In the third quarter of 2024, the Northeast Recycling Council reported the blended value of a ton, not counting the negative impact of residuals, was $121.21, up 3% from the second quarter of the year. | Nickpeps/Shutterstock
Average commodity prices rose slightly in the third quarter of the year due to national and regional trends, though the growth appears to be cooling off, according to the latest report from the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading
Proposed tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China could have effects that reverberate from consumer goods to paper packaging. | Chuyuss/Shutterstock
As the January inauguration approaches – and with it the prospect of hefty tariffs on Mexico and Canada – market participants and industry analysts said any potential effects on recycled paper and containerboard markets would largely be indirect. Continue Reading
Prices for most major curbside recyclables dropped this month, but a couple outliers were natural HDPE and aluminum beverage cans, both of which saw double-digit percentage increases in value. Continue Reading
AMP, which started off offering sortation robots that could be added into existing recycling facilities, recently shifted its focus to include full facilities. | Courtesy of AMP Robotics
AMP recently raised $91 million in a financing round and plans to use the funds to accelerate the deployment of its AMP ONE sortation system. Continue Reading
The consumer recycling rate rose from the preceding three years, but industry association executives warned that the U.S. still has much work to be done to compete on a global level. | Ji Jinn/Shutterstock
Only 43% of aluminum cans shipped in the U.S. in 2023 were ultimately recycled, well below the 30-year average but slightly higher than in the previous three years, according to the most recent industry report. Continue Reading
Continuus Materials’ Iowa facility was acquired by hauler WM only a few years ago. | Courtesy of Continuus
A growing end market for mixed paper, plastic and cartons abruptly closed this fall. Continue Reading
Bonnie Bethune of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association . | Photo courtesy of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association.
A warm welcome back to “Women in Circularity,” where we shine a light on women moving us toward a circular economy. This month, I was pleased to connect with a long-time recycling advocate: Bonnie Bethune. Bonnie is the Sr. Member Services Representative for the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), the oldest and largest cooperative-model recycling nonprofit in the United States. She has over 40 years of experience in the recycling industry with a focus on municipal recycling. Continue Reading
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.