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.
Readers last month were drawn to stories covering the various market and program impacts of China’s import restrictions.
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.
Two beverage companies accept grants for recycling and sustainability efforts, and Oregon helps make expanded polystyrene recycling viable in a rural county.
The Republic Services Anaheim Recycling Facility is a 35-acre site handling a wide variety of materials, including single-stream residential recyclables, commercial and multi-family mixed waste, organics, construction and demolition debris, white goods, and scrap electronics.
A plastic packaging industry publication is criticizing the recycling industry’s shock and concern over China’s import restrictions, which the writer says are part of a measured and well-publicized effort that’s been in effect for more than a decade.
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.
More than three months after China announced it will restrict recyclables imports, key details on logistics and timing of the new regulations remain unknown. But industry associations are piecing together some more concrete facts.
Construction is underway on the rPlanet Earth facility in Vernon, Calif.
Construction is underway on a massive Los Angeles-area plastics recycling facility that will take in bales of PET bottles from curbside collection and other channels. The rPlanet Earth facility will produce recycled-content products used to make bottles and food packaging.
A confluence of factors has led logistics experts to predict that American firms, including those in the recycling industry, will experience higher over-the-road shipping costs in the next six months.