Back to Top

Category: News

Resource Recycling keeps you on top of critical industry trends and brings unparalleled analysis of the evolving materials stream, market turbulence, policy trends and more.

Sign up for our free weekly e-newsletters to receive the latest news directly.

Brightmark seeking 2.4 billion pounds of US mixed plastics

Published: August 4, 2020
Updated:

by
Sorted plastics at a recycling facility.

Brightmark is seeking over 1,000,000 tons of difficult-to-recycle plastics for chemical recycling. | hiv360/Shutterstock

A chemical recycling firm is on the hunt for a massive quantity of plastics Nos. 1-7, material the company plans to process at plastics-to-fuel facilities across the country.

Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged |

How PPP loans helped MRFs across the country

Published: August 4, 2020
Updated:

by
Person in a suit signing a check.

Small Business Administration data shows over 1,100 MRF companies received Paycheck Protection Program loans. | NIKCOA/Shutterstock

MRF operators received tens of millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program funds, recently released data suggests. A few explained just how important the money was to preventing layoffs.

Continue Reading

Posted in Top stories | Tagged |

Our top stories from July 2020

Published: August 4, 2020
Updated:

by
Waste Connections recycling collection truck unloads material at the Balcones MRF in Austin, Texas.

Insight from a leader at Waste Connections drew attention last month. | Resource Recycling file photo.

MRF, hauler, market, technology and exports articles all landed on our read-most list last month.

Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged |

Environmental group takes aim at chemical recycling of plastics

Published: July 28, 2020
Updated:

by
Scrap plastics baled for recycling.

Chemical recycling uses different processes to break plastics down into other chemicals, which can be used to make fuels, new plastics or many other products. | Vershinin89/Shutterstock

This story has been updated.

A report from activist organization GAIA claims processing strategies that have been heavily promoted by the polymer industry amount to a “greenwashing tactic” undermining efforts to ban single-use plastics.

Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged , |

A local program leader’s long history of crossing racial divides

Published: July 28, 2020
Updated:

by
Harry Hayes

Harry Hayes has been director of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department since 2007. | Photo courtesy of city of Houston 

Harry Hayes’ journey to the top of Houston’s solid waste department in many ways began over 40 years ago, when he confronted fears about being the only Black kid in French class.

Continue Reading

Posted in Top stories | Tagged |

Largest shipping company won’t take recyclables to China

Published: July 27, 2020
Updated:

by
Maersk shipping container on a ship at sea.

Shipping giant Maersk announced as of Sept. 1, 2020 it will no longer take scrap material shipments to China. | Mariusz Bugno/Shutterstock

Citing China’s upcoming legislation that will ban all “solid waste” imports, APM-Maersk this month announced it will stop shipping virtually all recovered materials to China and Hong Kong in the coming weeks.

Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , |

Equipment upgrades drive greater UBC recovery

Published: July 21, 2020
Updated:

by
Aluminum cans for recycling.

Recent research determined that in 2019, UBCs made up 12.5% of potential revenues in MRFs in bottle bill states and 33% of potential revenues in MRFs in non-bottle-bill states. | Graham Corney/Shutterstock

Robotics and additional eddy current separators are key to maximizing sortation of used beverage cans, according to MRF operators, researchers and other experts.

Continue Reading

Posted in Top stories | Tagged |

British Columbia expands EPR and bottle deposit systems

Published: July 21, 2020
Updated:

by

Starting in 2023, “packaging-like” and “single-use” products will be added to British Columbia’s producer-managed recycling program. | Tudoran Andrei/Shutterstock 

Canada’s third-largest province has approved a number of changes to its extended producer responsibility and container deposit programs.  Continue Reading

Posted in Top stories | Tagged , |