Marissa Heffernan worked at Resource Recycling from January 2022 through June 2025, first as staff reporter and then as associate editor. Marissa Heffernan started working for Resource Recycling in January 2022 after spending several years as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Southwest Washington. After developing a special focus on recycling policy, they were also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now.
Companies such as Prairie Robotics and AMCS Group are leveraging AI to craft more robust analytics, all the way down to the individual household level. | 9dream Studio/Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence is now well established in MRFs as a tool for sorting material and dramatically reducing contamination. Now, multiple companies are taking AI to an earlier stage of the recycling process by mounting cameras on collection trucks. Continue Reading
On top of its significant PCR use in 2023, ADS also broke ground on its Energy and Technology Center. | ADS
Advanced Drainage Systems continues to be a heavyweight in the recycled plastic arena, buying 540 million pounds of recycled material in 2023 and consuming a quarter of the pigmented HDPE bottles recovered in the United States. Continue Reading
Murphy Road Recycling’s All American MRF recently completed $40 million in upgrades that focused on improved worker safety and fiber recovery. | Courtesy of Van Dyk
The consumer recyclables stream has changed a lot in the last two decades, and a Connecticut MRF recently invested $40 million in an upgrade focused on more granular fiber recovery and worker safety. Continue Reading
Amy Lestition Burke will take over the SWANA CEO role previously held by David Biderman, who left in March 2023. | Redpixel.Pl/Shutterstock
Following a six-month search, Amy Lestition Burke will take over as head of the Solid Waste Association of North America in November. Continue Reading
From left to right: Steve Noble, Jason Linnell, Walter Alcorn, Melanie Weitzel and Chris Kaasmann. | Big Wave Productions/E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference
The number of states with e-scrap recycling programs has not changed much in the past decade, but there have been some notable updates and overhauls in recent years. Industry experts dissected those changes in a recent workshop. Continue Reading
Pratt Industries has opened six of the most recent eight paper mills built in the U.S., according to a press release from the company. | Vitaliy Kyrychuk/Shutterstock
Pratt Industries brought its $700 million recycled paper mill and corrugated box factory in Kentucky on-line and announced an investment in Pennsylvania. Continue Reading
Sortera Technologies recently received major funding, and Spectro Alloys announced plans to construct a new building. | John New/Shutterstock
Spectro Alloys and Sortera Technologies are drawing up plans for multimillion-dollar expansions of their aluminum recycling capabilities. Continue Reading
Truth in Advertising argues that although Colgate-Palmolive’s 100% HDPE tubes are technically recyclable, in practice they end up in landfills. | George W. Bailey/Shutterstock
The 100% HDPE toothpaste tubes used by some brands and marketed as recyclable are under fire from a consumer watchdog group, with brands denying allegations of deceptive marketing. Continue Reading
The president of Ace Glass and Plastics Recycling envisions the upcoming facility taking in 30,000 tons of bottle glass per year. | SevenMaps/Shutterstock
ACE Glass and Plastics Recycling has partnered with EPIC Glass Recycling to build a glass recycling facility in North Little Rock, Ark. Continue Reading
The Golden State’s right-to-repair bill follows the passage of similar bills in Colorado, Minnesota and New York state. | Andy Smith, Courtesy of CALPIRG
California’s right-to-repair bill for electronics awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, as does a bill that will update and expand the state’s deposit return system. Continue Reading