California regulators will provide incentive payments to curbside recycling programs producing PET bales with less than 2% contamination. | RecycleMan/Shutterstock
California officials will provide payments of up to $180 per ton to recycling facilities that limit contamination in PET bales to 2% or less.
AMP Robotics is training its AI-powered visioning system to identify hazards such as fuel tanks and batteries so MRFs can safely remove them. | Courtesy of AMP Robotics
AMP Robotics is training its AI-powered camera system to identify fuel tanks and batteries on conveyor belts, so the system can alert MRF staff to the hazards.
Research compared a variety of deposit systems and recycling rates increased in all scenarios, with the highest rates for an all-beverage deposit of 10 cents. | Rokas Tenys/Shutterstock
This story has been corrected.
Though container deposit systems typically help lift recovery rates for covered materials, the programs also usually reduce tonnages of high-quality PET and aluminum going to sorting facilities. A new study helps to quantify those potential impacts.
The author responds to a recent study on the financial impacts of deposit programs on MRFs and points to research showing bottle bills reduce overall costs for municipalities. | TakePhoto/Shutterstock
Set to open in 2024, Rumpke’s 200,000-square-foot MRF will be built on 25 acres the company purchased almost a decade ago. | Courtesy of Rumpke
Rumpke Waste and Recycling’s new $50 million MRF is designed to adapt, with plans for the Columbus, Ohio facility drawn up to take future changes to the recycling stream into account.
Plastics being handled at Republic Services’ existing materials recovery facility (MRF) in North Las Vegas, Nev. The company’s Polymer Center will be sited seven miles from the MRF. | Courtesy of Republic Services
North America’s second-largest hauler and recycling processor is constructing a facility in Las Vegas that will produce recycled PET flake and provide a deeper sort of other recovered resins.
A presenter at NERC’s Spring Conference encouraged recruitment managers to implement specific practices to reduce bias in hiring decisions. | fizkes/Shutterstock
Diversity, equity and inclusion are no longer add-ons, but a necessary part of any serious company, panelists at the Northeast Recycling Council’s Spring 2022 Conference said.
A presenter at NERC’s Spring 2022 Conference noted wireless headphones among the many battery-containing devices that are challenging for recycling processors. | aperturesound/Shutterstock
The looming wave of lithium-ion batteries that will need to be recycled generated an engaged discussion at the Northeast Recycling Council’s Spring 2022 Conference.
An AMP Robotics unit is removing contamination at Atlas Organics’ composting facility in San Antonio. | Courtesy of Atlas Organics
For perhaps the first time, an AI-equipped robot is removing contaminants from the organics stream headed to composting. Continue Reading
As many in the industry take a breather around Independence Day this week, we thought the time was right to look at the developments that have most caught the attention of readers thus far this year.