The latest issue of Science discusses mechanical and chemical recycling, global policy and more. | qvist / Shutterstock
Science Magazine has published a special edition covering various facets of the global plastic pollution problem. Articles touch on efforts to reduce the amount of material ending up in the environment as well as advancements (and shortcomings) in recycling.
Data shows that the U.S. PET bottle recycling rate in 2019 was 27.9%, down from 29.0% in 2018. | TeuNg-StyLe / Shutterstock
Slightly less scrap plastic from the U.S. was recycled in 2019 than the year prior. The data comes as brand owners signal greater demand for recycled resins.
Chemist Max Delferro holds high-quality liquid product obtained by treating plastic bags with a new catalytic process. | Image courtesy of Mark Lopez and Argonne National Laboratory.
For one scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, moving the needle on plastic recovery is analogous to stopping the spread of COVID-19. In both cases, many minds must come together.
Millions of dollars are available to redesign multi-layer films to make them recyclable or biodegradable. | Natykach Nataliia / Shutterstock
The U.S. government will provide up to $14.5 million to support R&D focused on single-use film packaging recycling.
Researchers estimate over 74 billion PET bottles were landfilled, burned or littered in the U.S. in 2019. | Teerasak Ladnongkhun / Shutterstock
This story has been updated and corrected.
A new report estimates that a nationwide bottle deposit program would reduce the number of drink containers each American wastes to 67 per year, down from 426 under the status quo.
The U.S. EPA is considering changing the calculation methodology for determining the nation’s recycling rate. | Rokas Tenys/Shutterstock
If a process breaks down scrap plastics into chemicals that are later used to make new plastic, should the federal government consider that “recycling?” What if the end product is a fuel that is combusted?
The REMADE Institute issued funding to projects exploring a variety of plastics recycling technologies. | Olivier Le Queinec/Shutterstock
A federal initiative focused on energy efficiency in U.S. manufacturing recently selected more than a dozen plastics recycling projects to support. They include efforts advancing PET recovery, mixed-plastics processing, chemical recycling and more.
Bales of plastic material for sortation at the Pacific Northwest demonstration facility. | Jared Paben/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Following a similar demonstration in the Pacific Northwest last year, industry stakeholders are launching an initiative to recover additional material from the municipal stream in New York and four other states.
