Tag Archives: research

Food-grade PP recovery primed for growth

Published: April 9, 2025
Updated: April 9, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Panelists at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference spoke about the current landscape for food-grade PP recycling, where it came from and what’s needed to improve recycling rates. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling, Inc.

The technology for sorting and recycling PP back into food-grade packaging already exists, and with more value chain alignment, it is poised to take off at scale, those involved at all levels of the process said during a session at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged PP, research, technology |

Small-format recycling within reach, Closed Loop finds

Published: February 20, 2025
Updated: February 20, 2025
by Dan Holtmeyer

Billions of small-format plastic items are produced each year but are lost to landfills or incinerators across the board. | Golden Shrimp/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Learn more about plastic recycling trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged brand owners, collection, research |

Researchers develop new recycling processes

Published: January 15, 2025
Updated: January 15, 2025
by Antoinette Smith

Two university teams developed processes using electromagnetic waves and engineered wastewater bacteria to address plastic pollution. | Poring Studio/Shutterstock

University researchers have come up with two new methods to break down plastic waste – one for reuse and the other to rid wastewater of microplastics. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged Canada, PET, research |

Researchers use sunlight to recycle black plastics

Published: December 18, 2024
Updated: December 18, 2024
by Antoinette Smith

The team from Cornell and Princeton universities leveraged the colorant carbon black and LED or sunlight to break down PS packaging to the molecular level. | NisanatStudio/Shutterstock

Although additives in plastics often are viewed as problematic, researchers at Cornell and Princeton universities have developed a technique to recycle plastics containing the colorant carbon black using sunlight. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged challenging materials, PS, research |

Study: E-plastics additives present in home goods

Published: December 4, 2024
Updated: December 4, 2024
by Colin Staub

The study found flame retardants in some black plastic kitchen utensils that contained recycled resin. | Jared Paben/Resource Recycling

A recent study has focused public attention on household products containing plastic that the authors suggest was recovered from electronics, raising safety concerns about chemicals contained within the recycled content.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged e-plastics, research |

PCR mandate, virgin cap among most effective actions

Published: November 20, 2024
Updated: November 20, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

California researchers found that mandates, production limits for virgin resin, $50 billion in plastic waste management investment and a fee or tax on plastic packaging could reduce mismanaged plastic by 91% globally. | Ulrich Mueller/Shutterstock

Using insights from an AI-generated tool, a team of University of California researchers estimated that implementing four policies globally could reduce mismanaged plastic by 91%. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged legislation, regulation/oversight, research |

Group encourages public-private partnership in plastics

Published: October 16, 2024
Updated: October 23, 2024
by Antoinette Smith

Researchers from varied backgrounds published a paper that aims to facilitate conversations between various stakeholders in plastics recycling. | FabrikaSimf/Shutterstock

A group of researchers hopes to foster discussion and cooperation throughout the plastics value chain with their recent paper in the scientific journal Nature.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged brand owners, research |

Berkeley researchers vaporize PE, PP into feedstock

Published: September 11, 2024
Updated: September 11, 2024
by Antoinette Smith

Closeup of plastic pellets. Afanasiev-Andrii

Professors and students developed a process to turn both PE and PP into propylene monomer. | Afanasiev-Andrii/Shutterstock

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a chemical process to vaporize PE and PP into the feedstock monomer propylene.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged HDPE, PP, research |

National lab builds polymer database for recycling studies

Published: July 17, 2024
Updated: July 17, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Lab science scene with dropper and tubes.

Scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory created a plastic polymer database to help other researchers study plastics more efficiently. | PowerUp/Shutterstock

A team led by U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers is working to provide a baseline for plastic recycling studies with a new database of polymer data.

Posted in News | Tagged research |

MIT study: national bottle bill would boost PET recycling

Published: July 10, 2024
Updated: July 10, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

The paper from MIT researchers used a 10-cent deposit model to explore the potential effects on MRFs. | Emilija Miljkovic/Shutterstock

A nationwide 10-cent deposit on PET beverage containers could push the recycling rate for the material to over 80% in the next decade with a high level of bottle-to-bottle circularity, a MIT study suggested. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged container deposits, PET, research |