Balcones Resources’ MRF in Austin, Texas is one of a dozen recycling facilities now owned by newly launched company Circular Services. | Jared Paben / Resource Recycling, Inc.
Last year’s launch of Circular Services created a new family of varied recycling companies, yet they’re all focused on a circular economy and are fueled with hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh capital.
The Hallett’s Point development in Queens, N.Y. is home to the first high-rise ever built with concrete containing ground glass pozzolan. | Courtesy of Urban Mining Industries
Making new glass bottles is generally considered the highest and best use for cullet, but recycling glass into a cement substitute is actually better from a greenhouse gas perspective, speakers on a recent webinar said.
Solid waste collectors had 34 reported workplace fatalities in 2021, down from 38 in 2020. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Refuse and recyclable material collectors had the seventh-deadliest job in the U.S. in 2021, an improvement over the previous year’s sixth place.
Entities can submit an optional intent to apply for the grants by Dec. 15, and the application deadline is Jan. 16. The EPA anticipates dispersing funds in summer or fall of 2023. | Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
With deadlines for two large EPA recycling grants fast approaching, one expert suggests double-checking project goals and making sure all the pre-application work is done.
The Dec. 15 hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works brought four panelists together to answer questions from legislators. | Katherine Welles/Shutterstock
During a two-hour hearing, U.S. senators questioned industry experts about chemicals in plastics, marine plastic pollution and extended producer responsibility.
Berry brand owner Driscoll’s has worked with its clamshell suppliers to boost the percentage of recycled PET derived from used thermoforms. | Courtesy of Driscoll’s
Clamshell containers used by berry brand Driscoll’s last year contained an average of 9% recycled PET sourced from used thermoforms. Continue Reading
As of 2021 there were more than 40 companies working to develop or manage chemical recycling projects in the United States. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
Mechanical recycling should take priority over chemical recycling, but there will need to be several technical solutions to the world’s plastic problem, argued panelists on a recent Product Stewardship Institute webinar.
The latest Greenpeace report challenges the viability of U.S. plastics recycling. | MuhammadAzman/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
An updated report from Greenpeace USA maintains that no plastics in the U.S. actually meet the definition of recyclable and calls for companies to switch to other materials.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) created the Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) to promote environmental consciousness and ensure MRF workers’ health and safety. | MichaelFelixPhotography/Shutterstock
Looking to support employees and set a higher bar for quality, Oregon-based Far West Recycling certified its northeast Portland facility to the Recycling Industry Operating Standard. It is the first MRF to do so.
In light of last year’s high, bale prices in recent months look especially bleak. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Northeastern U.S. MRFs reported their recyclables bales fetched an average of $100 per ton during the third quarter, a steep drop from the prior quarter. Continue Reading