
A number of market pricing updates made the list of our most-read stories from 2021. | BEST BACKGROUNDS/Shutterstock
As the municipal recycling industry plunges into 2022, it can be useful to set the stage with a look at the biggest trends and developments of the past 12 months.

Starting in 2022, California law will require that every municipality across the state provide organics collection service, among other mandates. | Thomas Holt/Shutterstock
In January, California municipalities must begin meeting requirements of what some stakeholders are calling the most significant waste reduction legislation in decades.

A number of major recycled fiber consumers have stated their willingness to accept plastic-lined paper cups in mixed-paper or carton bales. | BublikHaus/Shutterstock
Pratt, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging International and other paper mill owners have signed a statement affirming that they want plastic-coated paper cups in their feedstock.

Data from 2020 places refuse and recyclables collection as sixth most dangerous profession in the U.S. | YES Market Media/Shutterstock
The number of on-the-job deaths at MRFs increased slightly in 2020, but those killed in garbage and recyclables collection dropped notably.

KW Plastics’ new PP wash line has a full capacity of 100 million pounds per year. | Credit: Scott Saunders
KW Plastics in recent weeks started up a polypropylene wash line that will increase its recycling capacity by 100 million pounds per year. Company General Manager Scott Saunders said the line will boost efficiency.

Regulators estimate that Recycletronics stockpiled nearly 17 million pounds of CRT materials and other scrap electronics. | nampix/Shutterstock
A Midwest man was sentenced to three years of probation and an East Coast man pleaded guilty to a hazardous waste crime in court cases that both involve TV recycling.
