Prices for a slew of curbside recyclables – OCC, UBCs, PET, HDPE and PP – all surged over the past month, bringing good news for MRFs.
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Prices for a slew of curbside recyclables – OCC, UBCs, PET, HDPE and PP – all surged over the past month, bringing good news for MRFs.
California Assembly Bill 842 requires that by 2035, all single-use plastic packaging and products distributed in California include 75% post-consumer recycled content. | Kanittha Boon/Shutterstock
California legislators introduced a bill that creates a packaging stewardship organization and adds packaging fees paid by producers. The bill is the latest in a flurry of plastics-related legislative activity in the state.
U.S. exports of recovered fiber were up slightly in January 2021 compared to the previous year. | anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock
Exports of U.S. scrap paper and plastic increased in January 2021 compared with 2020, despite China’s exit from the recovered paper market and new Basel Convention regulations on plastic shipments.
The new “Women in Circularity” series shines a light on women contributing to the development of the circular economy.
The REMADE Institute issued funding to projects exploring a variety of recycling technologies. | Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
A federal initiative focused on energy efficiency in U.S. manufacturing recently selected two dozen recycling projects to support. A majority of the projects are related to plastics recycling, but others target fiber, metals and more.
For 2020, SWANA reported 36 collection/transportation worker deaths, the same number as 2019. | Eric Buermeyer/Shutterstock
The number North American MRF workers killed on the job last year decreased, but the total number of garbage and recycling sector deaths remained flat, according to industry data.
An investigation found numerous instances of e-scrap contract dustups tied to three companies started by Bruce Manssuer: Diversified Asset Recovery, Secure Recycling and Cornerstone Technologies.
CarbonLite operates recycling facilities that bring in PET bales from deposit and curbside sources.
PET recycling firm CarbonLite and a subsidiary this week filed for bankruptcy, indicating the company plans to reorganize and continue operating. A company leader said market strife and COVID-19 impacts led to the decision.
A recycling facility in West Babylon, N.Y. installed a large optical sorter that has increased OCC throughput and quality. | Courtesy of Van Dyk
Several materials recovery facilities across North America and the U.K. recently announced upgrades or other major projects. The initiatives include optical sorter installations targeting fiber and plastic, advanced artificial intelligence plans and more.
A number of environmental groups wrote to shipping lines urging them to stop carrying scrap plastics. | Jordi Prats/Shutterstock
Activists have contacted the world’s largest shipping lines, asking them to stop carrying loads that violate new Basel Convention regulations covering the global scrap plastic trade.