Associate Editor Jared Paben has worked for Resource Recycling since December 2014. Most of his earlier career was spent as a reporter for the daily newspaper in Bellingham, Wash., but he also has experience working for the Oregon volunteerism commission and for Oregon nonprofits serving low-income populations. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Both WM and Republic are vertically integrating, with the former making acquisitions and the latter drawing up plans for a new facility. | Lipik Stok Media/Shutterstock
Seeing big business opportunities, the two largest garbage and recycling companies in North America will put tens of millions of dollars into expanding their downstream plastics processing capabilities in coming years.
The California lawsuit alleges that because Glad’s bags are not recyclable and most collection programs don’t accept bagged recyclables, it is misleading to advertise them as recycling bags. | BCFC/Shutterstock
Another consumer products brand owner has been hauled into court over its marketing of plastic bags for use in recyclables collection. Continue Reading
Last year, Constellium used a greater weight of recovered material in its aluminum products and Ball used more recycled content in its cans. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
Two huge consumers of recycled aluminum from used beverage cans recently published sustainability reports noting progress in their efforts to use more recycled metal.
Steve Alexander of APR and Monica Medina of the U.S. State Department at the 2023 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Big Wave Productions and Resource Recycling, Inc.
The Biden administration envisions a global plastics agreement that requires each country to take steps to boost demand for recycled resin, including through use of public procurement policies and packaging standardization. Continue Reading
The closure leaves 116 people without jobs. | Courtesy of Google Streetview
Packaging and industrial products company Sonoco has shut down a Kansas mill that consumed OCC, according to local news reports.
Many recycling experts see China’s imports curtailment as an opportunity to rebuild domestic recycling infrastructure. A recent workshop in Portland, Ore. fostered conversations on how to begin doing that in the Pacific Northwest, a region that has long been fairly export dependant.
The REMADE Institute has funded $98 million worth of projects in the past five years. | NicoElNino/Shutterstock
A federally funded institute is offering up another $10 million in public funds to support recycling, reuse and remanufacturing R&D projects.
Executives expressed mixed opinions about whether commodity prices would increase or remain flat in 2023. | Courtesy of Republic Services
A late-year crash in commodity prices crippled what would have otherwise been a strong 2022 for some of the largest recyclables sorting and marketing operations in North America.
