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Pandemic alters – and threatens – supply chain for end users

Published: April 21, 2020
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Residential recyclable materials have become an increasingly important feedstock for manufacturers since the coronavirus outbreak. | RawPixel.com/Shutterstock

As the coronavirus impacts continue throughout the U.S., manufacturers are highlighting the importance of curbside recycling as a feedstock supply channel. Meanwhile, processors are seeing changes in demand for their material as consumer spending shifts.

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Guide helps programs prepare for the unknown

Published: April 21, 2020
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The Continuous Improvement Fund recently released a guide to help recycling managers create contingency plans. | smolaw/Shutterstock

The coronavirus pandemic has made clear the importance of having a contingency plan when the unexpected strikes recycling programs. A new tool helps municipalities develop such guidance.

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COVID-19 damages supply chain for deposit materials

Published: April 14, 2020
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Eight out of the 10 states with container redemption systems have enacted temporary measures limiting deposit returns in some way. | Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock

Stay-at-home orders are hitting container deposit systems hard, leading to significant declines in the volumes of high-quality recyclables moving to material processors.

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Sonoco invests to use more OCC and mixed paper in US

Published: April 14, 2020
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Stacked cardboard bales for recycling.

Sonoco’s converted South Carolina machine will have a capacity of about 180,000 tons per year of recycled paperboard. | Steve Heap/Shutterstock

A major end user of recovered fiber will spend $83 million to retool operations in South Carolina and Wisconsin. But the move comes as the company closes a recycled paperboard mill in Canada.
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Lockdowns and shipping strife snarl scrap exports

Published: March 31, 2020
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Cargo ship container port at dusk.

Lingering impacts from the shipping disruptions of January and February still plague the movement of recyclables out of the U.S. | DifferR/Shutterstock

Overseas markets for recovered paper and plastic are experiencing disruption as governments enact widespread restrictions and close ports in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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