Industry group American Forest & Paper Association announced that in the U.S. market 49 million short tons of fiber products were recycled in 2019.| franz12/Shutterstock
Export market turmoil caused a lower recycling rate for paper and paperboard in 2019, an industry group announced. The decline comes after a record year for paper recycling in 2018.
Technology developer Zabble is working with the University of California, San Francisco to reduce waste and increase diversion. | David Tran Photo/Shutterstock
A data collection and analytics platform is helping a California university improve its landfill diversion. In recent weeks, the platform has also helped combat the spread of COVID-19.
California will fall short of its 75% recycling rate goal for 2020, state officials acknowledged in a recent report. | Johnny Habell/Shutterstock
California and Oregon recently reported lower statewide diversion rates, a trend that’s been ongoing for multiple years in both states.
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.
U.S. recovered fiber exports fell by roughly 3 million tons from 2018 to 2019. | StockStudio Aerials/Shutterstock
In 2019, recovered fiber exports from the United States experienced their largest year-over-year decline on record. U.S. scrap plastic exports also continued a substantial fall.
A report from plastics industry group NAPCOR indicated the U.S. PET bottle recycling rate was 28.9% in 2018, down from 29.2% in 2017. | pook jun/Shutterstock
The U.S. recycling rates for both PET bottles and all plastic bottles have fallen slightly, according to two reports released by industry groups.