California cities of 50,000 residents or more are seeing inbound contamination rates between 8% and 46%, with an average of 20%. | Oksana Shturo/Shutterstock
Plastic film has long been identified as a major contaminant in municipal materials recovery programs. Research from the West Coast shows just how challenging it has been to educate residents around proper bag behavior.
Troy University researchers are investigating methods for recycling medical plastics into new products. | Rob Byron/Shutterstock
The coronavirus has put a focus on the plastics used in the manufacture of gloves, masks and other types of personal protective equipment. KW Plastics will assist Troy University scientists who are studying the recycling of that material.
A pelletizing and melt delivery equipment company opened a lab in North Carolina, and a U.S. thermoforms company begins using sheets from resin made partly through a PET depolymerization process.
Department of Energy grants are available to advance energy-efficient recycling processes. | cwales/Shutterstock
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $25 million for the development of efficiently recycled polymers and improved recycling processes.
The Recycling Partnership’s “2020 State of Curbside” report delves into updated data on recycling in the U.S. | stephen rudolph/Shutterstock
To quickly grasp the struggles facing American curbside recycling programs, one can follow the money – or lack thereof. In July 2017, a ton of recyclables was worth over $90. In October 2019, it was worth $30. That’s according to new research from The Recycling Partnership.
A steering committee is reviewing five scenarios to potentially reshape the future of recycling in Oregon. | kipgodi/Shutterstock
Industry leaders in one West Coast state are pondering a variety of different frameworks to help recycling programs and processors find greater resilience in the wake of National Sword. Producers may ultimately be asked to play a big role in the solution.
Researchers from the University of Illinois have developed a non-toxic method for recycling polycarbonate plastic, which is often used in electronics and other products but has been difficult to cost-effectively divert from the waste stream.
A sample of products containing bromine, as found by researchers.
A researcher has found black plastics from electronics are being recycled into a variety of household applications, despite still containing additives that he says could be hazardous.
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When a vehicle enters the end-of-life stream, its metals will probably be recovered. But the plastics are likely headed to landfill, despite the fact that many of them are high-value, high-performance polymers.
This is just what the doctor (and the plastics reclaimer) ordered: a guide that lays out the value of resins recovered from hospitals.