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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.

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Sea-faring plastics recycling project sees success

Published: April 29, 2024
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Plastic Odyssey has stopped in 20 countries over the last year and a half, working to connect local plastics recycling stakeholders and share recycling knowledge. | Photo courtesy Plastic Odyssey

It’s been nearly 18 months since a 128-foot vessel embarked on a global voyage to share knowledge and equipment with communities facing plastic pollution management challenges. A leader of the Plastic Odyssey project reported on the progress in an interview. Continue Reading

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Report: Canadian diversion rates stay steady in 2022

Published: April 29, 2024
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Stacks of baled paper for recycling.

Statistics Canada released a detailed breakdown of the material diverted from landfill in 2022 and if it was generated by residential or non-residential sources. | Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock

A recent analysis from the Canadian government found that, in 2022, Canadian households and businesses diverted 9.9 million metric tons of material, the same as in 2020. Of that amount, about 3.6 million tons were paper fibers. Continue Reading

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Major European glass recycler to buy Strategic Materials

Published: April 29, 2024
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Glass bottles piled for recycling.

European glass recycler and mining company Sibelco entered the U.S. glass recycling market by acquiring Strategic Materials for an undisclosed amount. | Tory Chemistry/Shutterstock

Sibelco, a post-consumer glass recycling firm with two dozen processing plants across Europe, announced plans to buy U.S. glass recycling giant Strategic Materials, which recently reorganized through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Continue Reading

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Policy and new programs tackle Iowa redemption deserts

Published: April 23, 2024
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Bottle return at a reverse vending machine.

After a 2022 program overhaul allowed most retailers to opt out of deposit system container collection, a report from Cleaner Iowa found that there are 29 counties without a redemption center. | Veja/Shutterstock

Overhauls to Iowa’s bottle bill in 2022 that allowed retailers to opt out of collection are reducing access, as industry players warned when the bill passed. But redemption centers are stepping up to help solve the problem – including by launching a new bag drop program.  Continue Reading

Recycling sectors come together in Las Vegas

Published: April 23, 2024
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ISRI2024 brought together paper, plastics, electronics and metals recycling companies for four days of discussion on key industry topics, leading up to ISRI announcing its new name, ReMA. | Photo courtesy ReMA

Companies from across the materials recovery spectrum gathered at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last week for the ISRI2024 conference, which culminated in the long-running trade association unveiling a new name. Continue Reading

Composting Consortium report evaluates packaging

Published: April 23, 2024
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The study included over 23,000 units of certified food-contact compostable packaging in 10 large-scale industrial composting environments, tested over 18 months. | Yuriy Golub

Overall, compostable packaging breaks down successfully at composting facilities, an 18-month study from the Composting Consortium found. Continue Reading

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Pressure is high for fourth UN treaty meeting

Published: April 23, 2024
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The fourth United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting will be held in Ottawa, Canada, April 21-30. | Nexus 7/Shutterstock

The penultimate meeting to draft a global plastic pollution treaty kicks off this week in Ottawa, Canada, and stakeholders say there’s a lot riding on this fourth meeting.
Continue Reading

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Robotics firm estimates tons lost at the MRF level

Published: April 23, 2024
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Aluminum cans for recycling.

EverestLabs’s data suggests that 3.6 million tons of aluminum, PET, HDPE and PP are collected and sent to MRFs each year, but about 960,000 of those tons end up in the disposal stream. | Graham Corney/Shutterstock

Of the aluminum cans, PET, HDPE and PP that reach a MRF, 27% ends up still going to disposal, according to a recent report from Robotics supplier EverestLabs. Continue Reading

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