Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
O-I will close the only bottling plant in Oregon, ending a local end market for recycled cullet. | Photo by Jared Paben
A Portland, Oregon glass bottling operation that uses high levels of recycled glass cullet will shut down as part of owner O-I’s wider move to reduce costs and consolidate capacity. It comes after a few years of starts and stops at the plant due to regulations and demand. Continue Reading
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa takes notes during a July 16 U.S. House hearing discussing improvements to the recycling industry. | Photo courtesy U.S. House of Representatives
Two new policy proposals seeking to improve components of the U.S. recycling system came up during a Congressional hearing this month, and industry stakeholders offered their thoughts on how the federal government can best support the recycling sector. Continue Reading
Container deposit proposals saw significant progress in Texas, Maryland and Rhode Island, but did not pass in any state. | Stella Photography/Shutterstock
As state legislative sessions for the year have largely concluded, supporters of container deposit legislation recently reflected on a year that brought new twists on how bottle bills are proposed and saw support from some unlikely stakeholders. Continue Reading
The plan includes additional information on how currently non-recyclable packaging will be brought into the program by 2030. | Natallia-Boroda/Shutterstock
Circular Action Alliance has submitted an amended program plan for meeting Colorado’s extended producer responsibility regulations for packaging. Public comment will open later this summer. Continue Reading
The group will promote MRF upgrades and product design changes to facilitate higher capture of small packaging items, like metal bottle caps. | xpixel/Shutterstock
Led by the Glass Packaging Institute, a new initiative seeks to improve MRF sortation of smaller packaging materials that often get missorted and end up in the glass stream. Continue Reading
Glass sourced from Seattle and the surrounding areas saw temporary disruptions due to the loss of a major end user. | Photo courtesy Seattle Public Utilities
Several months after the primary end user for Seattle-area curbside glass pulled out of the area and disrupted regional glass collection, logistics upgrades have enabled programs to resume moving material as usual. Continue Reading
The Basel Convention regulated plastic scrap in 2021, but each party country must adopt domestic laws to enforce those rules. | hanohiki/Shutterstock
The Malaysian government recently published regulations indicating the country will stop all U.S.-sourced imports of scrap plastic on July 1, and reports from traders indicate the flow already has slowed. Continue Reading
Although extended producer responsibility is poised to capture substantially more material, The Recycling Partnership’s CEO says it’s important to ensure that material has an end market. | New Africa/Shutterstock
Backed by major brands, The Recycling Partnership has become well-known in the materials recovery sector over the past decade for boosting access to recycling, in particular by helping municipalities roll out recycling carts, improve outreach and reduce contamination. Continue Reading
Major fiber end user Smurfit Westrock anticipates some, but not substantial, demand recovery for containerboard and consumer fiber packaging this year. | trainman111/Shutterstock
Price increases helped recover fiber end users’ bottom lines over the past quarter, even as questions about corrugated packaging demand swirled in the wake of multiple high-profile U.S. mill closures. Continue Reading
Grant funds that were made available by the Inflation Reduction Act have been subject to reconsideration under the Trump Administration. | Michael Warwick/Shutterstock
Cullet end users Gallo Glass and O-I were among the Department of Energy grant funding recipients who had their awards canceled last month, including one for a project that would directly expand recycled glass capacity. An industry group criticized the funding cuts. Continue Reading