Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
The former mayor of Oakland, Calif., and the CEO of California Waste Solutions have both been charged with bribery and fraud over an alleged agreement to extend a hauling contract in return for campaign support. | Phanphen Kaewwannarat/Shutterstock
Federal prosecutors say a former California mayor received bribery payments and services in exchange for agreeing to extend a recycling contract. Now all involved are facing federal charges for bribery or fraud. Continue Reading
The guide directs users to various retail and other collection sites around the U.S. that accept film for drop-off recycling. | Ivanova Tetyana/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: Learn more about film recycling trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. Continue Reading
Recycle Utah is working to bring a diverse array of shareholders together on a $25 million MRF project. | Photo courtesy Recycle Utah
Summit County, Utah, boasts one of the largest ski resorts in the U.S., bringing tourists from around the world to experience the majestic slopes in Park City. The region has even been selected as the site of the 2034 Winter Olympics.
While overall workplace fatalities decreased in the U.S. in 2023, the waste and recycling industry was a troubling outlier. | Wave Break Media/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
Nine workers died in U.S. materials recovery facilities in 2023 and the death rate for refuse and recyclable material collectors jumped more than 80%, according to the latest annual numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue Reading
Former Environmental Manager Michael Mayfield received a three-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million in restitution. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock
A former Mars Wrigley employee who managed on-site recycling programs at a production facility will serve prison time after he admitted to stealing more than $1 million in recycled commodity revenues. Continue Reading
Over the course of the year, Greif reported its paper packaging and services division saw $2.3 billion in sales, up 2% year over year. | Pitipat Wongprasit/Shutterstock
Paper packaging giant Greif is the latest containerboard producer to announce a price hike for the recycled fiber end product at the beginning of 2025, employing a tool the company has used throughout this year to offset higher OCC feedstock costs and account for other cost growth. Continue Reading
Continuus Materials’ Iowa facility was acquired by hauler WM only a few years ago. | Courtesy of Continuus
A growing end market for mixed paper, plastic and cartons abruptly closed this fall. Continue Reading
Amy Uong, second from right, speaks during ‘Saying Yes in the Land of No,’ a session held during the Resource Recycling Conference in Kentucky last month. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Faced with challenges moving recycled materials in recent years, MRFs and curbside recycling programs have occasionally opted to stop accepting certain materials, particularly experimental or harder-to-market packaging types.
Battery-bearing devices are detected in the municipal recycling stream using X-ray imaging. | Courtesy of Battery Detection Solutions
An emerging equipment supplier uses an advanced type of X-ray imaging to locate batteries in MRFs and other recycling facilities while also aiming to capture data on the overall composition of commodities in the stream.
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RIOS provides an operations standard tailored specifically to the recycling sector. | Photo courtesy RIOS
After years of interacting with the Recycling Industry Operating Standard as a manager at a RIOS-certified recycling firm, Shannon Fertitta was recently appointed executive director of the group that administers RIOS. Continue Reading