Recyclables exported out of the U.S. are moving to Southeast Asia, where reclaimers and mills are dramatically increasing purchases as China closes its doors to recovered materials. New figures illustrate that shift.
Recyclables exported out of the U.S. are moving to Southeast Asia, where reclaimers and mills are dramatically increasing purchases as China closes its doors to recovered materials. New figures illustrate that shift.
Tennessee’s fourth-largest city has removed glass from its single-stream curbside program.
Colorado’s recycling advocates have taken on a new strategy aimed at boosting the state’s diversion rate. Over the past year, the Colorado Association for Recycling identified key goals and specific actions it will take to attain them, according to the group’s director.
A shuttered mixed-waste MRF has been sold to the city of Montgomery, Ala., and multiple companies are interested in running the facility either as a traditional MRF or mixed-waste plant.
A representative from a European firm that has felt the direct impacts of China’s import restrictions on recovered plastic recently offered an inside look at the fallout from the unprecedented disruption to industry trade.
The manager of a shuttered mixed-waste processing facility in Montgomery, Ala. said depressed commodity prices and low waste volumes doomed the project. Additionally, bankruptcy filings outline millions owed to creditors.
An overhaul of the federal tax system was signed into law last month, ushering in major changes in how businesses throughout the recycling industry are taxed. At the same time, impacts may be felt at recycling nonprofit groups as some analysts predict declines in charitable giving.
The global recovered paper market experienced “a quite challenging year” in 2017, according to an expert at paper industry research firm RISI. And those challenges are only expected to continue as Chinese import restrictions ramp up.
China officially announced last month that most inbound loads of recyclables will be allowed no more than 0.5 percent contamination, which is slightly less stringent than initial proposals. But industry executives recently noted that when it comes to recovered paper, that’s largely a moot point.
The federal tax bill before Congress this week retains tax incentives and exemptions that could boost the recycling sector.