2017 brought the lowest volume of film recovered and sold since 2010. | taniascamera/Shutterstock
Non-bottle mixed plastics and film recycling have experienced their first major drops in a decade, two studies indicate. But amid the challenges, domestic use of both streams increased.
Regulatory changes could prevent the U.S. from exporting mixed plastics to a number of countries. | rawf8/Shutterstock
Federal regulators are asking countries that are major buyers of U.S. recyclables to refrain from implementing new trade restrictions laid out in the Basel Convention, a treaty covering global scrap material shipments.
As the industry catches its collective breath during this holiday week, we’re offering up a rundown of our biggest stories from January through June of 2019.
Bill Moore at WasteExpo 2019.
North America’s residential mixed-paper prices are deep in the negative numbers in some areas. That pain will likely persist for some time, one analyst predicts.
Containers at a port in Jakarta, indonesia.
Import guidelines for scrap paper shipments to Indonesia have been revised and are less stringent than initially proposed, the country’s government announced last week. Still, the rules will mean additional inspections for paper traders.
U.S. recovered plastic exports during the first quarter were down by nearly half from a year ago. Paper shipments remained stronger due to ongoing Chinese demand and growing alternative markets.
In the wake of recent trade announcements from the U.S. and China, recycled paper pulp shipped to China will face additional levies and a North American equipment supplier has predicted major fallout from increased costs.
The move last week by 187 governments to alter a global waste treaty will mean further uncertainty for U.S. scrap plastic exports.
U.S. recovered paper and plastic exports each grew slightly in April, hitting their largest monthly volumes so far in 2019.