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On Nov. 27, the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics demanded the right to speak at plenary sessions, after being denied the usual time allotted for civil society members to share their views. | Kiara Worth/International Institute for Sustainable Development
Negotiations for a global, legally-binding treaty to address plastic pollution will spill over into another meeting, but participants noted the need for a seismic shift to reach the finish line after a fifth round of United Nations negotiations splintered along similar lines as the last four.
Ridwell recently added glass to its collection list in Tacoma and Olympia, supplying the material to O-I’s Portland facility and to Strategic Materials. | pjhpix/Shutterstock
Glass is well known in the industry as both easy and challenging to recycling – easy from a technical sense and challenging logistically. That was recently highlighted by multiple developments in western Washington.
Amy Uong, second from right, speaks during ‘Saying Yes in the Land of No,’ a session held during the Resource Recycling Conference in Kentucky last month. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Faced with challenges moving recycled materials in recent years, MRFs and curbside recycling programs have occasionally opted to stop accepting certain materials, particularly experimental or harder-to-market packaging types.
Battery-bearing devices are detected in the municipal recycling stream using X-ray imaging. | Courtesy of Battery Detection Solutions
An emerging equipment supplier uses an advanced type of X-ray imaging to locate batteries in MRFs and other recycling facilities while also aiming to capture data on the overall composition of commodities in the stream.
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The largest brand owners in the world together used an average of 14% post-consumer resin in their packaging last year, a 2 percentage point increase over 2022. | Photka/Shutterstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s 2023 report indicated a year-over-year decrease in both virgin and overall plastic use from signatory companies. That came from companies incorporating more post-consumer resin, combined with lower overall consumer demand due to economic challenges.
Speakers from Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon shared lessons from their work to grow end markets for recyclable materials at the 2024 Resource Recycling Conference. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling
Finding end markets for recyclable materials requires both building connections with existing businesses and community organizations and helping new ideas take root, several recycling officials said during a 2024 Resource Recycling Conference panel. Continue Reading
RIOS provides an operations standard tailored specifically to the recycling sector. | Photo courtesy RIOS
After years of interacting with the Recycling Industry Operating Standard as a manager at a RIOS-certified recycling firm, Shannon Fertitta was recently appointed executive director of the group that administers RIOS. Continue Reading
A group of 67 recycling, manufacturing and environmental organizations sent a letter urging Congress to pass two recycling-related bills before the year ends. | Michael Vi/Shutterstock
Trade associations are rallying behind two pieces of stalled federal legislation that would improve rural recycling and composting access, boost data collection and more. The push comes before the 119th Congress convenes in January. Continue Reading