Waste and recycling industry safety has received elevated attention in recent years as injuries and fatalities have risen. Despite collaboration and the heightened focus, the numbers show little improvement.
Canada’s capital tested whether wrapping receptacles with splashy graphics of recyclables can improve capture rates and reduce contamination. The move can be effective, but such a strategy also has limitations.
Intuition says making products from recycled plastic is better for the environment than using virgin plastic. A recent study puts hard numbers to that understanding.
Resin and packaging giants this month committed $1 billion over the next five years to “end plastic waste.” While recycling and sustainability stakeholders say they are encouraged by the effort, they also want to ensure materials recovery remains part of the solution.
There were 18 deaths connected with the solid waste and recycling industry during the first few weeks of 2019. Most fatalities were members of the public killed in incidents involving collection vehicles.
Maite Quinn, who was most recently marketing all of New York City’s curbside recyclables for Sims Municipal Recycling, has joined a group working to boost material recovery infrastructure through investment capital.
Flexible packaging isn’t going away anytime soon, and an upcoming pilot project seeks to ensure it doesn’t go to landfill.
