Author Archives: MaryEllen Etienne

Women in Circularity: Katie Drews

Published: March 4, 2025
Updated: March 18, 2025
by MaryEllen Etienne

A warm welcome back to “Women in Circularity,” where we shine a light on women moving us toward a circular economy. This month, I was pleased to connect with an expert in the delivery of community based recycling services: Katie Drews. Katie is the co-president and CEO of Eureka Recycling, a nonprofit zero-waste organization and social enterprise recycler based in Minneapolis. Katie has nearly two decades of experience in marketing and business strategy and has a track record of driving change and innovation in corporate, higher education and nonprofit sectors.

Posted in News | Tagged Women in Circularity |

Natural HDPE notches another large increase, fiber is flat

Published: February 11, 2025
Updated: February 11, 2025
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

A key curbside plastic grade has reached prices it hasn’t seen in over three years, while mixed paper and OCC values are holding steady this month. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories |

January brings rising HDPE and PET prices, fiber stability

Published: January 14, 2025
Updated: January 14, 2025
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

Several plastic grades saw major price increases at the beginning of 2025. Other key recyclables, including mixed paper, OCC and aluminum cans, held steady month over month. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories |

Natural HDPE jumps 13%, fiber continues to taper off

Published: December 17, 2024
Updated: December 17, 2024
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

Prices for most major curbside recyclables dropped this month, but a couple outliers were natural HDPE and aluminum beverage cans, both of which saw double-digit percentage increases in value. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories |

Paper prices drop again, most plastics stay flat

Published: November 13, 2024
Updated: November 13, 2024
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

In more evidence of a market shift, OCC and mixed paper are both fetching lower prices than they were last month, reversing the upward trend of the past couple years. But both fiber grades are still trading at or above their values a year ago.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged markets |

Paper grades plummet, reversing two-year trend

Published: October 15, 2024
Updated: October 15, 2024
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

Mixed paper and OCC sank by 21% and 16%, respectively, this month, marking a pivot from a long runup that plateaued over the summer. Curbside plastic price trends varied by grade.

Posted in News, Top stories |

In My Opinion: Producer fees in packaging EPR programs

Published: October 8, 2024
Updated: October 8, 2024
by Adrien Thein-Sandler, Senior Policy Analyst, EPR Group Consulting

A policy analyst from EPR Group Consulting explains the producer fees and deadlines that are coming in each state. | martina_l/Shutterstock

The extended producer responsibility programs for packaging that are currently unfolding in several states impose two primary obligations on producers of covered materials: reporting data and paying fees to a producer responsibility organization.

Posted in News |

Women in Circularity: Amy Wald

Published: September 24, 2024
Updated: September 24, 2024
by MaryEllen Etienne

Amy Wald, Greenluxe

A warm welcome back to “Women in Circularity,” where we shine a light on women moving us toward a circular economy. This month, I was pleased to connect with a sustainable tourism expert: Amy Wald. Amy is the President of Greenluxe, a consulting firm in Ohio that specializes in developing zero waste and sustainability strategies, training and certification designed for hotels and other tourist destinations. She has over 15 years of experience in the sustainable tourism industry. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged Women in Circularity |

OCC prices slip slightly as HDPE ticks upwards

Published: September 17, 2024
Updated: September 17, 2024
by RecyclingMarkets.net Staff

Prices for major fiber grades were either steady or dipped marginally this month, while color HDPE began to inch higher following a 40% price crash over the summer. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories |

In My Opinion: The Case for National Data Reporting

Published: September 6, 2024
Updated: September 6, 2024
by Josh Reid, Re-TRAC CEO

Re-TRAC CEO Josh Reid explains why consistently collected, standardized data is vital for the recycling industry’s future. | Joyseulay/Shutterstock

With negative mainstream media coverage eroding public trust in recycling, now is the time to make changes, and an important piece of those improvements is accurate, standardized data collection.

Posted in News | Tagged data, Policy Now |