov. 1, and bale buyers will include Eastman. | Darren Doucette/Shutterstock
Ohio’s Rumpke Waste & Recycling will begin accepting PET clamshell containers in parts of the state this fall. Continue Reading
A plastics recycling executive who advocated for California’s post-consumer resin mandate draws distinctions between the recycling and renewable energy industries. Witsarut Sakorn/Shutterstock
Although regulations that scaled the renewable energy market share some conceptual similarities with post-consumer resin mandates, one longtime plastics recycling stakeholder argues there are key differences creating unique challenges for plastics recycling. Continue Reading
Unifi sources recycled polyester through its Textile Takeback program, which recently began supplying feedstock for new products. | Photo courtesy Unifi
By and large, U.S. recycled PET end markets have shifted focus from textiles to food packaging in recent years. But North Carolina-based Unifi is working on building end uses for recycled plastics in fashion and other fabric applications, the CEO said in a recent interview. Continue Reading
The Coalition has distributed more than $5 million in grants since its inception in mid-2022. | DeawSS/Shutterstock
The PET Recycling Coalition has released its first annual report, detailing progress in increasing collection and recycling of one of the most common plastics in packaging. Continue Reading