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Eureka Recycling, which operates a MRF in Minneapolis, is a member of the Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers, which criticized plastics-to-fuel processes. | Courtesy of Eureka Recycling
The Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers called plastics-to-fuel processes “false solutions,” though the group of nonprofit recyclers says it is more open to technologies that are geared toward production of recycled resin.
A total of 28 waste and recycling workers died on the job in 2021, down from 52 deaths in 2020. | Somchai_Stock/Shutterstock
Solid waste and recycling worker fatalities dropped by nearly 50% in 2021, maintaining a downward trend that started in 2018.
A report from Google suggests that reaching a circular economy will require rethinking design, reducing resource consumption, recycling and other interventions. | Nevodka/Shutterstock
Google published its latest plastic circularity report, finding that both chemical and mechanical recycling will be needed to close the “plastics circularity gap” by 2040. The tech giant also pointed to taxing virgin plastics to help reduce waste.
The online auction for equipment in Jersey City, N.J. includes a number of Sesotec K9 Basic Separator Units, which sort glass by color and remove contaminants. | Courtesy of A.J. Willner Auctions
An auction is being held for glass recycling equipment that belonged to Pace Glass, a once-promising venture that closed recently.
EFS-plastics will open a second facility to expand recycling capacity while keeping the company’s carbon footprint as low as possible. | Courtesy of EFS-plastics
Driven by demand for polypropylene and polyethylene, plastics recycler EFS-plastics is opening a processing site in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Denver residents will have doorstep scrap electronics collection thanks to a pilot program from Retrievr, Google, Apple, Amazon, Dell Technologies and Microsoft. | Arina P Habich/Shutterstock
Some of the technology world’s big names are funding an electronics collection effort in Denver, trying to boost recycling rates.
David Biderman, far right, addresses the audience at the 2022 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Brian Adams Photo
Interest in minimum-recycled-content mandates and extended producer responsibility bills is at an all-time high, but the reality of passing legislation is more complicated, according to industry experts.
March has brought surges in prices for several curbside recyclables, with PET containers up 24%, aluminum cans up 25%, color HDPE up 32% and polypropylene up 30%.
Census Bureau data shows U.S. companies exported nearly 18 million short tons of recovered fiber in 2021, up 13% from the year prior. | DifferR/Shutterstock
Scrap fiber exports to China collapsed in 2021, but the rest of the world more than made up the difference. Scrap plastics, however, continued their years-long decline in shipments.