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].
Calgary, Alberta saw a large recycling facility temporarily close because 16 employees tested positive for COVID-19. | Darko-HD Photography/Shutterstock
A MRF serving Calgary is back at half-capacity after workers tested positive for the coronavirus, and a local program in Missouri is being put on hold as employees go into quarantine.
TerraCycle US sold $5.81 million worth of recycled plastic and other materials in 2019, well over double its net sales from the prior year. | Courtesy of TerraCycle.
A car seat recycling deal with a major retailer helped boost TerraCycle’s recovered commodity sales by over $3.5 million last year, according to a financial report.
Republic Services is among the haulers that experienced year-over-year decreases in first-quarter recycling revenues. | Rosamar/Shutterstock
Two years after China’s imports ban upended material flows, recycling revenues are still falling for the largest waste and recycling companies in North America.
Officials estimate that 20 projects receiving grants will collectively divert nearly 44,000 tons of material from landfills each year. | ImagineStock/Shutterstock
North Carolina recently awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to help divert mixed recyclables, organics, paper, plastic and other materials from landfills.
NRT is currently producing about 75 mask comfort products a day. | Courtesy of National Recovery Technologies (NRT).
Normally, NRT’s 3D printer is busy producing parts for optical sorters and other recycling machinery. But amid the pandemic, the company is also using the technology to make mask straps that help out health care workers.
The CDC recently released a document covering steps employees and employers in the recycling and waste industries can take to prevent the spread of the virus. | g0d4ather/Shutterstock
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a fact sheet to help keep garbage and recycling industry workers safe during the pandemic.
Officials in Philadelphia are prioritizing recycling as an essential service. | Real Window Creative/Shutterstock
Pandemic-prompted lockdowns have crippled tax revenues nationwide, sending municipal leaders scrambling to patch gaping budget holes. In many cases, recycling programs have been affected.
The carpet recycling industry is already facing pressures from low plastics prices, a shift in polymers used in carpet and collection challenges from the coronavirus. | ND700/Shutterstock
Carpet manufacturers are halting their nationwide voluntary subsidy program for carpet recycling, which could push some struggling processors out of business.
Circulate Capital announced $6 million in funding to recycling companies to prevent marine debris. | Igor Batenev/Shutterstock
Circulate Capital invested $6 million in plastics recycling companies in India and Indonesia, the brand-backed firm’s first outlay designed to prevent marine plastics.
California will fall short of its 75% recycling rate goal for 2020, state officials acknowledged in a recent report. | Johnny Habell/Shutterstock
California and Oregon recently reported lower statewide diversion rates, a trend that’s been ongoing for multiple years in both states.