Republic forecasts servicing fewer commercial containers as bars, restaurants and schools temporarily close. | Aaron of L.A. Photography/Shutterstock
Republic Services foresees major changes in the residential and commercial recycling landscape due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In communities around the country, recycling programs are limiting the materials they collect, altering service hours or shutting down altogether. | Oksana Shturo/Shutterstock
Recycling programs nationwide have curtailed service due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially hampering the supply of recyclables moving to market in the weeks to come.
The New York Department of Sanitation is preparing for higher-than-normal volumes of material to be collected curbside. | Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock
New York City, which has the largest concentration of coronavirus cases in the U.S., is continuing curbside service even as the city’s collection department battles infections among employees.
Revenue from Waste Management’s recycling business fell by 20% last year, but earnings were nearly flat. | Dan Leif/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Lower commodity prices continued to batter recycling revenues for the largest garbage and recycling companies last year. But recent moves to charge communities for MRF processing helped soften the financial blow.
A recent Greenpeace report noted companies are increasingly calling a wider variety of products “recyclable.” | Marko Rupena/Shutterstock
Several recycling industry reports were recently released, including a Greenpeace indictment of recyclability labeling, the latest updates from Closed Loop Partners, and one state’s investigation of food waste in public schools.
The ISRI Board of Directors will consider the new specifications during its winter meeting on Feb. 21. | Thanatos Media/Shutterstock
Recycling coordinators, MRFs and others tend to refer to material in different ways. Draft specifications from an industry group aim to help put all parties on the same page.
How2Recycle announced that all PP tubs, trays, bottles and cups will now be labeled with the organization’s “check locally” label. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
Changes in U.S. recycling programs led the How2Recycle labeling initiative to downgrade recyclability classifications for non-bottle rigid PET containers and certain PP products, potentially impacting recovery of those materials.
Through the Bradley Beach, N.J. partnership, SC Johnson is providing financial support to assist with infrastructure costs. | Courtesy of SC Johnson
SC Johnson recently launched a pilot curbside film collection program in a small New Jersey community. Rather than mix film into existing single-stream recycling, the program has residents use a dedicated container.
If GFL’s initial public offering is approved by regulators, the company would become the fourth largest publicly traded waste and recycling business in North America. | Philip Lange/Shutterstock
Waste giant GFL Environmental has filed for an initial public offering, aiming to raise up to $2.4 billion. The company also released recycling-specific financial figures.
London, Ontario has a goal of 60% waste diversion by the end of 2022. | Wei Seah/Shutterstock
London, Ontario approved a grant for a Hefty EnergyBag program, making it the first Canadian city to embrace the program for collecting hard-to-recycle plastics.