Waste and recycling industry safety has received elevated attention in recent years as injuries and fatalities have risen. Despite collaboration and the heightened focus, the numbers show little improvement.
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.
Waste and recycling industry safety has received elevated attention in recent years as injuries and fatalities have risen. Despite collaboration and the heightened focus, the numbers show little improvement.
Recycling revenues fell last year for one major hauler, hampered by China’s import restrictions and low fiber prices. Meanwhile, the company opened what it calls a next-generation MRF in Texas.
Recovered fiber and aluminum prices have taken a beating over the past month, but a key plastic grade, PET, has shown stability.
U.S. trade figures for November 2018 were released last week, showing that more recovered fiber and significantly less plastic was shipped out of the country.
Canada’s capital tested whether wrapping receptacles with splashy graphics of recyclables can improve capture rates and reduce contamination. The move can be effective, but such a strategy also has limitations.
Disruptions in global recycling markets continued to hurt recycling revenues for Waste Management and Republic Services. Meanwhile, both companies mitigated the pain by charging customers new recycling fees.
Jim Fish, CEO of Waste Management, speaks at the company’s annual sustainability forum.
Waste Management invested millions of dollars into recycling in 2018, and the year to come will bring the company’s “largest residential recycling investment” to date, company leaders said.
Ardagh Group will cease production at a glass bottle factory in Illinois, but the move isn’t expected to cripple glass recycling in the region.
Drone footage captured the scope of damage at the Marcal Paper mill.
A recycled paper mill in New Jersey was lost in a massive fire over the past week, a blow to the local economy and certain recycling operations in the region.
Intuition says making products from recycled plastic is better for the environment than using virgin plastic. A recent study puts hard numbers to that understanding.