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.
The EPA administrator pointed to staffing, office space and grants as areas to cut agency spending. | Tada Images
Details are scarce on U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s plans to cut his agency’s spending by 65% or more, but some of its 15,000 full-time-equivalent positions and grants to recycling programs across the country could be on the chopping block. Continue Reading
HB 3433 would add glass wine bottles to Oregon’s container deposit program, but the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative does not want to take on the additional material stream. | Fotosr52/Shutterstock
The question of how glass wine containers should be managed in Oregon – under the state deposit return system or under extended producer responsibility – remains active, though wine bottles seem destined for EPR for now.
Cascade Asset Management, which operates facilities in Wisconsin and Florida, says the combination with Sage provides logistical advantages for winning clients. | Courtesy of Cascade Asset Management
Longtime electronics recycling processor Cascade Asset Management has been acquired by Sage Sustainable Electronics, bringing it into the Closed Loop Partners portfolio of companies. Company leaders said a shared vision and long experience in the industry make the move complementary to each firm. Continue Reading
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is one of the world’s largest parties, drawing 1 million visitors each year. | f11photo/shutterstock
Public events always bring their own challenges to recycling – large numbers of people on the move, visitors from out of town, a constant flow of adult beverages and other distractions, the list goes on. And Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with its 12-day, 24-7 marathon of parades and parties drawing roughly 1 million people every year, may well be king. Continue Reading
One end user assumes OCC prices will hover around $100 per ton throughout 2025. | Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock
North American mill operators enjoyed a quarter of lower feedstock costs at the end of 2024 and are anticipating little OCC movement this year. But one operator says tariffs are contributing to so much uncertainty that the company can’t provide a detailed outlook. Continue Reading
Billions of small-format plastic items are produced each year but are lost to landfills or incinerators across the board. | Golden Shrimp/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: Learn more about plastic recycling trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland. Continue Reading
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced it approved a program plan on Feb. 21. | Yanqiang Dai/Shutterstock
After several years of work, Oregon has approved an extended producer responsibility plan, laying out how packaging producers are expected to fulfill the requirements of the law. Continue Reading
More than 20 bills concerning electronics recycling so far have been introduced in 14 states for the 2025 legislative session. | Parilov/Shutterstock
Legislators have been filing bills as the 2025 session starts up, and in the e-scrap realm, two main topics are again at the forefront: extended producer responsibility for batteries and the right to repair consumer electronics.
If domestic aluminum demand rises, used beverage cans could see a jump in commodity value. | Graham Corney/Shutterstock
New tariff actions targeting aluminum and steel imports could have near-term benefits for MRF operators if the actions spur additional demand for domestic-sourced commodities. But it’s the longer-term effects that are more concerning. Continue Reading