Amazon-backed Glacier has installed AI sorting at Penn Waste’s York County MRF with support from Cox Enterprises, aiming to boost PET capture in Pennsylvania. | Photo courtesy Glacier
Glacier, the Amazon-backed AI and robotics company, has installed its sorting technology at Penn Waste’s MRF in York County, Pennsylvania, in a project supported by Cox Enterprises that aims to lift plastic recovery and improve fiber quality for mills. Continue Reading
APR has unveiled a digital platform that evaluates whole plastic packages for recyclability and helps brands prepare for EPR and labeling rules. | Courtesy APR
The Association of Plastic Recyclers will launch a new digital platform to help brands and packaging suppliers evaluate the recyclability of entire plastic packages and prepare for policy requirements in the US and abroad. Continue Reading
The investment is toward boosting molecular recycling capacity by 50% and expanding specialty additive production in Ontario. | Rene Notenbomer / Shutterstock
As vulnerabilities intensify across European plastics recycling markets, Closed Loop Partners (CLP) has deployed a $10 million loan to Canadian molecular recycling firm GreenMantra Technologies, reaffirming its commitment to selective depolymerization technology.
An AI-powered recycling system at the Rochester Institute of Technology can identify non-recyclable components of clothing and can detect the fiber composition of the whole item. | Kostikova Natalia/Shutterstock
Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology are developing a high-speed automated system to disassemble and recycle clothing. Continue Reading
A technology-focused panel at ReMA’s 2025 conference featured Blake Gordon of Georgia-Pacific Recycling, Lisa Kagan of Buddy and Geoff Aardsma of AMCS, and was moderated by Jennifer Betts of Magnar Metals. | Photo by Colin Staub / Resource Recycling
For Blake Gordon, general manager of digital trading at Georgia-Pacific Recycling, defining next-generation technology can be boiled down to a simple question: Does it simplify something that is unnecessarily complex? If so, it’s next-gen. Continue Reading
Researchers with Google X’s Moonshot Factory are working with product designers to recycle plastics currently considered unrecyclable. | Artgray/Shutterstock
Google X and Dow Chemical are collaborating to develop an artificial intelligence sorting system capable of identifying film plastics and mixed materials, they announced at a conference in April.
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
Letters of no objection allow companies to begin marketing their recycled resin for food-contact uses. | Konektus/Shutterstock
Two dozen companies received the go-ahead from the Food and Drug Administration to use recycled plastic in food-contact packaging during the second half of 2024. The companies span North America, Africa, Europe and Asia, and their processes include mechanical and chemical recycling. Continue Reading
Three companies announced funding and other progress toward building chemical recycling capacity. | Menzl Guenter/Shutterstock
Several companies recently announced progress toward chemical recycling capacity, including a developing method to recycle PET that could require much less energy. Continue Reading
Research from RRS found that in 2021, only 9% of U.S. recycling programs used a search app or tool for outreach, but apps appear to be gaining in popularity. | zhu-difeng/Shutterstock
Smartphones are a ubiquitous tool for many Americans, and several states have recently started using apps, including Recycle Coach, to disseminate recycling information.