Colin Staub was a reporter and associate editor at Resource Recycling until August 2025.
Republic forecasts servicing fewer commercial containers as bars, restaurants and schools temporarily close. | Aaron of L.A. Photography/Shutterstock
Republic Services foresees major changes in the residential and commercial recycling landscape due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The New York Department of Sanitation is preparing for higher-than-normal volumes of material to be collected curbside. | Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock
New York City, which has the largest concentration of coronavirus cases in the U.S., is continuing curbside service even as the city’s collection department battles infections among employees.
The federal government and states that have issued “stay-at-home” orders have decided recycling businesses are “essential.” | youkatan/Shutterstock
Recycling collection and processing has been deemed essential by states that have issued stay-at-home orders, meaning industry entities are not subject to forced shutdowns.
In communities around the country, recycling programs are limiting the materials they collect, altering service hours or shutting down altogether. | Oksana Shturo/Shutterstock
Recycling programs nationwide have curtailed service due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially hampering the supply of recyclables moving to market in the weeks to come.
Teton County, Wyo. handles about 4,500 tons of recyclables per year. | Carson Meyer Photography
Each year, as many as 3 million visitors come through Teton County, Wyo., drawn in large part by the area’s scenic destinations. With so many out-of-towners coming through, local recycling coordinators have to stay on their toes when it comes to outreach and education.
Even as the vast majority of municipalities have not made changes to recycling service, the coronavirus impact has been felt in programs around the country. | VO IMAGES/Shutterstock
The global escalation of COVID-19 is hampering some North American recycling programs, impacting Chinese users of U.S. recovered fiber, constraining global shipping, denting stock prices and threatening an economic recession.
Boise’s EnergyBag program has explored a number of alternative processing options while awaiting Renewlogy’s upgrades. | Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
A program collecting hard-to-recycle plastics in Idaho’s largest city has been without a solid market for about a year since downstream outlet Renewlogy stopped accepting loads. After an equipment supply delay due to the coronavirus, the city now says this will continue at least through the summer.
With newly announced process, Chinese importers can apply for tariff exemptions beginning this week. | Sumrit Tesrumphun/Shutterstock
The Chinese government will consider exempting tariffs on OCC and other recovered fiber on a company-by-company basis. Meanwhile, a tariff on U.S. recycled paper pulp shipments into China has been lifted for one year.
The Total Fiber Recovery project joins a number of other domestic recycled fiber processing capacity expansions that have been announced or come on-line since China began restricting imports. | Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock
A plant taking in mixed paper and OCC is on the way in Virginia, the latest planned domestic market expansion for U.S. recovered fiber.
The recently introduced legislation covers solar panels in residential, commercial and industrial use. | Heinz Trebuth/Shutterstock
Legislation in Arizona would establish recycling requirements for end-of-life solar panels, directing manufacturers to create a recycling program or face a per-panel fee at point-of-sale.