Eric Hartz (center) spoke on a panel with Kate Bailey (right) at the 2022 Resource Recycling Conference. The session was moderated by Sarah Edwards (left). | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Recent years have seen a steady stream of announcements from chemical recycling operators touting technological breakthroughs. But two industry insiders recently issued a stern reminder to the market: Don’t forget about economics.
Berry brand owner Driscoll’s has worked with its clamshell suppliers to boost the percentage of RPET derived from used thermoforms. | Courtesy of Driscoll’s
Clamshell containers used by berry brand Driscoll’s last year contained an average of 9% RPET sourced from used thermoforms. Continue Reading
The three XP45 DeDusters that Pelletron sold to rPlanet Earth each have a capacity of 2 metric tons per hour. | Courtesy of Pelletron
Specialized equipment is reducing the presence of gels in rPlanet Earth’s RPET sheets, allowing the Southern California-based reclaimer to sell them for higher prices.
Birch Plastics recently completed GreenCircle certification of the company’s PP and HDPE recycled resins. | Courtesy of Birch Plastics
Texas-based Birch Plastics recently worked with a third-party auditor to verify its recycling process, a step more reclaimers and compounders are considering as end users look for certainty in their feedstock.
Goodwill Industries of West Michigan will partner with recycled-plastics product maker HydroBlox. | Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock
A new plant in western Michigan will recycle recovered plastic from Goodwill into stormwater drainage infrastructure.
Aquafil’s Woodland, Calif. facility will be closed after a short period of operation. | Courtesy of Aquafil
Shortly after opening its Northern California carpet recycling plant, Aquafil is working to close the facility and consolidate processing equipment elsewhere.
Cedar Poly in Tipson, Iowa was just acquired by UFP Industries. | Cedar Poly website
Recycled-plastic decking manufacturers are responding to strong markets for their products by expanding production capacity, including UFP buying reclaimer Cedar Poly and Fiberon breaking ground on a facility in Tennessee.
A number of prominent names are financing Myplas USA’s first U.S. polyethylene film recycling plant, to be located in Rogers, Minn., outside of Minneapolis. | Joyce Blessthink/Shutterstock
Brand owners and other private and public entities are investing millions of dollars into a plastic reclaimer’s project to build a 170,000-square-foot film recycling facility in the Upper Midwest.
An SEC fact-finding investigation into PP recycling startup PureCycle recently concluded without further action. | AevanStock/Shutterstock
PET recycling startup Loop Industries agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit from investors, and regulators have ended their investigation of PP recycling startup PureCycle Technologies without taking further action.
Michigan-based East Jordan Plastics recycles over 20 million pounds of horticultural containers each year. | apple2499/Shutterstock
East Jordan Plastics, one of the largest horticultural container manufacturers in North America, announced it will build a $44 million facility in Lyons, Ga.