Aqua Metals, a lead-acid battery recycling technology company, is moving into the lithium-ion battery recycling business. | showcake/Shutterstock
A battery recycling company goes public, North American collection numbers are released, and a lead-acid battery recycling technology company moves into the lithium-ion realm. Those announcements were made around National Battery Day last Thursday.
The recycling industry has become increasingly consolidated in recent years following major corporate acquisitions. Fernando Cortes / Shutterstock
It may not receive a lot of media attention, but corporate concentration in America’s waste industry negatively impacts the lives of nearly all Americans and contributes to a range of economic and environmental burdens.
By shifting the collection method to 96-gallon carts, it is estimated Omaha will generate 10,000 tons of additional recyclables per year. | Lightspring/Shutterstock
The city of Omaha, Neb. will receive $825,000 from The Recycling Partnership to significantly expand local collection infrastructure.
Packaging EPR programs are currently in place in parts of Europe, Canada and elsewhere, but to date, this system hasn’t reached the U.S. | Skylines/Shutterstock
Extended producer responsibility for a wide range of recyclables is gaining steam around the country. Haulers and MRF operators say it’s critical that these proposals are crafted well – both to preserve what already works and allow for much-needed changes.
During the third quarter, Waste Management enjoyed commodity prices that averaged 33% higher than the prior-year period. | David Tonelson/Shutterstock
The waste sector’s biggest companies extended their recycling business rebound into the second half of this year, helped by higher fiber prices.
In 2019, Waste Management processed a record amount of recyclables: 15.5 million tons, up from 15.2 million tons in 2018. | Courtesy of Waste Management.
The largest hauler in North America processed a record amount of recyclables in 2019, and it invested more than $100 million to improve its recycling infrastructure, according to its latest sustainability report.
Quincy Recycle plans to start up the 64,000-square-foot facility early next year.
Quincy Recycle has opened its eighth recycling facility to handle material from back-of-house commercial and industrial settings, underscoring opportunity in these areas despite a pandemic-driven decline in commercial material generation.
Users of the ZeLoop app will receive cryptocurrency for bringing materials to recycling collection sites. | Courtesy of ZeLoop.
A mobile app in beta testing seeks to reward users for properly recycling materials at drop-off locations. The company says an exchange of currency is vital to the process.
A leader with Waste Connections said that his company has seen increased collection volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Resource Recycling file photo.
Two large publicly held waste and recycling companies are taking in higher residential volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they say contamination has been flat. Recently, they’ve also started seeing critical upticks on the commercial side.
