U.S. exporters shipped 4.5 million short tons of recovered fiber from July through September. That’s the lowest third-quarter volume since 2006. | MAGNIFIER / Shutterstock
Overseas appetite for scrap plastic dwindled in the third quarter. On the domestic side, operators report stable movement for common curbside materials, although fiber pricing remains a challenge.
Denmark-headquartered Baltic Control was approved as an inspector of U.S. exports to China earlier this year | Bullstar/Shutterstock
China has approved the first non-Chinese-government-affiliated entity to inspect U.S. recovered fiber shipments to the Asia country. The move raises questions about the country’s long-term plans for recovered fiber imports.
Waste watchdog Basel Action Network tracked containers of mixed paper that were shipped from the U.S. to Indonesia and were rejected. | Naruedom Yaempongsa/Shutterstock
Contaminated bales of recycled paper stonewalled at Indonesian ports were not returned to the U.S. as promised, according to environmental organizations.
Packaging Corporation of America will add 350,000 tons per year of OCC pulping capacity at its Wallula, Wash. mill. | Google Earth
Packaging Corporation of America will begin consuming OCC at a mill in the Pacific Northwest, citing customer demand, feedstock availability and cost savings.
OCC has traded for consistently lower prices each month this year. | create jobs 51/Shutterstock
Executives from paper manufacturers that consume major tonnages of OCC and mixed paper recently offered their thoughts on where the recycled-material market is headed.
Around 50% of box manufacturer U.S. Corrugated’s total paper sourcing comes from post-consumer materials. | John McLenaghan/Shutterstock
U.S. Corrugated, a box manufacturer that uses recovered fiber, is opening a “super plant” in Indiana in coming months, with more new capacity coming in the future.
A report identified 142 businesses in the Northeast that are processing or using post-consumer materials.| pokku/Shutterstock
Two industry organizations have developed directories of manufacturers that consume recycled materials in one region of the U.S.
UBQ currently operates in Israel but is eyeing Virginia as a possible location for a large-scale facility. | Courtesy of UBQ Materials
A nascent company that makes a composite material from the non-recycled waste stream is looking to site a processing plant in the U.S.
The price of natural HDPE has skyrocketed over the past month, roughly doubling in some areas to a high of 52 cents per pound. Color HDPE also took a notable jump.
Trade data shows the U.S. has exported 4.2 million short tons of recovered fiber to China from January through August this year. | apiguide/Shutterstock
China continues to import a substantial amount of OCC from the U.S. and elsewhere. But an all-out ban and other regulatory changes loom on the horizon.