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.
A handful of top global brand owners have made or restated pledges to use or attempt to use only reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.
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.
To understand the vision that guides Eureka Recycling, look no further than the very building the organization uses for materials processing.
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.