The U.S. PET bottle recycling rate dropped from 30.1 percent to 28.4 percent in 2016, as the volume of new containers placed onto the market continued to increase.
The U.S. PET bottle recycling rate dropped from 30.1 percent to 28.4 percent in 2016, as the volume of new containers placed onto the market continued to increase.
This story has been updated.
Three organizations are pushing to have their packaging types accepted at MRFs, but six nonprofit recycling groups are pushing back.
Real Alloy, which runs 15 sites in the U.S., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking to continue operating as usual while it works to restructure and cut costs.
A patent battle over solar-powered recycling and garbage receptacles has taken a new twist, as the defendant has countersued the plaintiff for the same allegations of patent infringement.
The U.S. UBC recycling rate declined to 49.4 percent in 2016, its lowest level in years.
Curt Bucey, Strategic Materials
A glass recycling company has opened a new processing facility and has plans to continue expansion in the coming years. Company leaders anticipate its recent acquisition by a private equity firm will accelerate that growth.
Republic Services reported higher recycling revenues during the third quarter, and it expects its acquisition of MRF operator ReCommunity will boost tonnages it processes by about half going forward.
David Biderman, SWANA executive director
In a recent interview, SWANA leader David Biderman said communities don’t want to undo decades of outreach work and tell residents to stop putting certain items in the bin, even if China’s scrap policies are shaking up market realities.
When it began facing constricted fiber exports to China, Waste Management adapted by selling into alternative markets. As a result, it has been able to avoid stockpiling or landfilling recyclables, company CEO Jim Fish said.
MRF operators are increasing their labor forces and installing additional sorting equipment in response to Chinese restrictions on scrap imports. At the same time, a standard ton of single-stream recyclables in the U.S. has dropped in value by roughly 50 percent in recent weeks.