From left: Mick Barry, Brian Hawkinson, Shailesh Gothal, Dave Yousif, Mark Bond and Dave Claugus at the 2019 Resource Recycling Conference and Trade Show. | Brian Adams Photography/Resource Recycling Conference
MRF operators, brokers and others recently discussed why fiber is still “the elephant in the room” in municipal recycling conversations.
Norpac will convert a third of its production capacity to recycled packaging. | Google Maps screen capture.
A Pacific Northwest mill has pledged to bring in an additional 400,000 tons per year of recycled paper as it shifts into packaging production.
Indonesia’s government has been developing more rigorous import restrictions for recovered fiber for the past several months. | Unureanu Catalina Oana/Shutterstock
After months of uncertainty about recovered paper restrictions in Indonesia, the nation’s government has opted to evaluate bale contamination using two separate categories, according to multiple industry groups.
A 700,000-tons-per-year recycled pulp and paper operation is coming soon to Kentucky. | olephoto/Shutterstock
The past week brought several significant recycled paper capacity announcements, indicating future domestic outlets for mixed paper and OCC.
U.S. exporters shipped out 773 million pounds of scrap plastic in the first half of 2019. | aapsky/Shutterstock
Federal trade statistics released last week show U.S. export volumes for the first six months of 2019. Recycled plastics have seen a major drop when compared with figures from a year ago.
The U.S. paper recovery rate has been at or above 63% each year for the past decade.
Every year, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) releases the U.S. paper recovery for recycling rate. The annual figure informs us how much recovered paper is being used to create new products in a given year and is also an important indicator of how much paper and paper-based packaging is kept out of landfills after use.
A newly formed business called Willamette Falls Paper Company will reopen the former West Linn Paper Company mill. | hxdyl/Shutterstock
A shuttered paper mill near Portland, Ore. will reopen this year, and the new operator has hinted the site will incorporate recovered paper feedstock as it scales up in the future.
The average blended value for recyclables at U.S. MRFs was recently calculated at around $35 per ton. | hiv360/Shutterstock
Between overseas import restrictions, tariff impacts and domestic market volatility, an erratic environment has become the norm for recycling operators around North America.
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.
