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Author Archives: Colin Staub

About Colin Staub

Colin-StaubColin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].

US battery recycling receives a federal boost

Published: April 9, 2024
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The U.S. Department of Energy on March 28 announced 17 projects that will receive a combined $62 million in government funding to improve consumer access to battery recycling and to improve the economics of battery processing. | Sergii Chernov/Shutterstock

Municipal collection events. Fire safety systems. Robotic sortation upgrades. These are a few of the numerous battery recycling efforts to receive a combined $62 million in government funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Continue Reading

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Nonprofit director sentenced for recycling grant fraud

Published: April 9, 2024
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The nonprofit leader submitted false documents, including altered check images and fictitious invoices, to secure funds. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock

The former head of a Nebraska nonprofit will serve four months in prison after she admitted to submitting fraudulent documents to secure public grant funds meant for electronics recycling collection events. Continue Reading

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US plastics recovery declined in 2022

Published: April 2, 2024
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Plastic waste pile

A drop in overall plastics collection contributed to a decline in the annual bottle recycling rate, which decreased to 27.8% in 2022. | Mohamed Abdulraheem/Shutterstock

Just over 5 billion pounds of post-consumer plastic was recovered for recycling in 2022, an annual industry report found, marking a decrease from the prior year. One trade association pointed to macroeconomic factors like inflation as driving the lower recovery. Continue Reading

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Federal funding boosts recycling operations

Published: April 2, 2024
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Aluminum can bale close up.

An aluminum sheet producer that uses recycled beverage cans is among the recipients of a recent round of federal funding. | Pim Pic/Shutterstock

Multiple glass recycling operations, a massive chemical recycling facility and a project to increase consumption of mixed grade recycled aluminum are among the materials recovery efforts to receive recent funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Continue Reading

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Recycling facilities reported fewer fires in 2023

Published: March 19, 2024
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Overall, e-scrap, scrap metal, C&D debris, rubber and organics recycling facilities reported 373 fires, down 4% year over year. | Piotr Zajda/Shutterstock

An annual report from recycling industry fire protection firm Fire Rover found that publicly reported MRF and transfer station fires in the U.S. and Canada dropped by 9% in 2023 compared to the prior year. Continue Reading

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Recycled fiber capacity tracker publishes final report

Published: March 19, 2024
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Baled OCC stacked for recycling.

China’s withdrawal from the fiber export market and a rise in e-commerce created an opportunity for domestic mills to consume more recycled fiber. | BAO Images Bildagentur/Shutterstock

All but two of 25 confirmed recycled paper mill projects announced over the past five years are completed, and new capacity activity has slowed considerably, according to a recent review led by the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading

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How MRF technology made a contaminant a product

Published: March 12, 2024
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Rumpke’s new Columbus, Ohio MRF is key to a partnership with Eastman Chemical that will create an end market for opaque PET materials, among other hard-to-recycle products. | Courtesy of Rumpke

A partnership between midwest recycling processor Rumpke and resin giant Eastman Chemical will create an end market for opaque and otherwise hard-to-recycle PET materials, driven by state-of-the-art sortation capabilities at Rumpke’s Columbus, Ohio MRF.

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Why Glacier’s MRF robots drew millions in funding

Published: March 12, 2024
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Robotics from Glacier can be made to fit any belt width and can target more than 30 distinct materials. | Courtesy of Glacier

The co-founders of emerging sortation robotics supplier Glacier say their robots provide an immediate quality benefit with a small footprint: They can be placed anywhere a manual sorter would be stationed. Continue Reading

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MRF battery fires burn ‘really fast’ and ‘really hot’

Published: March 5, 2024
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Vinod Singh of Far West Recycling speaks during an Association of Oregon Recyclers presentation on recycling facility battery fires in February. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling

At a Portland, Oregon-area transfer station, site superintendent Matt Tracy has noticed smaller lithium-ion batteries often behave like fireworks when they go into thermal runaway: They move erratically and can even become projectiles. Continue Reading

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Electronics processor begins recycling robotics

Published: March 5, 2024
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Robotic sorting systems that have reached end of life are being processed by electronics recycling firm First America. | Courtesy of First America

Robotic sorting systems are increasingly making their way into MRFs and other recycling facilities, where they sort recyclables and even disassemble electronics. Now, they’re entering one electronics recycling company’s facilities as part of the end-of-life stream.
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