Jerry Powell is the founder and executive editor of Resource Recycling, Inc., which publishes Resource Recycling, Plastics Recycling Update and E-Scrap News. He previously owned and managed a recycling consulting company and managed a recycling business in Portland, Ore. He can be contacted at jpowell@resource-recycling.com.
Robotics may come to play a large role in the MRF setting during the next decade, driven by their ability to provide high-quality output and raise bale values. But there are other important technology changes afoot in sortation lines, according to a processing expert.
Early reports from auctions of recyclable plastic and aluminum packaging for August show some prices moving up slightly, while others fell back.
As the weather heats up, sellers of recovered plastic and aluminum packaging are seeing flat to weaker pricing for their bales.
Small collection facilities that run their recyclables through compactors before shipping them to larger processing centers can realize considerable cost savings, a Canadian organization has shown.
Why are paper recycling prices at near-record levels? The answer boils down to uncertainties in the Chinese market and strong demand at home.
Operators of residential recycling programs report up-and-down pricing moves for recovered plastic and aluminum packaging.
As May begins, recovered HDPE bale prices have slid, making operators of packaging sorting plants a bit glum.
The value of curbside-collected paper and steel is down slightly at the start of April, though some plastics have experienced boosts.
A meeting of the International Council of Containership Operators got raided last week, sending tremors throughout the ocean shipping industry.
