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Category: Top stories

Scrap paper and plastic markets hit by confluence of forces

Published: September 22, 2020
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According to one analyst, domestic demand for OCC was up about 6% during the first five months of 2020. | digitalreflections/Shutterstock

Supply and demand realities for key curbside materials are evolving fast, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, domestic processing capacity increases and other key trends, according to two experts. Continue Reading

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China and Hong Kong issue new plastic import rules

Published: September 22, 2020
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Officials in both China and Hong Kong have recently signaled stricter controls over the flow of recycled plastics into the region. | Barks/Shutterstock

Recycled plastic pellets are facing greater scrutiny upon import into China, international recycling stakeholders recently reported. Meanwhile, Hong Kong moved to incorporate upcoming global regulatory changes in the plastic waste trade into its domestic legal framework. Continue Reading

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China ban spurs rise in plastic waste ‘criminal trends’

Published: September 9, 2020
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Plastic waste pile

Interpol found that plastic waste fires, both accidental and deliberate, have increased since Chinese import restrictions took hold. | MOHAMED ABDULRAHEEM/Shutterstock

Improper management of scrap plastics in Southeast Asia and elsewhere has increased sharply in the wake of China’s National Sword policy, according to international law enforcement body Interpol.

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Expansive plastic waste bill fails again

Published: September 9, 2020
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Various single-use plastic packaging on a table.

Senate Bill 54 would have tasked state regulators with developing and adopting rules requiring all single-use packaging and “priority single-use products” sold in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. | SerPhoto/Shutterstock

For the second straight year, a California proposal that had broad recyclability goals did not make it through the legislature.

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California mandates recycled material in beverage bottles

Published: September 1, 2020
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California state capitol building in Sacramento.

California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock

This story has been updated.

California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.

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Recycled fiber end users put new focus on residential stream

Published: September 1, 2020
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Recycling bin full of cardboard boxes.

Greater fiber tonnages are coming in through the residential stream, which typically includes higher numbers of small boxes. | Cari Rubin Photography/Shutterstock

OCC generation has shifted away from the commercial realm amid COVID-19, and tonnages might never go back. A paper association leader described that trend and what it means for the industry’s future.

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Stakeholders roll out framework for US plastics sustainability

Published: August 25, 2020
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Plastic packaging samples arranged on a table.

In the U.S., dozens of brand owners, retailers, government agencies and nonprofit groups have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. | Nagy-Bagoly Arpad/Shutterstock

A program called U.S. Plastics Pact, associated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will pursue strategies to eliminate unnecessary packaging, increase recyclability, and ensure packaging contains recycled plastic. It has more than 60 industry backers.

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