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Tag Archives: Europe

Diversion Dynamics: Threading together a circular system for textiles

Published: September 23, 2025
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Transparency in the recycling supply chain instills consumer confidence when it comes to donations and secondhand outcomes. | Neenawat Khenyothaa / Shutterstock

Editor’s Note: Diversion Dynamics is a monthly column exploring partnerships that drive recycling.

Learn more about EPR and the California Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707) at the Textiles Recovery Summit, February 23-25, in San Diego, California.

As seasons change, so do fashion trends, contributing to 92 million metric tons of textile waste globally. Today’s consumer habits are generating textile waste on a Mount Everest-sized scale, far beyond that pile of clothes on your bedroom chair. Continue Reading

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Analysts: Outlook murky for new containerboard capacity

Published: September 24, 2024
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Fiber for recycling.

Global overcapacity and ongoing economic uncertainty will continue in the near term, Fastmarkets panelists said, with implications for both virgin and recycled paper. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock

Although the North American containerboard market saw a surge of new recycling machines in 2023, producers are waiting to see how the market develops before investing in new capacity, according to experts at Fastmarkets.  Continue Reading

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German data platform plans US launch in 2025

Published: August 27, 2024
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computer user

Resourcify’s data platform shows users how sustainability initiatives can help save money and make processes more efficient. | Silvabom/Shutterstock

As environmental targets quickly approach, companies may struggle to understand their role in the broad field of sustainability and how to manage that role. But Germany-based waste management platform Resourcify can help, a company executive said in a recent interview. Continue Reading

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Different PRO structures can achieve same result

Published: May 3, 2023
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Bales of recycled paper products.

Experts from Italy and Canada offered advice on effective EPR, drawing from their experience with PROs in those countries. | Ole Photo/Shutterstock

When building a producer responsibility organization, fees should be transparent, the industry should be in control and the system needs to be fair. That’s what participants in a recent webinar said, noting there are different ways to achieve those ends. Continue Reading

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Textile recycling is at a pivotal moment, experts say

Published: February 13, 2024
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Textiles collected for recycling

Methods for recycling clothing and other textiles exist but must be scaled up to meet the problem, several experts said during a recent panel discussion hosted by TOMRA. | Chatham172/Shutterstock

Textile production is among the world’s least sustainable industries, but that could change if brands, governments and investors supercharge and interweave recycling systems that already exist in isolation, experts said during a recent webinar from Europe. Continue Reading

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Brands make sustainability moves, but use more plastic

Published: January 9, 2023
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McDonald's drink cups and straws discarded on concrete.

WWF found that 34% of members’ plastic footprint was recycled, 9% incinerated, 43% landfilled and 15% mismanaged. | Kraft74/Shutterstock

In 2021, major brands increased their use of recycled material and cut back on “problematic plastics,” but the amount of plastic they put on the market grew by over 5%, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

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Lessons from France: Eco-modulated fees not used effectively

Published: May 30, 2023
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Analysts speaking in a recent GAIA webinar said eco-modulated fees on packaging fail to incentivize reduction and reuse. | Photoeu/Shutterstock

As extended producer responsibility programs for packaging start to take hold in the U.S., many are looking to Europe for ideas. Several stakeholders in the decades-old French system shared some lessons they’ve learned, including that eco-modulated fees have not achieved their desired effect.   Continue Reading

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EU-to-US scrap plastics trade under threat

Published: January 23, 2023
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Industry leaders oppose the European Commission’s proposed phase-out of plastics exports, arguing such a move would restrict trade. | European Parliament Multimedia Centre

A branch of the European Union wants to end all exports of recovered plastics within the next four years, a move that would undoubtedly disrupt trade with the U.S. One company leader suggested the impacts could hinge on what the EU decides to consider “waste.”

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