Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
A recent Greenpeace report noted companies are increasingly calling a wider variety of products “recyclable.” | Marko Rupena/Shutterstock
Several recycling industry reports were recently released, including a Greenpeace indictment of recyclability labeling, the latest updates from Closed Loop Partners, and one state’s investigation of food waste in public schools.
How2Recycle announced that all PP tubs, trays, bottles and cups will now be labeled with the organization’s “check locally” label. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
Changes in U.S. recycling programs led the How2Recycle labeling initiative to downgrade recyclability classifications for non-bottle rigid PET containers and certain PP products, potentially impacting recovery of those materials.
The legislation includes a national bottle bill, which experts say would significantly boost the container recycling rate. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
Two Congressmen today introduced a comprehensive waste management and recycling support bill. This week, they shared details about the legislation and expressed optimism that it will garner bipartisan support.
So far this year China has approved 3.5 million short tons of recovered fiber for import. | luca pbl/Shutterstock
China recently issued its third round of recovered fiber import permits for 2020, and the volume being allowed in this round is far less than what was approved previously.
U.S. recovered fiber exports fell by roughly 3 million tons from 2018 to 2019. | StockStudio Aerials/Shutterstock
In 2019, recovered fiber exports from the United States experienced their largest year-over-year decline on record. U.S. scrap plastic exports also continued a substantial fall.
Despite a year of market uncertainty, U.S. recovered paper exports increased in 2018, driven largely by OCC shipments. However, scrap plastic exports fell substantially as countries enacted stringent trade policies.
PET collection is lagging behind recycled resin demand by more than 1 billion pounds per year, according to a new study. | Resource Recycling file photo.
The current recycling system is insufficient, according to a report from The Recycling Partnership. But several key initiatives – and $500 million – can move the industry forward.
Photo credit: Revolution Plastics
A free service collecting LDPE films commonly used on farms recently kicked off in central Minnesota, the latest expansion for a growing ag-oriented project.
Avangard Innovative, which for years has managed commercial recycling streams and sold scrap to manufacturers, is gearing up to play a larger role in plastic resin production.
CalRecycle last week convened stakeholders to continue to discuss the possibility of requiring producers to play a role in the end-of-life management of packaging materials.