Prices for a slew of curbside recyclables – OCC, UBCs, PET, HDPE and PP – all surged over the past month, bringing good news for MRFs.
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 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.
Inland Empire Paper Company operates a 110-year-old paper mill that uses recycled fiber near Spokane, Wash. | Courtesy of Inland Empire Paper Company
A Pacific Northwest paper mill has begun producing new grades of paper made from recovered fiber, a response to changing end markets and growing customer interest in recycled content.
Several companies forecast that fiber costs will continue to rise throughout 2021. | sylv1rob1/Shutterstock
Paper mill operators anticipate strong demand for corrugated packaging will continue to drive up prices for recovered fiber, according to recent earnings calls.
Massachusetts is the latest state to propose extended producer responsibility for packaging, the largest component of the residential recycling stream. | Thanatos Media/Shutterstock
An expansive packaging stewardship proposal was recently introduced in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, a bill providing state assistance to bolster recycling markets has cleared both legislative chambers in Maryland.
The past month has been marked by value boosts for recovered PET, HDPE and PP. Fiber grades recovered in curbside programs, however, have been flat or slightly down.